[0:00] .

[0:00] >> Good afternoon will call

[0:01] the city council meeting of

[0:03] Monday APRIL 2nd APRIL 13th,

[0:04] 2026 to order.

[0:04] Clerk Please call the roll.

[0:05] Thank you.

[0:06] Council PRESIDENT Pro Tem and

[0:08] Council member Campbell

[0:09] Councilmember Whitburn

[0:14] Councilmember Foster

[0:14] Councilmember Van Wilpert

[0:15] Councilmember Kemp You hear

[0:18] Councilmember Moreno present

[0:19] Council Member Ella Rivera.

[0:23] Council PRESIDENT LaCava and

[0:24] Council PRESIDENT Pro Tem Lee.

[0:24] They're also taking

[0:25] the meeting.

[0:28] Our assistant city Attorney

[0:28] Michelle Garland Independent

[0:29] budget Analyst Charles Monica.

[0:33] Council Affairs Advisor in

[0:34] the Mayor's office Curtis Iser

[0:34] and myself for City Clerk Diana

[0:35] Fuentes Thank you Council

[0:37] PRESIDENT Pro Tem Thank you.

[0:38] A quorum is now present.

[0:38] We will begin this afternoon

[0:43] with an invocation by Clark

[0:43] Pointis.

[0:43] Followed by the Land

[0:44] acknowledgment and the Pledge

[0:45] of Allegiance led by Council

[0:49] member Campo Grant.

[0:50] Those who hold office in this

[0:55] city the spirit of wisdom,

[0:55] charity and justice that with

[0:56] steadfast purpose they MAY

[0:58] faithfully serve in their

[0:59] offices to promote

[1:04] the well-being of all people We

[1:04] respectfully acknowledge that

[1:05] the Committee.

[1:05] Nation are the original

[1:08] inhabitants of the Unceded land

[1:09] now known as San Diego.

[1:10] Despite enduring the horrors of

[1:10] genocide and colonization,

[1:13] the spirit remains unbroken.

[1:14] We honor the resilience of

[1:15] their ancestors who fought to

[1:18] protect their culture and land.

[1:19] Today they carry their legacy

[1:23] forward ensuring that their

[1:23] traditions continue to thrive

[1:24] in gratitude and strength.

[1:27] We stand with the culmination.

[1:28] Connected to our past and

[1:29] committed to a thriving future.

[1:32] Please stand Face the flag and

[1:36] over your heart Ready Begin.

[1:37] I pledge allegiance to the flag

[1:41] of the United States of America

[1:42] and to the Republic for which

[1:45] it stands One nation under GOD

[1:46] ,indivisible with liberty and

[1:51] justice for all.

[1:55] >> Now are there any mayor,

[1:56] council, city attorney and

[1:57] independent budget analyst or

[2:00] city Clerk Comments Seeing

[2:01] none, the clerk will now go

[2:01] over how the public can offer

[2:05] their public testimony.

[2:06] Please proceed.

[2:06] Thank you Council PRESIDENT For

[2:10] a time I'd like to highlight

[2:11] there was a slight.

[2:11] There it is again the site on

[2:12] the screen that reviews how

[2:13] the public can offer their

[2:15] public testimony during this

[2:16] afternoon's meeting.

[2:16] The order can be found on

[2:17] the agenda summaries found

[2:20] online or at the table in

[2:21] the back of the room here in

[2:21] council chambers.

[2:22] If you are in person please

[2:23] complete the speaker slip

[2:25] looking at the entrance of

[2:25] chambers and bring it to

[2:26] the front of the room in

[2:26] the clear box.

[2:30] Council ambassadors are

[2:30] available near the entrance and

[2:31] can assist with questions and

[2:34] speakers Lips no further

[2:35] in-person testimony will be

[2:36] taken once the council begins

[2:36] Virtual Testimony Thank you

[2:40] Council PRESIDENT Pro Tem Thank

[2:40] you.

[2:41] >> We'll go ahead and get

[2:41] started with our afternoon's

[2:42] informational agenda.

[2:45] Quickly please introduce item

[2:45] 200.

[2:46] >> Item 200 is the performance

[2:49] audit of the mission Bay and

[2:50] San Diego Regional Parks

[2:53] Improvement Funds for fiscal

[2:53] year 2024.

[2:54] If you'd like to speak on this

[2:55] item now's the time to raise

[2:58] your hand by pressing Star nine

[2:58] or the raise your hand icon or

[3:02] by submitting a speaker slip as

[3:02] noted.

[3:03] To the front of the room in

[3:03] the clear box.

[3:04] Thank you.

[3:06] Council PRESIDENT Pro Tem Thank

[3:07] you.

[3:08] We'll go ahead and turn it over

[3:12] to our office of the City

[3:13] Auditor If you all introduce

[3:14] yourselves for the record and

[3:14] let us know how much time

[3:21] you'll need.

[3:22] >> Good afternoon.

[3:22] Council Members Andy Hanauer

[3:27] City Auditor We are here to

[3:27] present our audit of

[3:28] the Mission Bay and San Diego

[3:31] Regional Park Improvement Funds

[3:32] for fiscal year 2024 And can we

[3:33] have about ten minutes please?

[3:33] Thank you.

[3:38] Thanks.

[3:39] As we get started, this audit

[3:44] involves the cooperation of

[3:45] many departments as you can see

[3:45] on this slide as was

[3:46] the Oversight Committee.

[3:48] So we really appreciate all of

[3:48] their cooperation and

[3:53] assistance.

[3:54] >> The city charter requires

[3:58] that our office report annually

[3:58] the extent and nature of

[3:59] the Mission Bay and San Diego

[4:02] Regional Park Improvement funds

[4:03] revenues, expenses and

[4:07] improvements Our objectives

[4:08] were to verify the collection

[4:11] allocation and use of

[4:12] the mission Bay Park lease

[4:13] revenues from fiscal year 2024

[4:16] complied with charter

[4:16] requirements as well as

[4:17] determine if the improvement

[4:18] fund oversight committees are

[4:21] properly informed to fulfill

[4:22] their responsibilities.

[4:26] We found that expenses were in

[4:27] compliance with charter

[4:27] requirements and as far as

[4:32] revenues we could not verify

[4:32] that all revenues were

[4:33] collected and deposited into

[4:36] the funds as required due to a

[4:37] management imposed moratorium

[4:38] on the City Treasurer's lease

[4:41] revenue audits and issues with

[4:42] the application of lease

[4:45] payments management has taken

[4:46] substantial steps to resolve

[4:50] those issues and agreed to all

[4:51] five recommendations and we

[4:52] will continue to monitor

[4:55] progress towards fully

[4:56] implementing

[4:57] the recommendations as part of

[5:00] this year's Mission Bay audit.

[5:01] By way of background, a City

[5:05] Council ordinance established

[5:06] the Mission Bay Park and San

[5:06] Diego Regional Park Improvement

[5:09] Funds in 2002 and since then

[5:10] voters have added these funds

[5:14] to the city Charter mission Bay

[5:15] Park lease revenue is deposited

[5:18] into a general fund account

[5:19] throughout the fiscal year and

[5:20] allocated to the improvement

[5:23] funds after the fiscal year

[5:24] end.

[5:24] The allocation to the funds is

[5:28] based on a formula that has

[5:29] changed over the years and

[5:29] we'll describe the current

[5:33] formula here on the next slide.

[5:34] With me today is principal

[5:35] performance auditor Nathan Otto

[5:38] and senior performance auditor

[5:39] Daniel Kish and I'll hand it

[5:39] over to them for the details of

[5:42] what we found and recommended.

[5:43] >> Thanks Andy.

[5:43] Good afternoon everyone.

[5:47] So City Charter specifies how

[5:48] to allocate the revenue so

[5:48] the first $20 million goes to

[5:52] the general fund and then 35%

[5:53] of the revenues in excess of

[5:56] that is transferred to the San

[5:57] Diego Regional Parks

[5:57] Improvement Fund And

[5:58] the remainder of that excess

[6:02] goes to the mission Bay

[6:02] Improvement Fund.

[6:03] We found that the total

[6:03] adjusted mission bay lease

[6:07] revenues were approximately $37

[6:11] million which is about a 7%

[6:11] decrease from the previous year

[6:12] in fiscal year 23.

[6:14] And that first $20 million did

[6:15] go to the general fund timely

[6:19] and appropriately so That's a

[6:20] good news story as part of this

[6:20] audit.

