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GLORIA PENNER (Host): Last week, Mayor Jerry Sanders announced that the city
of San Diego faces a record-breaking deficit next fiscal year.
City department will be required to cut an average of 24% of their operating budgets
to make up this shortfall, reported to be between $180 million and $200 million.
KPBS Metro reporter, Katie Orr, joins me now to explain what San Diegans might see
as a result of the projected deficit.
Katie thanks for coming.
KATIE ORR (KPBS Metro Reporter): Thank you.
PENNER: So that number, that's such a wide spread
between I think its actually $179 million and $200 million.
Why this differential?
ORR: Well, the mayor's chief financial officer came up with the $179 million
and the independent budget analyst, Andrea Tevlin,
her office came up with the $200 million.
And basically, her office believes that the city is being too optimistic
that it will generate more property and hotel tax revenues
than Andrea Tevlin's office believes it will.
So her projection is $20 million higher.
PENNER: How did it - whatever the figure - how did it get this bad?
ORR: Well, most people I talked to said it's just the recession.
That the budget projections from four or five years ago were so off
because nobody could have predicted that the recession would be as bad as it is.
Of course you have people like councilman Carl Demaio who is saying
that the city was mismanaged and that is why we're in this predicament.
And he points to things like the underfunding of the pension that occurred several years ago.
Andrea Tevlin says that's a part of it, but that is not the explanation for the entire deficit.
It's just the market.
PENNER: Well its kind of easy also to blame the recession
and the market rather than the way things are done.
So how can people expect to see this deficit?
I mean, what is it that we will feel as people who live in San Diego?
ORR: Well as the mayor said, people are going to feel service cuts.
There's no way to shield the public form this deficit this time around.
Last spring, you know, workers took salary reductions, they did things internally
and the public was maybe largely shielded - we didn't shut any libraries or close any parks.
This time they haven't said specifically where the cuts are going to take place,
but they are going to happen and people are going to see it in their everyday lives.
PENNER: Well apparently firefighters
and the police officers are not going to be exempt from the cuts.
ORR: No. They take up about 50% of the general fund budget,
so there's no way to exempt them from these cuts.
They need the money.
PENNER: How soon will we know what our city officials are going
to do in order to balance the budget?
ORR: Well the budget process usually takes place in the spring, but Tony Young,
the chair of the budget committee, is asking the city council members and the mayor
to get him their recommendations by the end of December
so that they can start the budget process.
And the city is already sending out notices to city departments, as you were saying,
asking them to prioritize their services so they can make the cuts there.
PENNER: What is the likelihood that San Diego citizens,
voters, will be included in the process?
ORR: Not a lot this time around.
It's too late to get ballot measures.
If we are going to include the voters it would be next November.
So this time the voters aren't going to have a say, but if this finally prompts the city
to look at things like the People's Ordinance - repealing that and charging
for trash collection - that would be something on the next November ballot.
PENNER: Well thank you very much, Katie Orr.
ORR: Thank you.