The dust begins to settle on San Diego’s city budget
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson, it’s WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17TH>>> [ NOW THAT THE DUST IS BEGINNING TO SETTLE ON THE CITY’S BUDGET, WE TAKE A CLOSER LOOK ]More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….########
THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO SAYS THAT DESPITE BUDGET CHALLENGES, THEY'RE ADDING MORE THAN TWO HUNDRED SHELTER BEDS
OVERALL, THE CITY SAYS IT WILL FUND NEARLY 17 HUNDRED SHELTER BEDS
AS WELL AS MORE THAN 750 TENT SPACES AT WHAT IT CALLS ITS SAFE SLEEPING PROGRAM …
PLUS 350 SAFE PARKING SPACES FOR THOSE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN THEIR VEHICLES
BUT, THEY ARE CLOSING THE NEIL GOOD DAY CENTER AND WHAT THE CITY CALLS TWO UNDER-UTILIZED SAFE PARKING LOTS
ONE LOT IS ON AERO DRIVE AND THE OTHER AT THE FORMER CENTRAL ELEMENTARY
THE FISCAL YEAR 20-27 BUDGET TAKES EFFECT ON JULY FIRST
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THERE'S GOOD NEWS FOR ANY M-T-S RIDERS WHO LEAVE FROM THE CLAIREMONT TROLLEY STATION … THE AGENCY SAYS THEY'VE ADDED 145 NEW PARKING SPACES
THEIR NEW PARKING FACILITY IS PART OF U-C SAN DIEGO’s 11 MILE-LONG BLUE LINE
A BOARD CHAIR FOR M-T-S SAID THE NEW PARKING SPACES ARE THERE TO HELP EASE CONGESTION AT THE STATION AND CALLED THEM A MUCH-NEEDED IMPROVEMENT
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TWILIGHT IN THE PARK HAS MADE ITS RETURN TO BALBOA PARK
IT'S A FREE OUTDOOR CONCERT SERIES THAT TAKES PLACE EVERY TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH AUGUST 27TH THE SPRECKELS ORGAN PAVILION
THEIR KICKOFF EVENT WAS LAST NIGHT WITH THE SAN DIEGO CITY GUARD BAND AND TONIGHT ... THINGS TAKE A SOULFUL TURN WITH MEMPHIS SOUL REVUE OF S-D
THE SUMMER CONCERT SERIES INCLUDES JAZZ, CLASSICAL, SOUL, MARIACHI AND MORE
YOU CAN VISIT BALBOA PARK DOT ORG SLASH TWILIGHT CONCERTS FOR MORE INFO
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
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THE DUST HAS SETTLED ON THE SAN DIEGO CITY BUDGET.
METRO REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN SAT DOWN WITH ANCHOR DEBBIE CRUZ TO DISCUSS FUNDING FOR THE CITY’S POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS
BUDGETRECAP 2WAY (dc) (4:20) SOQ: "protected in the budget."
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Andrew, there was a lot of attention on the police budget this year, wasn't there? Yes, Debbie, that is that has been true pretty much every year that I've covered the budget. The police department is the largest expense to the city and so it makes sense that they would receive the most amount of scrutiny.
Uh, the budget for the fiscal year that starts on July 1st gives the police to department about a third of its general fund. Uh the overall dollar amount is going up by about $15 million, but that is mostly due to wage increases. The city's trying to keep its its pay competitive with uh competitors, you know, other agencies and also just to keep in line with inflation.
Most of the public dialogue and uh debate around the police budget was related to the automated license plate readers that uh, you know, are around the city and uh the police use as investigatory tools. They represent, however, a very, very small fraction of the total police budget. Most of the money is going to paying officers.
How about cuts? Were there any cuts to the police budget?
Well, as I said, overall the the police department is getting more money and it has more uh positions funded in the budget, but there are some specific reductions and that's uh mainly due to extending uh hiring freeze on certain positions. And most of these positions are sergeant or lieutenant tenant levels. So these are higher-paid supervisory staff, uh not, you know, the the frontline officers.
Um when a budget is when a position is in the budget and it's funded, but it is not they didn't don't actually manage to hire anybody for that position. SPDD gets to keep the money that would have gone to to pay that person's salary and they get to sort of reallocate it within the department.
And so, uh you know, by cutting these vacant positions, it's actually cutting the amount of money that the police department might have had to, you know, pay overtime, let's say, or, you know, other department needs that weren't specifically included in the budget. So, by cutting those vacant positions, the the department is sort of seeing its uh dollar amount shrink, but not really. Right.
The city council made a last minute change related to SDPD's fuel budget. Tell us about that.
Yeah, so a few years ago, during a previous budget cycle, the the last police chief said that there was one area of possible saving things in the police department's fuel budget and it has to do with how many officers are in a patrol vehicle. So very often police officers are driving around, you know, responding to calls for service by themselves.