[6:23] And then a total of 16.9

[6:24] million that spillover amount

[6:24] was distributed to

[6:25] the improvement funds As you

[6:28] can see in the exhibit on this

[6:28] slide And that followed

[6:29] the formula that it was

[6:29] supposed to do.

[6:32] So that's more good news There

[6:32] .

[6:33] One of the wrinkles in this

[6:33] year's audit was the question

[6:37] of how accurate that that total

[6:38] lease revenue figure was.

[6:38] >> So about a year ago

[6:42] the city's annual report on

[6:42] internal controls which is also

[6:47] being discussed this afternoon

[6:48] but the one a year ago stated

[6:48] there were issues with eads

[6:52] lease management as well as

[6:52] invoicing and payment

[6:53] processing and that resulted in

[6:56] a large backlog of unreconciled

[6:57] lease payment discrepancies and

[7:01] an understatement of city lease

[7:02] revenue.

[7:02] Andy noted this but over

[7:03] the course of us completing

[7:06] this audit edi did appear to

[7:07] have taken steps to make a lot

[7:11] of progress on this issue.

[7:12] And since we do the audit every

[7:13] year it's something we'll be

[7:13] checking on our next go around.

[7:16] However, for this iteration due

[7:17] to this understatement of lease

[7:17] revenue we could not confirm

[7:20] that all the mission bay lease

[7:21] revenue payments in fiscal year

[7:25] 24 were applied appropriately.

[7:26] So we have four findings here.

[7:30] Our first finding we note that

[7:31] due to a lease audit moratorium

[7:31] that began in JULY of 2020 for

[7:35] the office of the City

[7:35] Treasurer could not complete

[7:36] and formally close all of its

[7:39] planned audit which include

[7:39] examining lease revenue.

[7:44] And the audit moratorium was

[7:45] noted in that city's annual

[7:45] report I mentioned But it was

[7:46] not until eight months until

[7:49] after the moratorium had been

[7:49] implemented.

[7:50] It stated the moratorium was

[7:53] implemented to improve business

[7:54] practices and perform accurate

[7:55] financial reporting.

[7:58] But we just note as internal

[7:59] controls aficionados you know,

[8:03] limiting the Treasurer's

[8:04] revenue auditing role weakens

[8:04] an important financial control

[8:07] for the city and it can result

[8:08] in lost revenue to the city as

[8:09] well as even as not identifying

[8:13] money that we MAY show as a

[8:13] city to tenants.

[8:16] And so our recommendation on

[8:17] this one was to the cfo or

[8:17] other city executive leadership

[8:20] to issue a memo or other

[8:21] written guidance that laid out

[8:22] in discourage future audit

[8:25] moratoria like that and which

[8:26] required promptly informing

[8:27] the office of the City Auditor

[8:30] and the chair of the Audit

[8:31] committee If the ability to

[8:31] perform these revenue audit

[8:35] functions is restricted in

[8:35] the future.

[8:36] And to their credit we we did

[8:39] get buy in from the cfo and

[8:40] they actually have issued that

[8:40] that guidance.

[8:41] So that's something that's

[8:44] already been done.

[8:45] Our second finding we found

[8:46] that the city did not assess

[8:49] late penalty fees for fiscal

[8:50] year 24 and due to a large

[8:53] backlog of on applied payments

[8:54] including Mission Bay lease

[8:55] revenue for fiscal year 24.

[8:59] So Eadie shared that when

[9:00] unless he makes a rental

[9:03] payment the that rental payment

[9:04] must note the accurate contract

[9:05] invoice number to ensure that

[9:05] payments are applied to

[9:06] the correct account.

[9:09] So as you can see in

[9:10] the exhibit on this slide when

[9:10] basically when the information

[9:13] doesn't match up the payments

[9:14] post to a credit account and

[9:15] both the Office of the City

[9:19] Treasurer and E.D. Review this

[9:20] credit list to apply payments

[9:20] to the correct accounts easily

[9:23] stated due to this large

[9:24] backlog of on applied payments

[9:28] no fee penalties were assessed

[9:29] for fiscal year 2024 or 2024.

[9:33] So we just point out in

[9:34] assessing late fees when they

[9:37] are warranted results in a

[9:38] potential loss in revenue for

[9:39] the city and it undermines

[9:42] the importance of timely

[9:42] payment.

[9:43] So we included a couple of

[9:44] recommendations in this finding

[9:47] about strengthening internal

[9:47] processes including

[9:48] verification of lease terms,

[9:52] quality control checks of

[9:53] revenue received and

[9:53] reconciling payment data and

[9:57] indeed has shared some updated

[9:58] policies and procedures with us

[9:59] And it is something we'll look

[9:59] at in our next iteration of

[10:09] this audit Further for our

[10:10] third finding we found that 35%

[10:11] of the city's mission bay

[10:14] rental agreements are in

[10:14] holdover status some for

[10:15] multiple years which MAY be

[10:19] leading to foregone revenue for

[10:20] the city as well as perceived

[10:23] favoritism amongst lessees Most

[10:24] of the lease and permit

[10:25] agreements require appraisals

[10:25] to be conducted while

[10:28] the agreements are in holdover

[10:29] status.

[10:29] Most agreements also require

[10:33] city council approval to extend

[10:34] the lease beyond the agreement

[10:34] terms.

[10:35] However, during the course of

[10:37] our audit we found that edt had

[10:38] not renewed the expired leases

[10:39] so council approval or

[10:43] conducted site appraisals to

[10:44] ensure the expired lease

[10:45] agreements have provided

[10:47] revenue to the city at fair

[10:48] market rate With leases in

[10:49] holdover the city MAY be losing

[10:52] out on potential revenue.

[10:53] Also the city MAY potentially

[10:57] confer an unfair benefit to

[10:57] the current tenant which could

[10:58] be perceived as favoritism

[11:02] amongst lessees.

[11:02] Therefore we recommended that

[11:03] adt should ensure that

[11:06] agreements should ensure that

[11:07] the agreements which have

[11:08] extended beyond lease agreement

[11:12] terms receive the required

[11:12] Council approval and appraisal

[11:13] to ensure agreements are

[11:16] binding and that fair market

[11:17] rental rate is received.

[11:21] Edt stated efforts have been

[11:21] done to ensure Mission Bay

[11:22] agreements are currently leased

[11:23] at fair market rate that it

[11:26] monitors tenants in holdover

[11:27] and that it seeks to renew

[11:31] lease agreements and come in

[11:31] annual audit of mission

[11:32] Belize's We will verify these

[11:33] updates and ensure that leases

[11:35] lease renewals go to council

[11:36] when required providing for we

[11:40] review the project information

[11:40] shared with the Improvement

[11:41] Fund Oversight committees.

[11:42] We found that city departments

[11:45] provided several high level

[11:45] project status updates to

[11:46] the Mission Bay Park and San

[11:49] Diego Regional Parks

[11:50] Improvement Fund Oversight

[11:51] committees.

[11:51] However, these presentations

[11:55] did not include the detailed

[11:55] expenditure information

[11:56] The Oversight Committee stated

[11:59] they need to oversee funding

[12:00] and project status.

[12:00] We found that no guidance

[12:01] exists that states which

[12:04] project information city

[12:05] departments should provide to

[12:05] ensure the committees can

[12:08] effectively oversee project

[12:09] expenditures and outcomes.

[12:13] We also found that historically

[12:14] the information requested by

[12:14] the oversight committees

[12:15] regularly changed with changes

[12:19] in committee board membership.

[12:20] Therefore we recommend that

[12:23] Parks and Recreation and ea and

[12:24] work with both improvement fund

[12:25] oversight committees to reach

[12:28] an agreement on which specific

[12:29] project elements should be

[12:29] provided and the frequency that

[12:32] departments should generate and

[12:33] share the reports During

[12:34] the course of this audit we

[12:37] also reviewed the two

[12:37] outstanding recommendations

[12:38] from the fiscal year 2021

[12:42] Mission Bay performance Audit.

[12:43] We found that both of these

[12:44] recommendations have been

[12:46] implemented.

[12:47] As previously stated, city

[12:48] management agreed to implement

[12:50] all five recommendations.

[12:51] We're happy to answer any

[12:55] questions.

[12:56] Thank you for the presentation.

[13:00] We will now turn to see if

[13:01] we've got any public comment on

[13:01] item 200.

[13:02] >> Thank you.

[13:05] Council PRESIDENT Pro Tem We

[13:05] have no speakers here in

[13:06] council chambers I'm sorry

[13:07] The five minute timer to go to

[13:09] those participating remotely.

