The City Council on Monday will begin five days of public hearings to scrutinize Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
The mayor has proposed spending $3.2 billion, 7 percent more than the current fiscal year. The plan includes increasing operating hours at recreation centers, repairing 300 miles of roads and upgrading broadband Internet access at public libraries.
The spending hikes were made possible by projections of across-the-board revenue increases, such as sales, property and hotel room taxes and franchise fees paid by utilities.
In the first hearing Monday, the City Council will go through the proposed budget for the San Diego police and fire-rescue departments, and receive a review of the overall spending plan from the city’s Independent Budget Analyst’s Office.
In a report issued Monday, the IBA called the budget proposal “robust and aggressive,” with “conservative revenue projections.” The spending plan also increases cash expenditures to reduce the backlog of deferred capital projects, focuses on City Council and community priorities, and uses technology to improve efficiency and public interaction, the IBA said.
Implementing the new and expanded programs would result in the hiring of 424 new employees, a goal that could be difficult to achieve, the IBA said. The current year’s budget envisioned hiring 279 employees, but nearly 100 of the new positions still haven’t been filled, according to the IBA report.
“This history suggests these hiring targets are ambitious and may not be realistic,” the report said.
The IBA also pointed out that some of the activities specified in the budget proposal will require significant staff time to execute, making it questionable how many of them can be completed during the fiscal year.
The hearings will continue throughout the week:
- Tuesday’s session will focus on San Diego’s Capital Improvement Program, Public Works, and Transportation and Storm Water;
- Wednesday’s hearing will feature libraries, recreation centers and the San Diego City Employees Retirement System;
- Thursday’s session will involve the San Diego Housing Commission, Civic San Diego and the San Diego Convention Center Corp.; and
- Friday’s hearing will focus on the real estate assets, purchasing and contracting, information technology and human resources departments. Friday afternoon will be reserved for further discussion on infrastructure, if needed.
The City Council is scheduled to vote to adopt a budget next month.
— City News Service