Doubling up the number of patrol officers in a vehicle would save on fuel costs because you would have fewer vehicles driving around the city. Chief Scott Wall does not like this idea. He worries that particularly in the parts of the city that are more spread out, that having fewer patrol vehicles going around and responding to calls will increase response times.
So, if your call to the police isn't an urgent life and safety situation, it's it's dispatched as quickly as possible as opposed to dispatch an officer immediately. The average response time from the police can be well over two hours. So, particularly in these spread out parts of our city, the fear is that that would get even worse for these non-emergency agency calls.
The police union actually likes this idea of doubling up officers in more, you know, two to a vehicle, but ultimately it's the police chief that has very broad discretion over his budget. And so this attempt by the city council to tell the police chief, we want you to save money on fuel, may or may not actually be implemented.
So, what about the fire department?
Well, this is the second biggest department in the city budget. They're getting just under $400 million from uh the general fund.
It's not not quite a fifth of total general fund spending. And like the police department, the fire budget is up, but that's because of wage increases and there are positions that were unfilled that are that are being eliminated in the budget. Particularly around recruiting and training new firefighters. The firefighter union sent out a press release after the budget vote saying they were not happy with this change.
Regardless, when you compare fire and police to other city departments, they were relatively protected in the budget.
TAG: THAT WAS REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN, SPEAKING WITH ANCHOR DEBBIE CRUZ.
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DRUGS LIKE OZEMPIC AND WEGOVY ARE ALREADY CHANGING THE WAY DOCTORS TREAT DIABETES AND OBESITY. NOW, HEALTH REPORTER HEIDI DE MARCO SAYS UC SAN DIEGO RESEARCHERS ARE ASKING ANOTHER QUESTION. COULD THEY ALSO HELP SLOW BIOLOGICAL AGING?
GLP1HIV 1 trt:54 SOQ
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UC San Diego researchers analyzed data from more than 100 adults living with HIV.
MICHAEL CORLEY
Biologically, that population appears to be, on average, around 5 years older.
UC San Diego professor Michael Corley is lead researcher on the study.
MICHAEL CORLEY
So if you were looking for a therapeutic that could potentially improve aging or have some sort of impact, that would be the starting point.
Researchers found improvements in DNA markers linked to inflammation and the health of the heart, brain, liver and kidneys.
They believe the drug may help by reducing chronic inflammation and unhealthy fat around organs.
MICHAEL CORLEY
The question is, if they went off those medications, would that snap back, and then essentially they would be aging at the rate they were.
He says the goal is not to help people live forever. It's to help them stay healthier longer and reduce the risk of age-related diseases.
Heidi de Marco, KPBS News.
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THE SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL YESTERDAY VOTED TO ENDORSE A PACKAGE OF STATE BILLS AIMED AT REFORMING FOR-PROFIT UTILITY COMPANIES LIKE SDG&E.
METRO REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN ALSO BRINGS US THIS ONE :
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UTILITIES 1 (ab) 0:53 soq
AB: The 10 bills endorsed by the council are broadly aimed at making electricity more affordable. One of them, SB 905, takes aim at the profits that investor-owned utilities make off of wildfire mitigation. The bill would also tie executive pay to lowering rates. Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera said utilities are incentivized to maximize profits above all else.
SER: For years, I've heard from families across San Diego, especially in City Heights, Stockton and Mt. Hope, who are making impossible choices between keeping the lights on and putting food on the table. So this isn't a political statement, it's about dignity and economic survival.
AB: SDG&E opposes some of the bills endorsed by the City Council, while it's remained neutral on others. The bills are awaiting final approval in the legislature and can still be amended. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.
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WHEN YOU HEAR ABOUT IMPERIAL BEACH THESE DAYS IT’S OFTEN ABOUT THE TIJUANA SEWAGE CRISIS THAT HAS CLOSED BEACHES AND FOULED ITS AIR.
REPORTER ELAINE ALFARO SAYS FOR ONE DAY AT LEAST… LEADERS WERE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT AN ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTION AT THE I-B BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB.
IBSOLAR 1 (:50) SOC
Foncesa SOT
“It makes me feel better that we have more energy now. Like solar and stuff.”
That’s IB Boys and Girls Club member Ivana Foncesa talking about the new solar energy project at the club.. The project includes an array of solar panels and storage.
It was funded by San Diego Community Power’s Community Clean Energy Grant Program. Here’s Tara Hammond from the Hammond Climate Solutions Foundation, which led the project.
Hammond SOT
“The solar and storage system is expected to save the club nearly $12,000 this first year. And as electricity rates continue to rise over the next 30 years, this system is expected to save the club nearly half $1 million. And those are real savings that are being reinvested into the club.”
To Foncesa, the savings means more good clean fun.
Elaine Alfaro, KPBS News.
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That’s it for the podcast today. This podcast is edited by Brooke Ruth AND hosted and produced by me, Lawrence K. Jackson. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Thanks for listening and have a great day/weekend.