[13:10] We currently have four speakers

[13:11] in the queue two minutes each

[13:24] 8700 if you can please read one

[13:57] second

[13:58] .

[13:58] Sorry for the redirect if

[14:00] the original if you can please

[14:05] unmute.

[14:06] >> Yes.

[14:07] So this further shows the fraud

[14:10] waste and abuse and

[14:10] the negligence of the city when

[14:11] you can't even you know make

[14:14] sure that all of these programs

[14:15] and things are running in a

[14:19] manner where you can track

[14:19] things, be transparent, not get

[14:20] in your own way because that's

[14:24] what you guys tend to do is get

[14:25] in your own way by you know,

[14:26] not having something in place

[14:29] or you know, hiding information

[14:29] or not being able to complete

[14:30] things which is now going to

[14:34] make you know, people think

[14:34] that you're favoring some over

[14:39] others and that leads me to,

[14:39] you know, talk about the what's

[14:40] actually happening in these

[14:44] parts which would also be

[14:44] the negligence that is, you

[14:49] know, happening in the city

[14:49] that would prove that if this

[14:50] kind of stuff is going on, that

[14:54] stuff is also I mean is

[14:54] the money being spent wisely

[14:55] anyway when you know, just in

[14:58] Linda Vista skate park and by

[14:59] the recreation center I mean

[15:00] there's been four murders this

[15:03] year.

[15:04] Two of them were within two

[15:05] days And it doesn't seem like

[15:08] anything is being done to

[15:08] implement some kind of security

[15:12] measures or lighting that would

[15:13] ensure safety for the children

[15:17] that are going to be enjoying

[15:17] the park.

[15:18] You know, when things like that

[15:21] happen and nobody's kind of in

[15:22] a working in that manner to fix

[15:23] it like real campy Oh like this

[15:27] is your community and you're

[15:27] like How many more murders need

[15:28] to happen before something

[15:31] takes place And you guys ensure

[15:32] that if there is that there's

[15:35] some kind of security cameras

[15:36] and lighting that would

[15:37] potentially deter people from

[15:41] going to that park and doing

[15:41] it.

[15:42] But if there isn't that kind of

[15:46] stuff at these parks then those

[15:46] are the perfect, you know,

[15:50] place to go and engage in a

[15:51] crime because you're not going

[15:52] to be caught because there is

[15:53] no lighting for people to see

[15:55] it And you know that you can

[15:56] just go do it and get away with

[15:56] it.

[15:57] So you know, when we're talking

[16:00] about the negligence with your

[16:01] money, it also bleeds over into

[16:01] how you're handling the parks

[16:05] And it's very sad because you

[16:05] know, people shouldn't have to

[16:06] be put in dangerous situations

[16:09] because of your guys's

[16:10] negligence.

[16:10] Your time has concluded.

[16:13] Our next speaker is 8700.

[16:14] After that is Blair Beakman

[16:17] 8700 star six to unmute Thank

[16:22] you so much Joyce And you see

[16:25] these three okay.

[16:26] City of San Diego Strategic

[16:31] plan Operating Principles Trust

[16:35] and Transparency Physical

[16:36] Considerations The audit

[16:40] evaluated several issues

[16:40] relating to lease revenue and

[16:41] the accounting of revenue and

[16:45] expenditures from me We are

[16:50] where are these issues Were

[16:51] these issues presented from 12

[16:59] excuse me were issues present

[17:00] from 2010 to 2023 and

[17:04] the Oversight Committee to two

[17:05] of them They were held back

[17:05] from doing their necessary work

[17:09] last night.

[17:09] Okay.

[17:10] And I'm not comfortable with

[17:14] the leasing with the reason

[17:14] given for the lease audit more

[17:18] and more the moratorium I'm not

[17:19] providing access to

[17:27] the software Excuse me papers.

[17:28] Okay.

[17:33] So how do all these issues

[17:33] impact the credibility of our

[17:34] expert or are they hidden away

[17:38] from auditors like ngo and cro

[17:39] because we don't want to have

[17:43] to do the internal audit report

[17:44] The internal control report.

[17:48] So this feels like a big trust

[17:48] and transparency issue.

[17:53] These audit reports are so

[17:53] important and needed, so

[17:58] valuable and so valuable in

[17:58] the oversight in

[17:59] the implementation.

[18:02] So who's really following up on

[18:03] the project implementation?

[18:04] I'm hurrying on this.

[18:08] Okay.

[18:09] Your city auditor panel buried

[18:13] in the 46 pages of this five it

[18:17] clues red flags guiding cost to

[18:17] our structural budget deficit.

[18:22] In my opinion all past audits

[18:23] would give us an eagle eye.

[18:24] >> Your time has started.

[18:24] My apologies.

[18:26] The five minute timer has also

[18:27] concluded We have three

[18:28] speakers in the queue.

[18:28] No additional speakers will be

[18:35] taken after that Where Beekman

[18:35] If you complain unmute please

[18:36] and mute after that is

[18:37] Katherine Rhodes and Judy

[18:37] Strang our final speaker.

[18:38] >> Hi Thank you and thanks for

[18:41] this item.

[18:42] I wish Council PRESIDENT Lacob

[18:43] was here today for this item.

[18:46] It's really important in

[18:46] talking about accountability I

[18:51] guess for myself to begin.

[18:52] Thank you that you have caught

[18:53] this accounting error and you

[18:57] corrected it and you're making

[18:58] it public.

[18:58] That's a really important first

[18:59] step.

[18:59] Thank you.

[19:02] Thank you guys for doing that.

[19:03] So it's important to proceed

[19:03] darkly.

[19:07] i think consciously at this

[19:08] time and to be able to ask

[19:08] questions.

[19:11] For instance, we were all

[19:12] around in 2024 when this first

[19:12] happened.

[19:17] Why exactly did we allow it?

[19:18] Can we go into a bit of detail

[19:18] more why exactly This was

[19:22] allowed by ourselves and

[19:22] the mayor's office promoted

[19:23] this idea in the first place.

[19:27] I know what you with a bit of a

[19:28] nip and tuck in saving dollars.

[19:32] I mean that's basic Some formal

[19:32] explanations of their initial

[19:33] reasoning could be helpful in

[19:37] clarity Overall and how we

[19:37] don't let this happen again.

[19:42] Basically with that said, I

[19:42] also wanted to note

[19:43] the importance of really trying

[19:47] to work on accountability

[19:47] issues with park funding

[19:52] overall the current questions

[19:53] about the park funding

[19:53] allocations I think is a

[19:57] question we're haven't fully

[19:57] answered yet.

[19:58] I can be in agreement that a

[20:02] lot is going to be going to a

[20:02] special public park fund But

[20:03] memos have been stated here in

[20:07] Council that some money has

[20:08] been slated to go for

[20:12] the general fund.

[20:13] Can that be more be made more

[20:14] clear at this time and we can

[20:18] have an over or understanding

[20:19] of park accountability

[20:20] Budgeting issues at this time

[20:22] is a good time to practice that

[20:23] accountability and to conclude

[20:28] this really ask the question of

[20:29] a strong mayor city council and

[20:33] city council is trying to work

[20:33] towards administrative

[20:34] organization at this time.

[20:39] Do we need to be aggressive a

[20:40] good good idea at this time?

[20:40] >> I hope we can.

[20:41] Thank you.

[20:45] Kathryn Roberts, if you can

[20:46] please on the third this is

[20:49] Katherine Rhodes and just what

[20:50] everybody else said you know, I

[20:53] don't understand why you had

[20:54] eight or why our strong mayor

[20:58] Todd Gloria put a moratorium on

[20:58] the lease revenue audit.

[21:03] Why would he have that ability

[21:04] to do that?

[21:04] And then of course, you know,

[21:08] the fix for that is what

[21:09] Council PRESIDENT Pro Tem Kit

[21:10] Lee came out with his fiscal

[21:14] accountability and transparency

[21:15] reform ballot measure where

[21:19] instead of just having a strong

[21:20] mayor form of government who

[21:21] can just make up things like

[21:25] let's not let's put a

[21:25] moratorium on these revenue

[21:30] audits, you could have an

[21:31] actual strong mayor strong city

[21:31] council form of government.

[21:35] So he can't go around and just,

[21:36] you know, delete these audits

[21:37] that are actually needed.

[21:40] And then of course this is only

[21:41] for fiscal year 2024.

[21:45] You know, where's a one for

[21:45] 2025?

[21:46] Should we be getting that soon?

[21:49] I don't know.

