Changes to City Organizational Structure Save Taxpayer Dollars While Promoting Diversity at the Highest Levels

Tuesday, December 22, 2020 - NEWS RELEASE

SAN DIEGO As part of his pledge to create a government with a focus on serving all of us, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria announced changes to the Citys leadership structure that will net $1.2 million in annual savings as well as streamline city operations while promoting diversity in the management of the organization.

The City is leading by example and putting our residents first. I want to thank this diverse group of professional public servants for their graciousness in accepting new roles as we build a City government that will be resilient in the years to come, Mayor Gloria said. The adjustments weve made will help protect our City in these uncertain economic times and ensure that San Diegans receive the world-class services they deserve.

The Citys five-year financial outlook showed a projected $124 to $154 million budget deficit for the next fiscal year. The $1.2 million in overall budget reductions are a combination of shifting a few highly-compensated managers into new roles, salary adjustments and benefit savings, which will help buffer against impacts to core services.

Some of the significant changes include:

Removing the role of Assistant Chief Operating Officer for a cost savings of $229,424;

Reducing the number of Deputy Chief Operating Officers from four to three for an additional savings of $208,083;

Reducing the Mayors Office staff budget by more than $350,000.

The overall reductions in positions afforded an opportunity to close the gender pay gap among the leadership team and create new roles that will help the City serve its residents more effectively.

A major addition is that Performance and Analytics Director Kirby Brady will now also hold the title of Chief Innovation Officer. She will be reporting directly to the Office of the Mayor to streamline data-driven decision making.

In San Diegos strong-mayor form of government, the Mayor acts as the Chief Executive Officer of the City. One of Mayor Glorias first appointments was interim Chief Operating Officer Jay Goldstone who previously helped lead the City out of the Great Recession and into a period of economic stability.

This past year has forced all San Diego organizations to reexamine their structure and the City of San Diego is no different, Goldstone said. While some roles have changed, I want to stress that these choices were not made due to anyones negative performance. We strongly believe that each person will thrive in their new roles.

The structure also shifts the Office of Homelessness Strategies, Communications Department and Performance and Analytics Department directly under the Mayor. These reflect Mayor Glorias commitment to combating chronic homelessness, transparency and making data-driven decisions.

The new Office of Race and Equity also reports jointly to the Mayor and COO to ensure that all policy and operational decisions are made with the goals of accessibility and fairness in mind.

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