After Mayor Todd Gloria dropped his proposed budget for fiscal year 2025 that sought to address a major budget deficit, residents of some historically underserved of communities turned out to decry a slew of one-time cuts to programs created in the name of equity.
City Councilmembers, with help from their in-house wizards in the Independent Budget Analyst’s Office, found almost $13 million in city money that could be shifted to save some of these equity programs from budget cuts.
The City Council ultimately voted 9-0 on a budget late Tuesday that restores and increases funding for homelessness programs and the San Diego Housing Commission, money dedicated to climate equity and public power. Councilmembers also directed $3 million to support victims of the Jan. 22 storm and $1 million for youth drop-in centers.
Where they found cash: The City Council’s budget solutions included deciding to pay for some parks and fire vehicles with debt instead of cash, postponing the hiring of park rangers for vacancy savings, reaping about $742,000 in savings due to reduced water use at city parks during an especially rainy year and applying cash from a refund from the county Registrar of Voters. The City Council also agreed to take on additional debt to avoid more cuts.
The City Council’s big budget calls:
- Gloria’s mega-shelter pitch survived the budget process – and so did his plan to pursue a safe parking lot for people living in vehicles at H Barracks. City Council voted to invest $1.9 million in day-to-day funds into the shelter if a final lease is reached with the owner of the Middletown warehouse plus millions of dollars for potential building upgrades. (Note: A lease deal still isn’t a sure thing.) The City Council separately identified about $4.2 million in savings tied to expected shelter closures to pay for new shelter beds. Councilmembers considered this crucial because the city expects to be down hundreds of city shelter beds by the end of this year if it can’t find replacement sites.
- Homeless programs that had been slated for significant cuts ended up whole. The City Council increased funding for the city’s much-lauded homelessness prevention program so it will be able to take on new clients this year, bolstered funding for an outreach program that received no funding in Gloria’s initial budget proposal and nixed initially planned cuts to shelter programs that the Housing Commission had said could be crippling.
How they did it: The City Council made a tough call to direct $6 million that the Housing Commission had planned to offer up for affordable housing projects to preserve those other programs. For now, that means the Housing Commission will only have $3 million to offer for affordable housing projects in the upcoming year, a small amount it may decide isn’t even worth doling out. But councilmembers led by Budget Committee Chair Kent Lee also added a caveat: If the proposed Kettner and Vine shelter doesn’t go forward, the Housing Commission will get $6 million in federal block grants now expected to back upgrades to the Middletown warehouse to dole out to affordable housing projects.
- City Councilmembers decided to agree to Mayor Gloria’s proposal and empty the city’s public power piggy bank – known as the Energy Independence Fund – which acts like a savings account of SDG&E shareholder funds to prepare the city to eventually pursue a takeover of the energy grid. But the City Council restored $500,000 to finish a public power feasibility study. (The first phase of that study found that it’d ultimately be cheaper to switch to public power for electricity.)
- CIty Councilmembers restored some money to the city’s Climate Equity Fund, another program set up through the city’s contract with SDG&E, which Mayor Gloria had swept into the city’s general fund to get through the tough budget cycle. That money goes toward completing projects in communities on the front lines of climate change, which are typically underserved areas of the city.
City Council Thrice Denies Public Power Takeover of SDG&E
San Diego’s elected leaders signaled that they don’t think the city’s ready to kick out its investor-owned power provider and form a government energy utility this week.
It was the third time the San Diego City Council unanimously voted down a citizen-led effort to seize the power grid away from San Diego Gas and Electric. Even so, some councilmembers expressed concerns about SDG&E, which offers some of the most expensive energy rates in the country.
“I’ve got some significant issues with SDG&E,” said Council President Sean Elo-Rivera but added that “there are far too many questions left unanswered,” reported Rob Nikolewski of the Union-Tribune.
The grassroots group called Power San Diego rustled up just over 24,000 signatures from people who supported a November ballot measure that would force a government takeover of the power grid. That was just enough signatures to force the City Council to vote once more.