[21:50] So thank you for the audit

[21:51] committee for doing as much as

[21:55] you can but I think this is a

[21:55] problem with the mayor saying

[22:01] that they can't do the job or

[22:01] he's not going to give them

[22:02] the funding to do the job And

[22:06] you the city council not having

[22:06] enough power over him to you

[22:07] know, to force the issue.

[22:11] And so you guys really need to

[22:12] change that And hopefully if

[22:17] you put something into the city

[22:17] charter to take the power away

[22:18] from the mayor and then during

[22:22] that discussion also at

[22:23] the Rules Committee,

[22:24] the mayor's office said

[22:24] basically he'll give you

[22:25] everything you want.

[22:28] You don't have to go through a

[22:28] city charter change for

[22:29] the city council to get things

[22:33] you want like not having this

[22:34] moratorium on the revenue

[22:39] audits So he said that you can

[22:39] have basically everything you

[22:44] want So I would see if if

[22:44] somebody from the mayor's

[22:45] office was there and if they

[22:50] could tell us that they're not

[22:51] going to do these moratoriums

[22:52] any more that when your time

[22:53] has concluded really strong if

[22:57] you can please I'm Good

[22:58] afternoon San Diego City

[22:59] Council mayor of San Diego in

[22:59] person.

[23:03] He's always live by the coast

[23:04] and he knows the mission Bay

[23:08] Area well as does my family.

[23:09] I was a little stunned by

[23:10] the audit report but to start

[23:14] with the good news there was an

[23:18] audit report and the eBay took

[23:19] the job responsibly to take a

[23:24] hard look at past lease

[23:25] arrangements whether the money

[23:25] came in as it was expected and

[23:29] whether it was more importantly

[23:30] allocated like we all would

[23:30] have expected it to.

[23:36] I was very surprised about

[23:37] the lack of oversight with

[23:37] lease leasing.

[23:41] I think the comment made by

[23:42] the ipa that when some leases

[23:47] are not followed up with to get

[23:47] the lease agreement signed or

[23:52] an appropriately negotiated it

[23:52] implies favoritism.

[23:58] Let me just say that again It

[23:58] implies favoritism and that I

[23:59] think has concerned all of us

[24:04] as residents of the city of San

[24:04] Diego when we have leases and

[24:05] we have a lot of them with our

[24:09] gorgeous public lands that go

[24:10] out to private entities

[24:15] sometimes masquerading as

[24:15] nonprofits but nevertheless

[24:16] they are private entities and

[24:20] they make a lot of money off

[24:20] our public lands.

[24:21] We are concerned when we're not

[24:26] getting our fair share of what

[24:27] they take in and it does imply

[24:31] favoritism.

[24:31] The question is is that really

[24:32] favoritism and how would we

[24:32] know?

[24:36] So the good news in this

[24:37] conversation as you have begun

[24:38] the conversation you're sharing

[24:39] this information with us.

[24:43] You've given us a five point

[24:43] plan of how to get back on

[24:44] track regarding the city's

[24:48] revenue so that we can have

[24:48] more faith going forward that

[24:49] we as citizens will be

[24:54] protected from abuse and that

[24:55] the money will come in as

[24:55] expected and be spent As I

[24:59] said, thank you.

[25:00] Let us include public comment

[25:00] on this item.

[25:01] Thank you.

[25:01] Thank you Will now take

[25:05] Councilmember questions

[25:05] comments starting with

[25:06] the chair of our audit

[25:07] committee Councilmember Raina

[25:07] Thank you.

[25:09] Thank you for the presentation

[25:10] and thank you to the city

[25:11] Auditor for your work on this

[25:11] audit.

[25:16] This is an annual audit so we

[25:17] will be hearing on this matter

[25:22] again.

[25:23] >> When will it come back to

[25:23] the audit committee?

[25:27] We are just about to start this

[25:28] year's version of the audit.

[25:28] It's been delayed a little bit

[25:33] due to budget reductions.

[25:33] We had to hold some positions

[25:34] vacant for the last six months

[25:35] but those have been filled and

[25:39] so we'll be starting to see

[25:40] that probably in the fall In

[25:40] the fall.

[25:41] >> Okay, wonderful.

[25:43] Well thank you for that.

[25:44] The issue of the city not being

[25:49] able to properly distribute

[25:49] these payments to the correct

[25:50] accounts was something that

[25:54] the audit committee first

[25:55] learned of at the MARCH meeting

[25:55] when it was disclosed in

[26:00] the internal controls report

[26:00] which was apparently eight

[26:01] months after the issue

[26:01] happened.

[26:06] The audit committee did review

[26:06] this item item last NOVEMBER

[26:10] and today is the first time

[26:10] it's come before us.

[26:15] The city Council at that time

[26:16] staff indicated that

[26:17] the problem was being addressed

[26:17] and expected it to be resolved

[26:21] by the end of the fiscal year.

[26:22] Now as the auditor noted,

[26:23] the problem of the problem

[26:27] resulted in a large backlog of

[26:28] unresolved lease payment

[26:33] discrepancies In MARCH I had a

[26:34] great concern not just about

[26:35] the actual dollar amount that

[26:39] had not been distributed to

[26:40] the right account but more

[26:41] importantly whether this issue

[26:45] was a symptom of something

[26:46] larger and might need a higher

[26:46] level of disclosure.

[26:51] My concern did increase when it

[26:51] was revealed that a moratorium

[26:52] had been placed on the city

[26:57] Treasurer's ability to continue

[26:58] auditing the situation.

[26:59] The office of the City

[27:03] Treasurer is required per

[27:04] council policy 700 Dash ten to

[27:05] conduct an audit of each

[27:10] percentage lease for the first

[27:11] year of operation and at least

[27:14] once every five years.

[27:15] Now restricting their ability

[27:15] to do this is a significant

[27:20] action.

[27:21] On page seven of the audit it

[27:21] states the following edi

[27:26] limited re portfolio access to

[27:31] only its staff and removed

[27:32] access from the audit office of

[27:32] the City Treasurer.

[27:37] He believed it was

[27:37] counterproductive to allow

[27:38] access to leasing management

[27:42] software containing inaccurate

[27:43] information while it was

[27:43] actively working to reconcile

[27:49] accounts so that accurate

[27:50] payments could be applied and

[27:50] correct revenue could be

[27:55] realized according to edi

[27:56] provided all data and

[27:57] information to the City

[28:01] Treasurer upon request to

[28:02] continue revenue audits despite

[28:02] not providing access to

[28:06] the software.

[28:07] However, the City Treasurer

[28:08] indicated that its ability to

[28:13] complete revenue audits was

[28:14] limited by the moratorium which

[28:18] explicitly instructs the city

[28:19] Treasurer to pause audits and

[28:25] restrict contact with a leader

[28:26] Goes on to say that the audit

[28:26] and Treasurer that auditor and

[28:30] Treasurer had to instead rely

[28:31] on data from sap and reports

[28:32] provided by edi to support

[28:36] their analysis.

[28:37] No direct access to the actual

[28:42] data for two top officials in

[28:42] the city for an extended period

[28:47] of extended period of time.

[28:48] I find this to be very

[28:48] concerning and I think

[28:49] everybody on the dais should

[28:53] feel the same way As

[28:54] the auditor states, these

[28:54] actions weaken an important

[28:59] internal financial control,

[28:59] hinders oversight and

[29:00] transparency and could

[29:05] potentially damage the city's

[29:06] reputation and credibility for

[29:06] billing practices and financial

[29:07] reporting.

[29:11] Now I do appreciate

[29:11] the auditor's first

[29:12] recommendation which speaks to

[29:13] discouraging future moratoriums

[29:18] and which requires promptly

[29:18] informing the city auditor and

[29:19] the chair of the audit

[29:20] committee If the ability to

[29:23] perform these revenue audit

[29:24] functions is restricted in

[29:24] the future.

[29:29] This is absolutely critical and

[29:30] I'm glad to see that management

[29:31] agreed to provided provided

[29:31] provide the direction to

[29:35] the department staff in

[29:36] compliance with Council policy

[29:36] 700 Dash ten The audit states

[29:41] that the Economic Development

[29:42] Department appears to have

[29:43] taken steps to subsequently

[29:47] resolve this issue and I would

[29:48] ask staff to expand upon

[29:48] exactly what steps have been

[29:52] taken to resolve this issue and

[29:53] also can the auditor expound on

[29:54] what you need to see done for

[29:55] this issue to be resolved in

[30:10] your eyes?

