The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted 4-0 to provide additional aid — $6.6 million for temporary lodging and $3 million to provide three meals a day for 60 days — to residents affected by the severe rainstorm and flooding on Jan. 22.
The funding will last through May 11. Supervisors also voted 4-0 to continue the local emergency declaration.
“These are unprecedented times and they call for unprecedented responses,” said board Chairwoman Nora Vargas.
She added while the county response wasn’t perfect, she and other leaders wanted to “ensure that people understand that we’re not taking this lightly.”
In late January, supervisors voted 4-1 to spend $10 million to assist recovery efforts after flooding damaged homes in neighborhoods such as Encanto, Mountain View and Southcrest, and unincorporated communities such as Spring Valley.
The board’s actions on Tuesday came after an hour-plus public hearing, where some 60 residents discussed how the natural disaster upended their lives.
Along with the serious damage to their homes, being kicked out of hotel rooms or not having enough to eat, several residents mentioned how two people died in connection with the disaster.
“I’m tired of seeing my people hurt,” one woman told supervisors. “I’m tired of getting the phone calls. I’m tired of having to mobilize to beg for basic necessities.”
“We’re tired, we’re stressed,” said one man, who added he recently ended up in the hospital with chest pains. “You guys have to listen and pay attention. Put yourselves in our shoes.”
The man also blamed the city of San Diego for the current situation many find themselves in.
Another man said he had to fashion a bed out a pallet rack after his home was ruined, and couldn’t believe he was standing before the supervisors asking for help.
Corinna Contreras, of Climate Action Campaign explained how one of her own family members was impacted by the storm. After finally finding an affordable place to live, Contreras said “it was taken away.”
Melissa Grace, of San Diego Rise Up community group, said the additional help was “a no-brainer,” and that she appreciated the county’s efforts.
“I know there has been a steep learning curve,” Grace said. “There are glaring deficits that need to be addressed.”
She added that community resiliency after such a disaster “has been the most beautiful part of this entire experience, but we need to do more.”
There was also criticism of contractor Equus Workforce Solutions, a firm hired to help with relief efforts. Some flood victims said the firm had not been responsive enough to their needs.
Speaking before the board, Mark Douglas, president and CEO of Equus Workforce Solutions apologized for “the weight of all the pain” that he heard during Tuesday’s meeting. “I sit here, and I own it,” he added.
Douglas said his company’s efforts weren’t good enough, but they would work to make it right.
Along with compassionate remarks to residents harmed by the flood, supervisors lauded various nonprofits, including the YMCA and Chicano Federation, for helping people.
Vargas said she wishes that she “could just write a check” and give it to those in need, but there is an official process in how such funding is handled.
Vargas said the county team has been mindful about how the last amount of money was spent. She said supervisors asked staff members to return with recommendations on how the county can fill any gaps.
She said a loss of life due to the January disaster “is the kind of stuff that I lose sleep over.”
Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer said she was sorry for the trauma that people experienced. She emphasized it was shameful that people suffered this natural disaster due in part to decades of neglect.
“It’s not random, it’s not just an accident,” she said, adding she was troubled about flood victims not getting needed food or being kicked out of their temporary lodging.
Supervisor Monica Montgomery-Steppe said she appreciated the flood victims’ testimony.
“I’ve heard a lot of your stories, but it is on the public record and that is very important as we move forward,” Montgomery-Steppe said. She added that it was not her intention for residents to have beg for necessities.
“It is some the great things about what we do as a democracy can also hold us back,” she said.
As to those who died, “It is not sufficient to say ‘I’m sorry,'” she said.
Supervisor Jim Desmond said he supported relief efforts, but also wanted a full account of what the county paid for, versus the city of San Diego. Desmond also called for a long-term plan after county funding ends and a report of how other jurisdictions are stepping up to help flooding victims.
Desmond called out the city of San Diego government for not doing enough to help its own residents and not maintaining infrastructure.
“Where’s the city in all of this?” he asked. “They have their own emergency services department … Unfortunately, I feel we’re rewarding negligence and incompetence of another jurisdiction, and we shouldn’t do that.”
Desmond praised the county’s Department of Public Works in terms of critical maintenance. He noted that only 5% of unincorporated areas were impacted by flooding.
“We have strong, stable reserve money set aside for such crises, that we put that aside and we have the discipline to keep it there,” he said.
Desmond also suggested that San Diego residents “vote for a whole new city council and mayor.”
In a related item, supervisors voted 4-0 on consent in favor of deferring supplemental property tax payments for residents whose property was damaged by severe winter storms, including the recent flooding. The deferment is in the form of an ordinance, which the board first advanced during its Feb. 27 meeting.
Rev. Shane Harris, a community activist who supported the deferral, said in a news release that the board’s actions “will provide a much needed pause on the stresses of tax deadlines while trying to rebuild and restore their homes and lives.”
“I thank supervisors for adopting this ordinance my office proposed today so that property owners can begin taking advantage of this prior to the upcoming April 10 property tax deadline,” he added.
Supervisor Joel Anderson was absent Tuesday.
Updated at 5:47 p.m. Tuesday, March 12, 2024
City News Service contributed to this article.