“Yesterday, the San Diego City Council did us all an injustice. Instead of letting the people vote on our energy future, or using their power to end SDG&E’s monopoly, they voted 8 to 0 to toss out our ballot measure,” read a press release from Power San Diego.
It was clear from previous City Council votes that the grassroots group failed to garner support from labor unions, a critical player in San Diego politics and the energy space.
While Power San Diego’s fight is over for now, the City Council is still studying the potential of a full public power takeover in San Diego. The second phase of that public power study was slated to be funded by the City Council on Tuesday.
Prop 47 Reform Qualifies for the Ballot
California’s secretary of state announced Tuesday that enough signatures had been gathered to place on the ballot a measure that would roll back a controversial law some blame for a rise in homelessness.
Flashback: A decade ago, voters passed Prop 47, which proponents pitched as a way to reduce the number of people incarcerated in California. The law changed some low-level crimes from felonies to misdemeanors and meant people who’d committed many nonviolent drug-related offenses and thefts of property less than $950 were no longer sent to prison.
It was supposed to allow the state and counties to shift funds that had been going to jails and prisons to rehabilitation and other restorative programs.
New Opposition: In recent years, however, Prop 47 has been pilloried by Democrats and Republicans alike, who blame it in part for a rise in drug-use and sale in the streets, related homelessness impacts and petty crime like shoplifting. San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan and fourteen of the region’s eighteen mayors.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria even denounced Prop 47. At January’s State of the City he memorably joined the pro-clean clothes camp, saying “We should be locking up criminals, not laundry detergent.”
What’s In It: The tough-on-crime measure now heading to the ballot would roll back many of Prop 47’s key components, including the less punitive punishments it put in place. It would create harsher penalties for possession and sale of drugs like heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine and require drug treatment for people arrested for possession at least three times. The new measure, which was funded largely by corporate retailers like Target, would also increase potential penalties for organized retail theft.
Song of the Week
Klurax’s music is all over the place. Tacks like “u me forever,” are maximalist, hyperpop-influenced explorations of some distant galaxy. Meanwhile, “enough,” feels more like the soundtrack to a sweaty night of club hopping. This is an artist who is not afraid to throw things against the wall and see what sticks. Turns out pretty much everything sticks. Throughout it all, though, klurax’s delicate, ethereal voice gently floats amidst the chaos.
Klurax, “funeral clothes”: On “funeral clothes,” klurax dials it all the way back. Gone are the breakbeat drum parts, the crystalline droplets of synthesizer and the mishmash of textures. Instead, we’re treated to a hazy, dream-pop track that’s as restrained as it is alluring. It’s an addictive tune that, taken with klurax’s later work, showcases real versatility and vision.
Like what you hear? Check out klurax at Whistle Stop on June 20.
Do you have a “Song of the Week” suggestion? Shoot us an email and a sentence or two about why you’ve been bumping this song lately. Friendly reminder: all songs should be by local artists!
In Other News
- Holiday Bowl attendees are in for a dose of deja vu. The college football bowl game, which was played at Petco Park for the past three years, is moving back to Mission Gorge, where it was first played more than 40 years ago. From now on, it will be played at Snapdragon Stadium. (Union-Tribune)
- San Diego, in partnership with the nonprofit Wounded Warriors Project, hired a veteran engagement coordinator in March, the first position of its kind. The coordinator will recruit former servicemembers to city jobs, connect veterans to internships and provide support. (KPBS)
- Otay Mesa’s small Brown Field airport is getting a $100 million facelift. (Union-Tribune)
- Letters obtained by inewsource between the Port of San Diego and National City officials show tension about the unprecedented censure and removal of Sandy Naranjo, the city’s representative on the Port’s board of commissioners, is still simmering. (inewsource)
Correction: Tuesday’s Morning Report misstated the number of border crossings San Diego saw last month. There were 6,000 to 8,000 border crossings each week in May.
The Morning Report was written by MacKenzie Elmer, Jakob McWhinney and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Scott Lewis.
