Carmel Valley forum highlights city
budget cuts; lifeguards fight for jobs; Northwest Division police substation stays

By Suzanne Evans

A vigorous debate on Mayor Jerry Sanders’ $200 million budget deficit was held in a town hall forum Dec. 2 by District One Councilmember Sherri Lightner at Cathedral Catholic High School. The deficit means budget cuts to libraries, parks and public safety departments for fiscal year 2011 over an 18-month period.
Taking center stage, city life guards pleaded to save their jobs at Black’s Beach to prevent certain drownings in their absence. Pacific Highlands Ranch residents in Carmel Valley sought to accelerate plans for schools and parks held up by Proposition M’s limit on construction until SR-56/I-5 connectors are in place.
Sanders said Nov. 24 the budget proposal includes “reductions in virtually every city department, maintains the jobs of all sworn police and fire personnel and avoids closures of libraries and recreation centers.” Under the plan, the city also will continue to make its full pension payment and leave reserves untouched. Last month, Sanders asked city departments to identify 27 percent in budget cuts that would collectively address the budget deficit.
A ray of light eased Carmel Valley residents’ worries when Lightner reassured them their Northwest Division police substation on El Camino Real “is not on the city’s list” of closures (although other police reductions will total $26 million).
“This recession has had a deep impact on virtually every city in the country, and San Diego is no exception,” Sanders said. “While far from painless, this plan balances the budget without decimating city services or jeopardizing our good standing on Wall Street.” Sanders’ plan incorporates $82.6 million in ongoing structural reductions, largely through cutting 530 positions – 200 of which are currently filled.
Sanders said the use of one-time adjustments acknowledges that a majority of the FY2011 deficit is related to the recession, including $67 million in reduced tax revenues and a $57 million spike in the city’s required pension payment caused by stock-market losses.
“The $200 million deficit could be catastrophic to our resources in San Diego,” city councilmember Anthony Young, chair, budget and finance committee said at the forum. “We hope to come up with a solution to eliminate the running deficits. It’s going to be tough,” he said, noting so many people are losing jobs. “We will work with the mayor to protect public safety — police and fire. No sworn police officers or fire personnel will be let go.”
Praising Lightner as “a great colleague who understands issues very well,” Young highlighted the city’s goal to take care of the deficits, pleased that previous “Speak San Diego” forums he started last year have produced $30 million worth of ideas for budget reductions.
Nader Tirandazi, financial management director, city of San Diego, who said he has spent much of his life in District One, gave a presentation on the city’s financial outlook, emphasizing, “Sales tax (with a loss of $45 million over the last two years) and transient occupancy tax (TOT) are struggling,” with an overall loss of $67 million in major revenues, and a struggling general funds budget, with a flat growth rate in property taxes.
“We need to solve the $200 million deficit, but we can’t solve everything at once because it would decimate services.”
“There will be $72 million in one-time cuts, with $1.7 million ongoing cuts,” Lightner said. “The city council has to balance needs for budget cuts versus services we rely on. I want the least impact on services,” she said, seeking forum participants’ suggestions to close the budget gap.
A summary of the mayor’s proposed departmental spending reductions includes:
Police: $26 million reduction / 262 positions
• Eliminates 134 vacant sworn positions and non-revenue-generating civilian support positions
• Eliminates equestrian patrol; reassigns officers to patrol duty
Fire-Rescue: $18.6 million reduction / 63 positions
• Eliminates 50 vacant sworn positions
• Eliminates eight engine companies through “rolling brownouts”
• Eliminates lifeguard service at Torrey Pines Beach in non-summer months
• Reduces lifeguard overtime by making training every six weeks instead of two
Park & Recreation: $3.7 million reduction / 32 positions
Library: $3.8 million reduction / 53 positions
• Pairs eight sets of libraries with each branch open three days, for a total of six days for each pair; Eliminates Sunday hours at most branches
Environmental Services: $3.3 million reduction / 12 positions
• Cut equipment costs by shifting trash collection schedules, so each crew would work four 10-hour shifts weekly (frequency of pickup will not change)
City Planning & Community Investment: $1.2 million reduction / 7 positions
• Slows designation of historic districts
• Reduces overtime and non-personnel expenses
• Terminates lot lease and releases funds set aside for payments
General Services: $11.7 million reduction / 7 positions
• Reduces the size of the fleet
• Increases vehicle replacement life cycles by two years
About a dozen residents spoke, many of them from the San Diego Association for lifeguards, protesting four proposed cuts in life guard personnel. “The Mayor does not want cuts in sworn fire and police, but we are sworn positions as well,” protested Jeffrey Hatfield, a city lifeguard for 10 years. He worried that lifeguard positions cut during the winter would eliminate coverage of Black’s Beach. “We are the (city’s) best asset near the (UCSD) college, so I ask the city to reconsider.”
A San Diego lifeguard with 4,000 hours of service at Black’s Beach, Eric Jones noted the lack of drownings during their service. “But, as soon as we leave at night, people drown within one-half hour. Students from UCSD are not ocean savvy, so there will be drownings.”
“Closing Black’s Beach is a recipe for disaster,” lifeguard Daryl McDonald said, with Ed Harris, an operational sergeant at Black’s Beach warning, “We will have trucks going Code 3 up and down the beach. The city owns the water and cliffs, so it would be irresponsible not to guard (the area).” Harris noted lifeguard cuts in spring of 1983 resulted in drownings. Harris suggested a surcharge on college dorms, or displaying small advertising logos on their trucks to help pay for lifeguard services.
“We support the mayor in larger issues,” said Chester Mordasini, President, Teamsters Local 911, Long Beach, who represents the lifeguards, urging the city not to cut the four positions.
“We don’t protest other cuts, only cuts to services,” said lifeguard Gavin McBride. “We also are law enforcement,” he said, noting they prevent “lewd” behavior from disturbing citizens at Black’s Beach.
“I have pulled numerous people from certain death – I have seen broken necks and femurs. Without our presence, there will be a multitude of these. It is a very dangerous beach without our presence,” said Eric Meech, a lifeguard with the city for 22 years, and the primary lifeguard at Black’s Beach. A young boy seated with his mother and brother, stood up and described being saved from a riptide, exclaiming, “I waved to the lifeguards, and they were still working past hours.”
Manjeet Ranu, Pacific Highlands representative and vice chair of the CV planning board, urged the city to “go back to core services and define them.” He emphasized the need to get PHR’s Gonzales Canyon Park operational with maintenance funding. “All we need is for the city to deliver vital services we have paid for. It is supposed to be a smart growth, walkable (community) with a park.” Another PHR resident echoed Ranu’s comments, adding, “Proposition M’s cap on PHR building (until SR-56/I-5 connectors are in place) prevents us from growing to the point we can get services. There is no park, school, shopping center.” With three small children, she lamented having to drive 10 minutes to get anywhere and urged help to get Proposition M changed.
Also in danger of being cut, the $14 million Ocean Air Recreation Center, with state of the art equipment may not open. “The equipment will deteriorate before it is used,” complained a nearby resident. “I’m thankful cuts to parks and recreation are not worse,” Ginny Barney, a member of the city’s Park’s and Recreation board told Lightner, adding, “Despite cuts, the core of Parks and Rec is preserved. “I urge you to adopt (those cuts).”
The budget proposal will go before the San Diego City Council’s Budget & Finance Committee on Dec. 2. “On Dec. 7, there will be another discussion with District 4 residents. On Dec. 9 and 14, we’ll make the final decision on the 2011 budget and how to maximize revenues,” Young said. Budget cuts will begin Jan. 1.