[30:11] Good afternoon.

[30:16] Monica Hardman Assistant

[30:17] Director I'm taking a seat

[30:17] because I realize there'll be

[30:18] numerous questions So thank you

[30:22] for the opportunity to expound

[30:23] upon what the department is

[30:23] doing to resolve these issues.

[30:28] So the first thing that we did

[30:29] is that we took an internal

[30:30] look at improving our system

[30:34] processes.

[30:35] So in this we made sure that we

[30:36] created processes to ensure

[30:40] that an applied payments were

[30:41] reviewed in a timely manner and

[30:42] researched and matched to

[30:42] the corresponding invoices.

[30:46] We also have been improving our

[30:47] internal tracking of lease

[30:48] obligations and our escalation

[30:52] provisions and strengthening

[30:53] the oversight of the agreements

[30:54] that include the percentage

[30:54] rent.

[30:58] Secondly, we launched a very

[30:59] intensive tenant outreach

[30:59] campaign to encourage our

[31:00] tenants to use the city's

[31:04] online payment portal.

[31:05] So this portal it requires

[31:06] the tenants to supply all of

[31:10] the necessary invoicing

[31:11] accounting information upfront

[31:11] which really eliminates

[31:12] the primary source of

[31:16] the payment matching issue.

[31:17] And then third that we've

[31:18] discussed before we are

[31:18] currently modernizing

[31:22] modernizing our software

[31:22] system.

[31:23] So we are upgrading our real

[31:24] estate management portfolio

[31:28] system who are currently in

[31:29] version six.

[31:30] We are upgrading to version 11

[31:34] that will be complete at

[31:35] the beginning of f y 27 So in

[31:36] JULY of 2026 we will be

[31:41] upgraded to version 11.

[31:41] And concurrently we're also in

[31:42] the process of engaging upon a

[31:47] request for proposal for

[31:48] the long term leasing solution

[31:52] and we're working with various

[31:53] departments to ensure that we

[31:54] can have that completed in a

[31:54] timely fashion.

[31:59] >> Thank you for that update.

[32:00] According to the audit which

[32:04] looks at fiscal year 24, only

[32:05] of the 11 leases that are in

[32:09] holdover status six of them

[32:10] have been in holdover for more

[32:10] than eight years.

[32:14] And an audit committee it was

[32:15] stated that one was terminated

[32:21] when were the other leases in

[32:21] mission be updated.

[32:26] >> Thank you for the question.

[32:27] So of the ten minus the one

[32:27] that was terminated, they're

[32:32] actively being addressed.

[32:33] They're either currently going

[32:34] through lease negotiations or

[32:34] through an active competitive

[32:39] rfp process.

[32:39] So for example we currently

[32:40] have Sportsman's Seafood

[32:41] Indiana landing that rfp was

[32:44] just issued in FEBRUARY of

[32:44] 2026.

[32:45] So they are all actively

[32:50] negotiating being negotiated

[32:51] and we're working to get those

[32:51] done as quickly as possible.

[32:52] Got you.

[32:57] I think at this rate I think

[33:02] this council should have a list

[33:03] of those and also when they are

[33:08] going to be not when they're

[33:09] going to be renegotiated

[33:10] because that's what's happening

[33:14] right now When the it's

[33:14] determined that they should be

[33:20] closed, there is an end date,

[33:20] right?

[33:21] Yes.

[33:21] Happy to provide that.

[33:22] We can give a status update for

[33:23] those two and where they're at

[33:25] in the process and

[33:26] the anticipated timeline where

[33:27] either the rfp will be done or

[33:31] will be back before council for

[33:32] consideration for the new

[33:32] lease.

[33:32] Thank you.

[33:33] What is the current backlog

[33:37] backlog of leases in the city

[33:38] and how long will it take to

[33:39] work through it and catch up?

[33:43] >> So currently we have 178

[33:43] agreements that are in hold

[33:44] over and we're actively working

[33:48] through those.

[33:49] Of course they have to be

[33:50] prioritized based on staff

[33:50] capacity.

[33:55] We currently have 13 property

[33:56] agents for the city's entire

[34:00] portfolio of over 900 leases.

[34:01] We have three vacancies.

[34:02] Only ten of those are filled at

[34:06] the moment and we've actively

[34:07] been working with consultants

[34:08] and other assistance just to

[34:12] help us get through this

[34:13] backlog.

[34:13] >> Thank you for that response

[34:18] and thank you for being here.

[34:19] This administration has known

[34:20] about these lease revenue

[34:25] issues for years and we still

[34:25] have leases.

[34:30] >> We just specifically look at

[34:31] Mission Bay that have not been

[34:35] updated for 12 years now.

[34:36] Obviously this issue applies to

[34:37] leases throughout the city

[34:37] which makes as you mentioned

[34:42] the problem 178 times more

[34:48] egregious than the tenant in

[34:49] Mission Bay.

[34:54] Not only are we likely losing

[34:55] out on revenue which once again

[35:00] I always point this out if we

[35:00] look at what rents were 12

[35:01] years ago alone just in an

[35:06] apartment it's it's night and

[35:06] day.

[35:12] >> The issue you know comparing

[35:13] that now to prime land that

[35:13] the city holds in this specific

[35:17] case to Mission Bay it just it

[35:18] makes me sick to my stomach.

[35:19] The auditor states that

[35:23] the city MAY potentially be

[35:23] conferring an unfair benefit to

[35:24] the current tenant creating

[35:29] unnecessarily unnecessary

[35:30] uncertainty for both the city

[35:35] and the lessee and limiting

[35:36] the city's ability to enact and

[35:37] enforce updated contract

[35:41] provisions.

[35:42] This also can lead to perceive

[35:48] favoritism from other lessees.

[35:48] The auditor also states that in

[35:49] reviewing the annual mission be

[35:54] revenue allocation the auditor

[35:58] identified $933,834 in deferred

[35:59] revenue to the city for fiscal

[35:59] year 24.

[36:00] Can the auditor speak to this

[36:04] finding and explain for

[36:05] the public what deferred

[36:10] revenue is in this case?

[36:11] >> Yes, I can I can say a few

[36:12] things about that.

[36:12] Right.

[36:16] So the deferred revenue is just

[36:17] money that was expected but

[36:18] it's not received or recognized

[36:18] in that period.

[36:23] So yeah, about a little less

[36:24] than $1 million.

[36:28] So it's possible he was on that

[36:29] that credit list that

[36:30] the report talks about where it

[36:35] just hadn't been been matched.

[36:36] At the time we did this audit

[36:37] in the scope period we looked

[36:37] at.

[36:38] So we'll be seeing how that

[36:41] amount changes on the next go

[36:41] round.

[36:42] But we flagged it for purposes

[36:43] here because that that is a

[36:47] notable amount of money that.

[36:48] >> So is it expected that this

[36:51] deferred revenue for fiscal

[36:52] year 20 for the 933 million

[36:53] that you mentioned, will that

[36:57] ever be received?

[36:58] I think yeah, I wouldn't I

[36:59] wouldn't assume that it won't

[37:04] be received.

[37:05] It could have already been paid

[37:06] and just not recognized in that

[37:06] accounting period.

[37:10] We got to close the books at

[37:11] some point so it could be that

[37:12] fate or it MAY not have been

[37:17] received at all yet Maybe

[37:17] the tenant did not send in

[37:18] the check for that month so we

[37:19] don't know when next time we go

[37:22] around will compare the figure

[37:22] that we received with that

[37:23] $933,000 figure you just

[37:28] mentioned And Councilmember

[37:28] Moreno, if I MAY, we have

[37:32] confirmed that that nine 33,000

[37:33] it has been received.

[37:33] Thank you.

[37:34] Thank you for that.

[37:40] And if I MAY have my extra

[37:40] three minutes pro tem we give

[37:41] you this I'm gonna give you my

[37:42] three minutes as well.

[37:45] Oh, I've already been okay,

[37:46] well, if I MAY have a thank you

[37:46] from my colleagues if I MAY

[37:50] have some time.

[37:51] Thank you.

[37:51] I also share the concern of

[37:52] the oversight committee that

[37:53] expressed that they weren't

[37:57] getting sufficient information

[37:57] on projects and expenditures

[38:02] that we're supposed to monitor

[38:03] .

[38:03] The role is oversight and

[38:04] the city has a duty to get them

[38:09] all the relevant information

[38:10] that they required to fulfill

[38:10] their duty.

