Reform 10.3: Mayoral and City Council Budgets

Cut Mayoral and City Council Budgets by 10%.

Other Information:

The City of San Diego currently funds 126 budgeted positions to cover all operations of the City Council and Mayor. These positions include elected officials, policy advisors, community representatives and administrative staff. These positions are divided across several departments including individual Council Districts, Community and Legislative Services, the Office of the Independent Budget Analyst (IBA), and Council Administration. While the FY 2011 Proposed Budget required a corrective action to City Council office budgets, the FY 2011 Adopted Budget still understates Council budgeted expenditures by adding “revenue” to Council budgets, entitled “Adjustment to Approved Levels.” This analysis accounts for these adjustments, showing budgeted expenditures of $16.2 million to fund these departments.1, 2, 3 Comparison of the City of San Diego to other major U.S. cities shows that several appropriate significantly less to Council and Mayoral operations than the City of San Diego. Consequently, we believe the City can save at least $1.38 million (8.5 %) of this funding through careful examination of current budgets and operational efficiencies. Given the severity of current budgetary circumstances, however we recommend a 10% savings target spread across these departments. When including the budget adjustment for fringe, City Council related expenditures are budgeted to increase by $1.85 million (17.08%) over FY 2010 budget levels. The Mayoral budget is comprised of the Office of the Mayor and the Community and Legislative Services Department. The FY 2011 budget for Community and Legislative Services represents an increase of $241,220 (7.80%) over FY 2010 budget levels. City Council Districts/Community and Legislative Services During the initial stages of the implementation of the City of San Diego's Mayor-Council form of government, City leaders were careful to maintain the balance of power between the City's redefined executive and legislative branches by creating the Office of the Independent Budget Analyst and securing comparatively equal funding for Mayor and Council supportive staff. By doing so, they solidified the system of checks and balances established by the Mayor- Council governance form. For this reason, we find that in the absence of strong reasoning to the contrary, all cuts to Mayoral or Council supportive staff should be made in equal proportions. Consequently, we recommend that the budgets of City Council Districts and Community and Legislative Services should each be cut by at least 8.6%. City Council Administration The City Council currently maintains six Committees for the purpose of evaluating specific issues within the City: Rules Committee, Natural Resources and Culture Committee, Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee, Land Use and Housing Committee, Budget and Finance Committee, and Audit Committee. Formation and operation of Committees are governed by Article 2, Division 1, Rule 6 of the City's Administrative code. Rule 6.6 outlines the use of committee consultants and legislative analysts by a Committee and its members. Although committee consultants and legislative analysts are distinct and separate positions, their assignment of responsibilities under Rule 6.6 involves similar tasks. Committee consultants are provided by the Council Administration Division and are tasked with the administrative duties associated with the operations of a specific Committee. In addition to administrative duties, committee consultants “shall, when directed by the committee chair, prepare an objective informational analysis addressing both the policy and fiscal considerations of any matter that is reviewed by the committee.” Legislative analysts are provided by the Office of the Independent Budget Analyst and “may be assigned to provide policy analysis and reports on legislation initiated by the Council, provide policy related research and analysis on legislation initiated by the Mayor and independent departments, and conduct any special studies as requested by a majority of the Council.” As both committee consultants and legislative analysts have been tasked with the responsibility of providing policy analysis for the Council, the operations of Council Committees could be made more efficient by consolidating these responsibilities into one position. If all policy analysis responsibilities were assigned to legislative analysts, committee consultants would have a greater capacity to address administrative duties. Under the current provisions of Rule 6.6, each Committee must be assigned a committee consultant; however should the capacity of committee consultants to address administrative duties be increased; a single committee consultant could serve multiple Committees with a limited impact to service quality. Requiring each committee consultant to serve two Committees as opposed to one could allow the City to reduce its staffing needs in this area by 50%. The Council Administration Division's current budget for committee consultants is $458,355; therefore, a 50% reduction in staffing could result in approximate savings of $229,178. Office of the Independent Budget Analyst Reassignment of committee consultant duties to IBA staff will likely place an increased burden on this office. Recognizing this, we recommend that the IBA budget be reduced by a significantly smaller proportion (4.7%) than other Mayoral and Council supportive departments. This smaller reduction is offset by a comparatively larger reduction (11.9%) to the Council Administration budget. Proposed 10% Cut However, given the severe budgetary issues currently faced by the City, we are recommending an additional $234,758 in budget cuts to obtain a full 10% budget reduction, but in the same proportion to the recommended cuts at the 8.55% level.

Indicator(s):

Indicator:1

Content