City Hall Budget

by Councilman Scott Peters
for the La Jolla Village News
June 2003

Last week the San Diego City Council completed its budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2003. Despite the City's $30 million deficit, I am pleased to report that we were able to create a budget that maintains police and fire safety and restores many of the core services in the Park and Recreation budget that the City Manager had slated for cuts. Public safety is always our number one priority but our parks, beaches, recreation centers, and open spaces are central to our quality life in San Diego. I made it a priority to restore funding for park programs and beach maintenance. I wanted to give you a brief rundown on the budget and alert you to potential cuts from the State that are still looming.

At the beginning of the budget process the City Manager presented a budget that included $30 million in service cuts. The Council had emphasized the need to maintain public safety so the police and fire department budgets were reduced, but no sworn officers were laid off. One of the hardest hit areas was the Park and Recreation Department. The City Manager had proposed cutting seasonal crews that pick up trash and clean restrooms at area beaches during peak use. The Manager also proposed a significant decrease in recreation center hours and the closing of city pools from November to March.

These cuts would have been devastating for families in District 1. Our beaches are municipal treasures that serve as both quality of life enhancement and economic engine for the San Diego community. We took advantage of today's historically low interest rates to refinance City bonds to free up some new money. We used the money saved to restore funding for litter removal at all our coastal beaches and Mission Bay, as well as the restoration of funds for additional cleaning of coastal bathrooms and beach facilities during peak use in the summer. The City will also continue to groom the beaches, a service that had been cut in the initial budget. Beach goers should see no change in these services.

I was also pleased that we were able to find funding to keep community swimming pools open year-round. I heard from many residents, old and young, who use these pools all year for recreation, therapy and general exercise. This action will ensure that families and seniors will be able to use Swanson Pool at Standley Park and the Carmel Valley Community Pool all year.

We were also able to save most but not all of the hours of operation at our neighborhood recreation centers. The City Manager proposed that all recreation centers be open 40 hours per week. The Council chose to fund 48 hours per week. The Park and Recreation Department will be adjusting daily recreation center hours to reflect the highest levels of usage at that center. Although this shift will make centers as accessible as possible, there will still be some reduction in hours. The La Jolla recreation center currently operates for 60 hours a week and will see a reduction of 12 hours per week from current usage. Doyle and Standley recreation centers in University City also currently operate 60 hours a week and will also see a 12 hour per week reduction.

Although the City of San Diego has settled on a budget for next year, the State of California must still come to grips with a $38 billion deficit. My colleagues and I are concerned that the State may try to raid local government funds, as they did in the early 1990's, to balance the State budget. One proposal already floated in Sacramento would take $20 million away from the City of San Diego. This would mean terrible cuts in all areas of service, including police and fire. I hope that you will contact your State Assemblymembers and State Senators, just as you have contacted me, and let them know that local governments cannot take additional cuts in services.

I am proud of the Mayor and my colleagues for being creative and earnest in their approach to the budget. Thank you to all the District 1 residents who provided input to me on the budget. Despite our difficult economic times, I am pleased that we have been able to devise a budget that protects public safety and quality of life programming.