[38:11] I am glad to see in the audit

[38:15] that in mid-year fiscal year 24

[38:16] both committees began to get

[38:16] expanded project information

[38:21] but implementing recommendation

[38:22] 4.1 to reach an agreement and

[38:26] mechanisms to specify which

[38:27] specific project elements

[38:28] should be provided and

[38:28] the frequency that

[38:32] the department should generate

[38:33] and share.

[38:34] The report is critical to

[38:34] implement by the end of

[38:35] the fiscal year.

[38:39] I will end by saying that when

[38:40] the city cannot properly keep

[38:45] track of lease revenues and

[38:45] associated late fees there is

[38:46] great potential for the wrong

[38:50] amount to be deposited into

[38:51] the Mission Bay Improvement

[38:51] Fund.

[38:52] When that happens we're

[38:56] potentially running afoul of

[38:57] the charter requirement that

[38:57] was approved by voters to fund

[39:02] the Mission Bay improvement

[39:03] Fund at a specific, specific

[39:03] and prescribed level hearing

[39:08] that steps have been taken to

[39:09] resolve This issue is good but

[39:10] I don't think I'm going to be

[39:10] satisfied until the city

[39:14] auditor can fully confirm this.

[39:15] Additionally, even if it is

[39:16] resolved as far as refining

[39:21] the process by which we collect

[39:22] and distribute these revenues,

[39:27] I do not think it was proper to

[39:27] restrict the city Treasurer's

[39:28] access to the data they need to

[39:33] do the least revenue audits

[39:34] they were specifically tasked

[39:34] to doing.

[39:35] Nor was it appropriate to

[39:35] restrict the auditor from

[39:39] seeing that data firsthand for

[39:40] the purpose of performing this

[39:40] audit.

[39:41] Neither of those things should

[39:44] ever happen again.

[39:45] And additionally just for

[39:46] the body I will be leaving this

[39:51] body in DECEMBER.

[39:56] So with that being known I have

[39:57] asked that our outside auditor

[39:58] Crowe keep tabs on this issue

[40:03] for their external audits.

[40:04] I know I keep on reiterating

[40:09] this as the chair of the audit

[40:09] committee The purpose of

[40:10] the audit committee is to see

[40:10] issues that are that we're

[40:15] doing wrong and the purpose of

[40:16] management accepting that what

[40:21] we're doing is wrong is to fix

[40:22] those issues.

[40:23] It's just you know, I'm at a

[40:28] loss of words as to why these

[40:29] issues are not being fixed

[40:32] especially when we are looking

[40:33] down $120 million budget

[40:38] deficit.

[40:39] So with that I move that we

[40:41] approve staff's recommendation

[40:42] .

[40:48] >> Thank you.

[40:49] Thank you guys.

[40:50] Remember I know it is an

[40:55] informational item only so no

[40:55] motion will be required with

[40:55] it.

[40:56] We'll turn next to

[40:57] Councilmember Ravenwood.

[41:00] I thank you very much and thank

[41:01] you to our auditor for

[41:02] the presentation and the work

[41:03] on this And I have a couple of

[41:07] questions.

[41:08] Thank you to Council Moreno for

[41:08] all of your thorough questions

[41:09] here on audit.

[41:12] Slide five is as a total

[41:13] adjusted revenues for Mission

[41:16] Bay lease revenues was

[41:16] approximate 37,000,087%

[41:17] decrease from f y 2023 So why

[41:18] is least revenue going down in

[41:22] Mission Bay?

[41:23] That was just one of

[41:29] the indicators that potentially

[41:29] the fall revenues weren't

[41:30] recognized because of

[41:35] the backlog because you would

[41:36] expect it to go up but it went

[41:37] up that year and they should

[41:38] kind of track together at that

[41:41] Both percentages of the revenue

[41:41] that they received.

[41:42] So that's just one indicator

[41:43] that perhaps some of this

[41:47] revenue got caught up in

[41:48] the accounting issues and

[41:48] wasn't recognized for Mission

[41:49] Bay.

[41:53] So that's why you know, we

[41:53] noted we couldn't verify that

[41:54] the amount was right that year

[41:55] and we're going to check it

[41:58] again during this year's audit.

[41:59] >> Okay.

[42:03] Mark, if you have any comment

[42:03] on that one.

[42:04] Again, as the city auditor

[42:08] mentioned, it was a snapshot in

[42:08] time.

[42:09] We have since reconciled and

[42:10] have received all that.

[42:14] Nine 33,000 So I don't know if

[42:15] that could have been the issue

[42:16] or something else I would say

[42:20] globally, you know there have

[42:21] been some situations where

[42:21] revenue has been down but we

[42:26] would expect that you know

[42:26] those would remain at a certain

[42:27] level.

[42:27] So I think looking at it in

[42:31] this new year will really

[42:32] provide us the data points that

[42:33] we need now that we have

[42:37] reconciled and we're receiving

[42:37] revenue and getting through

[42:38] those payment issues to see if

[42:39] there's any global trends.

[42:39] But that's about all that I

[42:40] could really mention at this

[42:47] time.

[42:48] Okay.

[42:51] Yes we are for a $120 million

[42:52] budget deficit.

[42:52] We're not tracking why we're

[42:56] not getting this revenue from

[42:57] one of our most popular parks.

[42:57] Can someone from the mayor's

[43:03] office please explain how an

[43:03] audit can be refused If

[43:04] the Treasurer is being asked

[43:09] how much money did you bring in

[43:09] for the city?

[43:10] How can city management say

[43:11] We're not going to tell you

[43:18] I've never heard of this.

[43:19] Yeah.

[43:19] Thank you for that question,

[43:20] Councilmember I, I don't think

[43:24] it was in an effort to hide

[43:25] the ball or refuse the audit or

[43:25] not participate in that

[43:25] process.

[43:31] I do think when Eden formerly

[43:32] Dream consolidated there was a

[43:36] lot of cleanup work that needed

[43:37] to take place And so I think to

[43:38] get your arms around kind of

[43:42] the back end mess that we were

[43:43] trying to get through and

[43:43] the backlog I think that is

[43:48] the intent of that moratorium.

[43:49] I don't think it was anything

[43:50] beyond that that has since

[43:55] obviously been lifted.

[43:55] The commitment is on the table

[43:56] as seen in the management

[43:57] response and that's that's what

[44:01] we there.

[44:08] Okay.

[44:09] >> And we're not going to do

[44:09] that in the future.

[44:14] No.

[44:14] And then if there is ever a

[44:15] situation where things are not

[44:20] able to be met or delivered,

[44:20] there is the accountability

[44:21] process, the notification to

[44:22] the city auditor as well as

[44:23] the audit committee in the rare

[44:26] event that some type of action

[44:27] needs to be taken.

[44:27] But as in the management

[44:28] response the commitment is

[44:31] there.

[44:31] Okay.

[44:32] I find it very perplexing and

[44:38] really frustrating that we do

[44:39] ask how much money even can

[44:39] account manager is going to say

[44:43] well we're not going to tell

[44:43] you.

[44:44] So I mean I'm glad it has been

[44:49] resolved since but I cannot

[44:49] believe that was one of

[44:50] the responses.

[44:50] I do have a question about how

[44:51] we can help a council So like

[44:54] you said, there's only 13

[44:55] property agents employed by

[44:55] the city of San Diego to

[44:56] oversee how many leases.

[45:00] That is correct.

[45:01] So we currently have 13 fte for

[45:05] our entire lease portfolio

[45:06] which is over 910 of those are

[45:13] filled came came in during

[45:14] the financial year.

[45:15] So the general fund positions

[45:15] are those 13 of these general

[45:18] fund I'm getting that they are

[45:18] why this seems to be an

[45:23] enterprise fund type of I mean

[45:24] if we're getting lease revenue

[45:25] is that not a money making fund

[45:25] How are these not shifted from

[45:30] the general fund to be paid for

[45:30] by the leases?

[45:31] Maybe we could hire more

[45:31] property agents to enforce

[45:32] the leases and get more money

[45:34] into the city with an

[45:40] improvement on the general fund

[45:40] .

[45:41] Good afternoon Ben.

[45:47] Battalion Director of Finance.

[45:48] So yes those 13 positions are

[45:48] in the general fund but

[45:52] the revenue from those leases

[45:53] are also deposited into

[45:53] the general fund as well.

[45:54] So they do support those

[46:00] positions But couldn't we hire

[46:01] more people to are didn't take

[46:02] a burden on the general fund.

