Gloria presents revised budget to City Council, which includes cuts to libraries, parks

According to the cuts all of the city s libraries will be closed on Sundays and Mondays starting as early as July Photo courtesy of the city Mayor Todd Gloria s final proposed budget for fiscal year received a chilly reception Monday when it was presented to the San Diego City Council Describing the cuts he has proposed as painful the informational item presented Monday received backlash from several council members In his revision issued last week Gloria restored selected funding to the San Diego Police Department San Diego Fire-Rescue and the San Diego Humane Society but not to parks and libraries We have never been resourced the way a city of our size should be Gloria revealed But we are required by law to have a balanced budget He reminded the council which has about a month to propose amendments or further revisions before a final vote is due by June that any restorations to services will come by finding new revenue sources or cutting from elsewhere The projections for the major revenues the city relies on to pay for our operations have not improved since the draft budget s release last month but we were able to make small changes in response to what we heard from San Diegans about their priorities through the budget review hearings Gloria announced The cuts we were forced to make to balance the budget are not what any of us want but we ve worked within our means to create a responsible strategic and balanced spending plan that prioritizes keeping San Diegans safe fixing our roads and critical infrastructure and reducing homelessness with a range of interventions including building more housing That didn t hold water for several members of the council It s a revise that s not a revise reported Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera who reported the mayor s office failed by not bringing forward a proposal to charge for parking for non-residents at places such as Balboa Park and the beaches Last week Elo-Rivera spoke at a rally at Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park to remind those charged with crafting the budget what it meant to citizens Cutting library hours shrinking youth programs and defunding recreation centers might look like math on a spreadsheet but in real life it means fewer safe spaces for kids fewer materials for families and fewer opportunities for our neighborhoods he declared San Diego deserves better and we must say no to across-the-board cuts that fail to recognize the vulnerability in our communities A coalition of organizations noted the proposed cuts would deepen racial and economic inequities particularly in low-income and historically under-resourced neighborhoods At Monday s council meeting Councilman Henry Foster III shared specific of his colleague s thoughts In a testy exchange with Gloria Foster urged repeatedly if the mayor agreed that keeping libraries and recreation centers open played a role in society safety Gloria agreed in principle but reminded the council what happened the last time the city was faced with such a large deficit when Gloria was on the council Library hours were cut but particular fire stations were browned out leading to slower response times and Gloria commented even particular deaths I don t want you to have the same regrets I had when I served the mayor revealed The largest adjustment in Gloria s revised budget was to restore of a million reduction to consolidate police patrols in the northern part of the city between the Northern and Northeastern divisions Gloria s new revisions will have patrol officers continue to be based at Northwestern Division but with staffing changes that have them reporting to a lieutenant instead of a captain The proposed budget also restores two vice detective positions that the draft budget had removed Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert noted investing in residents safety was a high priority but explained she would look into procedures to restore full access to the city s lakes such as Hodges Murray and Miramar Reservoir She stated eliminating superfluous contracts perhaps with homeless-serving organizations could find the funding needed for such a move The revisions also restore specific but not all of the city s contract with San Diego Humane Society for animal services Dr Gary Weitzman president and CEO of the humane society stated that still leaves a million gap to maintain services This funding gap threatens the city s ability to meet its legal obligations around population safety animal welfare and humane law enforcement he disclosed These are not optional services they are mandated by the state Without adequate funding the city will still be required to provide these services likely at a significantly higher cost than our current efficient model According to the cuts all of the city s libraries will be closed on Sundays and Mondays starting as early as July Patrick Stewart CEO of Library Foundation SD disclosed he was disappointed in the revised budget While this is a laborious budget year for the city the San Diego Masses Library is already experiencing the loss of federal and state funding for critical library services and we hoped to see the city patronage its libraries rather than cut their hours he noted We remain diligent in our help of the dedicated library staff who will continue to provide a wide range of offerings for patrons which is the soul of the library We know that despite the cut to library hours they will continue to serve communities to the best of their ability In December Gloria publicized that San Diego was facing a million budget deficit in the next fiscal year amid declining increase in property hotel room and sales taxes a report from his office read That deficit then continued to grow because of a decrease in sales-tax revenue lower-than-anticipated franchise fees from San Diego Gas Electric and an increase in employee pension costs In November s electoral contest voters declined the San Diego Transaction and Use Tax which would have increased the tax on transactions in the city by bringing the total sales tax to The current rate of leaves the city tied for the fourth-lowest of the state s municipalities and lower than nine of the county s cities according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration The additional million that would have been raised by the proposal was a key emphasis of the measure s proponents but the other side of that issue the cuts that would need to be made if it were not passed was less frequently referenced The draft budget included a rightsizing of fees such as doubled parking meter rates increased parking citation penalties and increase of various fees for services across the city Gloria is also relying on a new fee to collect solid waste which will be decided in June by the City Council and on an increase to the city s hotel tax That latter tax Measure C was approved by a simple majority of San Diego voters in but it needed two-thirds of the vote to pass San Diego decided the two-thirds rule was unfair and has moved forward with the intent to collect the tax beginning May but the issue remains tied up in court City News Operation contributed to this article