By Jim Varnadore / May 17, 2025
You’re in the short rows with the FY-26 budget, and it still isn’t balanced. There are some things you can do to help the budget without harming your constituents.
You should remove bike lanes from the FY-26 budget. Bike lanes are miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles – a genuine waste of money. In the most recent 3,000+ miles I’ve driven around San Diego from San Pasqual to San Ysidro, no bicycle was present in any bike lane anywhere in the city.
If personnel reductions are in order, take them from the elected officials’ personal staffs. Start with firing all ten chiefs of staff for council members and council president. If more reductions are in order,disestablish the planning department. Like the chiefs of staff, the planning department contributes nothing of benefit to your constituents.
If we need more income, you should make parking enforcement do its job. Right now in the block in front of my home, there are three clear violations of parking regulations but no enforcement officer.
You can also enforce the “Over 72-hour” rule. That part of parking enforcement hasn’t responded to the past half dozen reports I’ve made using the G.i.D. feature on the City’s website.
These suggestions will seriously close the gulf between revenue and expenditure in FY-26. If you concentrate on these, there will be no need to reduce library or recreation staff or hours.
More suggestions (sorry for the bitterness) … Assign two cops to ticket the dog owners illegally walking their best friends on the boardwalk starting now as crowds increase. Fire all desk jockeys who had to think of stupid & costly ideas to justify their jobs like ‘street calming’ and extended curbs that put bikers in car lanes. Fine the utilities that are not held accountable for shoddy repairs after completion. Hire a camera spy to take pictures at 8 AM and 3 PM at projects around town of all the workers standing around talking for an hour before and after the jobs. Learn the term ‘nepotism’ and find out what percentage of unqualified city employees got their jobs through it. Freeze hiring one new employee for every pensioner from the Golding/Murphy era making over 100% of their pay in retirement. Visit https://transparentcalifornia.com/pensions/san-diego-city-employees-retirement-system-sdcers/
Excellent choices.
I’ve heard the mayor has anywhere from 26 to 36 staff members. Does it really take that many head nodders for him to make foolish, money wasting, decisions???