[46:02] We made it into a separate

[46:05] enterprise fund and we need

[46:05] more than 30 people to manage

[46:06] 900 properties which is why we

[46:11] have 170 hold or releases I

[46:11] mean gotten to my former leases

[46:14] in San Pasquale been waiting 15

[46:14] years to get their leases done.

[46:15] So I just we obviously need

[46:16] more people to manage our

[46:20] leases but we don't hire people

[46:20] under general fund positions

[46:21] right now because the budget

[46:22] deficit in the general fund So

[46:25] have we thought about moving

[46:26] them over into an enterprise

[46:26] funded source so we could have

[46:27] more property agents to bring

[46:31] in more revenue So the majority

[46:32] of these leases are general

[46:32] fund leases That revenue comes

[46:37] into the general fund and it's

[46:37] significant It's like it's tens

[46:38] of millions of dollars.

[46:43] So if we were to move that all

[46:44] into an enterprise fund with

[46:44] the additional 13 positions

[46:49] plus maybe a few more we would

[46:49] really just be transferring

[46:50] that revenue back to

[46:51] the general fund to support

[46:55] general fund operations.

[46:55] Okay.

[46:56] That kind of is why we only

[46:59] have 13 property agents for 900

[47:00] properties I think probably not

[47:01] your department That's really

[47:01] just yeah, I mean that's a

[47:06] policy call that that's a

[47:07] budgetary decision.

[47:07] Okay.

[47:08] I follow it from the mayor's

[47:11] office on you know we need to

[47:12] bring in money for the city and

[47:13] we know Mission Bay is making

[47:17] money at the beautiful place to

[47:18] go.

[47:18] So I just totally would hope

[47:19] that you're there's absolutely

[47:20] no reason that the city

[47:22] shouldn't be getting lease

[47:28] revenue from our lessees And if

[47:29] the issue is we don't have

[47:30] enough employees to go out and

[47:30] manage our properties then we

[47:31] should have more employees

[47:37] using our properties.

[47:37] Okay.

[47:38] Well thank you for

[47:39] the information about it.

[47:42] Hopefully we can right the ship

[47:47] and I appreciate the audit.

[47:47] Thank you.

[47:48] We'll turn off to Councilmember

[47:53] Foster.

[47:53] All right.

[48:00] Thank you for the presentation

[48:05] and for clearly we have more

[48:05] work to do.

[48:06] But I just wanted to kind of

[48:11] pick up off of where my

[48:11] colleague was at and I can

[48:17] appreciate the discussion on

[48:22] the number of funds I guess

[48:23] what I'm struggling with is I'm

[48:28] not necessarily hearing a plan

[48:29] to resolve these outstanding

[48:34] issues And so I would ask

[48:35] the mayor's office do we have a

[48:41] plan on these 178 holdovers and

[48:41] things that we are doing on how

[48:46] we are going to resolve them?

[48:47] And I'm going to ask from a

[48:51] project management perspective

[48:52] meaning do we have a schedule

[48:58] on identify leases, how you are

[48:59] approaching them due date

[49:03] timelines to where staff

[49:04] understands what they should be

[49:05] working on clear directives

[49:10] what the expectations are and

[49:11] systematically making our way

[49:16] through this backlog?

[49:16] >> Thank you for the question,

[49:17] Councilmember Foster I'm going

[49:18] to start and then I'll let

[49:22] the mayor's office add anything

[49:23] that they would like to as I

[49:23] mentioned early in terms of

[49:24] the plan to resolve the issue,

[49:28] a huge component of that is

[49:29] the upgrade and future rfp for

[49:34] our leasing management

[49:34] software.

[49:35] So number one we need to reduce

[49:35] the human error.

[49:40] Number two, we need to automate

[49:41] workflows and the number three

[49:41] we need to provide visibility

[49:42] into our lease compliance.

[49:46] So those are all things that we

[49:47] are currently struggling with

[49:48] with a system that is very much

[49:48] out of date.

[49:52] So those issues will be

[49:53] resolved partially with

[49:57] the upgrade to version 11 As I

[49:57] mentioned that would be

[50:02] implemented in JULY of 2026 And

[50:02] then again looking long term

[50:03] for how we can continue to

[50:07] improve efficiencies there with

[50:08] another potential system.

[50:09] Secondly in regards to your

[50:14] question on what is the plan,

[50:15] how are we looking at that?

[50:16] We do have a work plan that we

[50:20] prioritize based on council in

[50:21] my oral priorities that we are

[50:26] utilizing our existing staff

[50:27] and also looking at ways in

[50:28] which we can utilize any type

[50:32] of assistance through

[50:33] consultants to help make us as

[50:37] efficient as possible.

[50:45] So sorry COUNCILMAN.

[50:45] Can I just add some detail?

[50:46] Yeah.

[50:51] This is the audit mission Bay

[50:52] only for fiscal 24 but we did

[50:56] do an audit of all city lease

[50:56] management and I think it was

[50:57] 2022 so four years ago that was

[50:58] one of the recommendations have

[51:02] a plan to work down the backlog

[51:02] to prioritize and work it down

[51:07] And so we're still following up

[51:07] on that.

[51:08] I can appreciate that.

[51:09] But even if we just simply

[51:13] isolate the discussion we're

[51:14] having here today I guess for

[51:20] for my own understand and again

[51:20] I'm looking for a plan and it's

[51:25] really troubling if we don't

[51:26] have an overall plan and

[51:31] outline so that we can system

[51:32] adequacy which leases up first

[51:33] which leases up today what that

[51:38] date is in for in order for us

[51:39] to update it, it's it's no

[51:40] different than what engineering

[51:41] and capital projects does as

[51:43] they make their way through a

[51:44] project a step by step schedule

[51:49] that shows the activities what

[51:50] those expectations are, what

[51:51] the due dates are so that we

[51:51] can bring some accountability

[51:56] and bring some professionalism

[51:56] and some management to

[51:57] systematically work through

[51:58] this process.

[52:01] Even if we went through and put

[52:02] together an assembly contract

[52:03] to supplement staff, what will

[52:08] we hold those contractors to?

[52:08] How do we convey what those

[52:09] needs are?

[52:13] What the expectations are,

[52:14] what's due on day one, two,

[52:15] three, four and five?

[52:20] That's where I'm that's where

[52:20] I'm going with this And I think

[52:21] that would answer a lot of

[52:25] questions of the council and

[52:26] also our auditor's office.

[52:27] So we have a clear line of what

[52:32] we are monitoring and what our

[52:32] needs are.

[52:33] Is there a way we can Yeah or

[52:37] Councilmember especially as we

[52:38] go through the next few weeks

[52:39] of budget discussion I think

[52:39] that information and what is

[52:40] coming down the pipeline

[52:44] awareness is especially

[52:45] critical so we can have

[52:45] economic development staff.

[52:46] I'm work with city auditor and

[52:50] others and provide you kind of

[52:50] what the next few months look

[52:51] like opportunities for our city

[52:56] to contracts timelines for you

[52:57] know additional software

[52:58] upgrade procurement just we

[52:58] have a better idea of what's

[52:59] coming down the pipeline and to

[53:02] better inform the budget

[53:03] discussions.

[53:03] >> What about that?

[53:04] Okay.

[53:04] I appreciate that and I think

[53:05] that would be a useful tool so

[53:08] we can make sure we're all

[53:09] marching to the same accord

[53:10] especially as we are looking at

[53:10] competing priorities.

[53:14] When you talk about the mayor's

[53:14] priorities versus the council's

[53:15] priorities.

[53:15] Right.

[53:16] So I think that would be a good

[53:16] useful tool.

[53:20] So that we are all clear on

[53:21] where we are headed and how we

[53:21] are going to attack this.

[53:26] So thank you.

[53:27] That concludes conclude my

[53:27] comments.

[53:27] Thank you.

[53:35] Next up is Councilmember

[53:35] Gilbert Harold.

[53:36] Thank you Carl.

[53:36] PRESIDENT Pro-Tem thanks to any

[53:37] of you and your team for

[53:40] the work here.

[53:40] I appreciate the questions my

[53:41] colleagues.

[53:41] We've got someone operating

[53:44] counter bluster really digging

[53:45] in and obviously everybody

[53:45] knows leadership on

[53:46] the committee.

[53:50] I, I too am frustrated with

[53:56] the number of Holder releases

[53:57] and I think the questions about

[53:58] what the plan is and why things

[53:58] are the way they are and it is

[54:02] important.

[54:03] I also do think that it's

[54:03] important to note that this is

[54:07] a long standing problem and

[54:08] this is not a defense of

[54:09] the way that responded to

[54:13] the problem Has been responded

[54:19] to since 2020 or 2021.

