Council responds favorably to mayor's budget proposal

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published April 16, 2006 at 9:00 PM PDT

This story was published more than 18 years ago.

Mayor Jerry Sanders' first budget proposal as strong mayor received a generally favorable reaction from the city council today. It was the first in a series of hearings that will include public input

Mayor Jerry Sanders' first budget proposal as strong mayor received a generally favorable reaction from the city council today. It was the first in a series of hearings that will include public input over the next three weeks. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

Council members were relieved Mayor Sanders' proposed budget does not include more painful cuts to city services. Toni Atkins, chair of the city's budget committee, had earlier compared the task of drawing up the next city budget to pulling a rabbit out of a hat,

Atkins: "It's good to see a budget that is a solid foundation to start from, I was very concerned that there would be further cuts to services I'm pleased to see that we've held the line, I know the community will as well."

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The mayor's ability to avoid cuts to library, park and police services is based on the assumption the city will get back into the bond market this year. That depends on the long awaited financial audit. But City council asked no questions about when the Kroll investigation or the audit will be wrapped up. From city hall, Alison St John KPBS News.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.