Report From First San Diego Budget Town Hall Forum

Prepared by Kate Callen

Source: Citizens Budget Review Committee

The first of four 2025 Budget Review Town Hall forums explored a range of public concerns about San Diego city finances, from diversion of developer impact fees (DIFs) to inflated management payrolls to sparse infrastructure maintenance.

More than 50 people gathered for the February 8 forum in the Mission Hills-Hillcrest/Knox Library on Washington Street. Chief Operating Officer Eric Dargan and Randy Reyes, a Community Representative for Mayor Todd Gloria, were in the audience. Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, whose District 3 includes Mission Hills, did not attend.

Throughout the two-hour forum, which began with a slideshow from Independent Budget Analyst Charles Modica, several points of public consensus came through strong and clear, including:

When constituents challenge City Hall funding decisions, and they are told, “Well, that’s what the policy dictates,” they must exert pressure on their elected officials to change the policy.

Infill density, especially massive ADU complexes, is exacting a heavy toll on mid-city neighborhoods with eroding infrastructure. By siphoning Developer Impact Fees (DIF) money away from newly-dense neighborhoods, the City shortchanges the residents who are most directly and acutely impacted.

The frequent use of highly paid outside consultants, especially in the offices of the City Attorney and the Development Services Department, deserves scrutiny.

The Measure E sales tax hike did not lose because San Diegans are “tax averse.” The ballot measure was defeated because San Diegans do not trust City Hall to spend tax dollars responsibly.

The following excerpts from public comments provide highlights from the discussion.

Clifford Weiler, Mission Hills

“On your [IBA slideshow] chart for homeless services, the bottom line was administrative costs, which were over $7 million. A couple years ago, I went to the Transparent California website and found that the Housing Commission has 23 leadership positions. The administrative cost, which doesn’t directly help any homeless person on the street, was over $1 million. … Maybe somehow the spider web of the City’s homeless entities can be consolidated.”

Marty Cohen, Ocean Beach

“With regard to unclassified [city] managerial positions, I read a story in the Union Tribune that in 2017, they had 70 such positions, and in 2024, they had 393. I don’t believe the city’s population or portfolio of tasks has gone up by a factor of five and a half.”

Paul Krueger, Talmadge

“What about a [possible] fall-off in sales taxes? What do you do to help the Council understand that projections don’t always pan out? Increasing the cannabis tax from 8 to 10 percent means dispensaries will charge more … and illegal cannabis sales are driven in part by such additional charges.”

Lisa Mortensen, Mission Hills

“We need more long-term oversight about affordable set-asides: what the rents are, how long the leases are. We should have a public record that these affordable units will stay affordable for the period of time that was promised. We need more transparency. … The City of La Mesa had a one-cent sales tax [measure], and it was passed by 81 percent. That is the trust factor.”

Richard Phillips, Golden Hill

“The City needs to focus on core municipal services. … I pulled up the [city] org chart, and it seems like departments and divisions are multiplying. … And some of the City’s facilities and parks are overutilized. On the west side of Balboa Park, there are constant special use groups there that close the whole thing down.”

Lu Rehling, Hillcrest

“When the sales tax measure failed, there was some talk, possibly from the Mayor’s office, about across-the-board cuts. Those cuts tend to punish departments that are well-managed or understaffed.”

Danna Givot, Del Cerro

“We did a rough estimate for the first three years of the Bonus ADU program. The state requires that you cannot charge DIF fees for units less than 750 square feet. But in San Diego, those [ADUs] are being constructed as apartment complexes. If they were treated as apartment complexes, they would [generate] DIF funds of between $20 million and $24 million. That would come in very handy for infrastructure.”

Juli Hyde, Mission Hills

“The Uptown area is being significantly impacted by development. I appreciate all the information you’re sharing to clarify things, but something has to be done. The keys to the city have been given to the developers. There would be a higher level of trust in voting for increased taxes if we believed those taxes were going to be used appropriately. There’s got to be a way for developers to pay more of their fair share when they’re impacting our communities.”

Marcello Mundo, Mission Hills

“The issue here is that we have all these new residents using [our] resources, but we have the same infrastructure. Here in Mission Hills, developments continue to go up, but not much has changed. We have the same fire station, the same fire hydrants, the same pipes underground. This favors developers; they know they can put in massive development, and they won’t get charged any more impact fees.”

John Brady, Lived Experiences

“This city knows to the penny what it spends on homelessness every year. But we don’t know the [financial] impact of homelessness on all city services – cleaning up parks, trash trucks that clear out encampments. … about 73 [police] officers are dedicated to homelessness … Why can’t we get that number from the City?”

John Jenkins, Mission Hills

“When a study is done on how a new development will impact our neighborhood, how do we make sure the facts are known? … Our storm drains are already more than overwhelmed; our houses are nearly getting flooded. I’m afraid that an impact study will say, ‘We can put 20 more homes in, it’ll be okay.’ Well, it is not okay.”

The next forum will take place Thursday, February 13, at 6:00 p.m. at the Porter Elementary School North Campus Auditorium, 445 South 47th Street.