[54:19] But I'll I'll draw an analogy

[54:24] to streetlights where we were

[54:25] far behind that even doing

[54:26] work at a regular pace meant

[54:30] that we were unacceptably

[54:31] behind and that staff was

[54:31] underwater in a way where they

[54:34] could never see themselves

[54:35] getting up getting their head

[54:40] above the surface.

[54:47] I think that some of that was

[54:47] the failure to invest in in our

[54:48] city staff in such a way that

[54:54] to equip them But also in this

[54:54] instance I really do think that

[54:55] it's important for us to ask

[54:56] who benefited from the status

[55:00] quo, who benefited from so many

[55:00] leases being held in holdover

[55:01] status, who who benefited from

[55:05] not paying fair market value

[55:06] for incredibly valuable

[55:12] properties?

[55:13] I think it was the friends of

[55:13] folks who served on this dais

[55:14] in the past and who served in

[55:18] the mayor's office in the past

[55:19] And I want to say that out loud

[55:19] because these things did not

[55:23] happen by accident And for sure

[55:24] we need to do better to get to

[55:30] a place where every single

[55:30] property that the city has is

[55:35] owns The city is being fairly

[55:35] compensated for.

[55:36] But in a moment where the city

[55:41] is being attacked for

[55:42] mismanagement and and we are

[55:47] we're trying to get to a better

[55:48] place.

[55:48] It is important to note who who

[55:53] drove the car into the ditch

[55:53] and especially on this front

[55:59] because there are there are

[56:00] people who benefit greatly from

[56:05] their leases being held and

[56:06] hold all of our status for as

[56:07] long as they have.

[56:07] Now to COUNCILMAN Foster's

[56:11] point because we were in

[56:11] the hole that we are in,

[56:12] there's got to be a plan not

[56:18] only the number of leases and

[56:18] all over status but the city's

[56:19] overall budget situation.

[56:20] And so when we're making

[56:22] the difficult decisions about

[56:23] what should be cut, what should

[56:28] be maintained and how and who

[56:29] we seek revenue from to fill

[56:34] the gap that plan becomes

[56:35] incredibly important.

[56:35] And so could I know you answer

[56:36] a number of questions already

[56:40] but it's it's one of those

[56:41] things that I think the council

[56:45] has been pretty consistent in

[56:46] in wanting to make sure that

[56:47] there is there is whether it's

[56:51] from enterprise funds or

[56:52] the general fund that

[56:52] the leases are up to date

[56:53] there's been a willingness to

[56:58] partner from from Labor to see

[56:59] that a willingness to allow

[57:00] some that work to be contracted

[57:04] out because they recognize

[57:04] the big picture, the importance

[57:05] of making sure that we're

[57:06] getting fair market value for

[57:10] all these leases So this is a

[57:11] is I think a really important

[57:21] issue on the on the beauty

[57:22] front we've talked about how

[57:23] every dollar we don't collect

[57:23] in fair market value for those

[57:27] leases that are in all of

[57:28] the status is a dollar that we

[57:29] were not allowed we're not able

[57:32] to then reinvest into providing

[57:33] subsidies and discounts to

[57:33] seniors and people who can

[57:39] barely pay their water bill.

[57:40] Every dollar that we don't get

[57:41] in for free market value for

[57:42] leases that are that support

[57:44] the point of the general fund

[57:45] is a dollar that we're not able

[57:50] to to keep library libraries

[57:51] open parks and rec centers

[57:52] properly funded and even you

[57:52] know have difficult

[57:56] conversations about public

[57:57] safety.

[57:57] And so this is just an

[57:58] incredibly important issue.

[58:03] I know that it's pretty narrow

[58:04] is being presented today but as

[58:05] Andy said, that is an issue

[58:05] that was brought to our

[58:08] attention a few years back and

[58:09] I think the consistency from

[58:10] the council has been there.

[58:12] And so that plan that three of

[58:13] us were talking about is

[58:14] incredibly important and then

[58:14] the action is incredibly

[58:19] important as well.

[58:20] So again thank you to our

[58:20] colleagues for asking

[58:21] questions.

[58:21] They did also let's not let

[58:25] those folks off the hook who

[58:25] who got us into this situation

[58:26] and we should think about who

[58:31] benefited and who and who their

[58:32] friends are because I do think

[58:32] it's a coincidence.

[58:32] >> Thank you.

[58:37] We'll turn next to

[58:37] Councilmember Kimball.

[58:38] >> Thank you.

[58:42] Council PRESIDENT Pro Tem.

[58:43] I just like first to ask is my

[58:46] understanding that as of APRIL

[58:47] of 25 in other words one year

[58:48] ago this moratorium was lifted?

[58:52] Is that correct?

[58:53] I think it was technically

[58:54] lifted around that time.

[58:59] I believe it was around

[59:00] SEPTEMBER that the Treasurer

[59:00] got back the system access that

[59:04] they needed right?

[59:05] That is correct.

[59:06] So it was lifted in APRIL.

[59:11] However it took the Treasurer

[59:12] several months to get back over

[59:16] to work on it.

[59:17] Also I'd just like to remind

[59:18] everyone that the real estate

[59:23] division was a department of it

[59:24] on its own for a while a good

[59:28] long while under various

[59:29] administrations but was moved

[59:29] into economic Development

[59:34] department only in 2024 I

[59:40] forget which month but it was

[59:41] not at the beginning of 2024 as

[59:46] I recall and I wanted to just

[59:46] recall that the software being

[59:52] used by real estate division

[59:53] was then if this is correct was

[59:57] then five years out of date at

[59:58] that time And wasn't that one

[59:59] of the reasons then put

[59:59] the moratorium because they

[1:00:00] couldn't get the correct

[1:00:04] numbers out of that old system?

[1:00:05] Thank you for the question,

[1:00:06] Councilmember Campbell.

[1:00:06] So yes, in terms of

[1:00:10] the software for our portfolio

[1:00:11] at the time we knew that there

[1:00:12] were errors in that system and

[1:00:17] that sap is a financial system

[1:00:18] of record in which this a

[1:00:22] challenges with reconciliation

[1:00:23] and knowing that what was

[1:00:24] currently in our portfolio was

[1:00:28] not correct and that's when we

[1:00:29] had the collective decision

[1:00:30] regarding the moratorium and

[1:00:35] just working to get information

[1:00:35] outside of the system to be as

[1:00:36] efficient with people's time.

[1:00:41] So there was not a silo attempt

[1:00:46] to keep the auditor away from

[1:00:47] the money answers It was

[1:00:48] actually a series of department

[1:00:52] heads who got together and

[1:00:53] realized that the numbers

[1:00:54] coming out were not right.

[1:00:58] We had to get that straightened

[1:00:59] out so we could have the proper

[1:01:00] numbers correct.

[1:01:00] And you know, just to clarify,

[1:01:05] during the moratorium revenues

[1:01:05] were still being collected even

[1:01:06] with the holdover leases that

[1:01:11] we've discussed cpi adjustments

[1:01:12] were still being done.

[1:01:12] So there was never any point

[1:01:17] where revenue was you know,

[1:01:17] just totally stopped.

[1:01:18] It was just really

[1:01:18] the reconciliation of it with

[1:01:23] errors as to, you know, what

[1:01:24] accounts it went to where we

[1:01:25] had to go through a larger

[1:01:25] process to get that all

[1:01:26] reconciled.

[1:01:29] >> Thank you And I and I

[1:01:30] appreciate my colleague's

[1:01:30] questions, many of which were

[1:01:35] ones I was going to ask Of

[1:01:35] the 900 leases that we have on

[1:01:40] city property, we evidently

[1:01:41] have budgeted 13 full time

[1:01:41] equivalent to watch over those

[1:01:47] leases but only of ten of those

[1:01:47] positions filled, is that

[1:01:48] correct?

[1:01:48] That is correct.

[1:01:51] Now of those ten people there

[1:01:52] each responsible for at least

[1:01:53] 90 leases, is that correct?

[1:01:57] You know, it depends on each

[1:01:58] person's portfolio.

[1:01:58] We have a range of, you know,

[1:01:59] associate to property to

[1:02:03] supervising.

[1:02:04] So it depends on

[1:02:04] the classification, what

[1:02:05] workload that they have.

[1:02:06] But if you were to make a

[1:02:10] general average that would be

[1:02:10] correct.

[1:02:11] It sounds like a large load to

[1:02:11] me.

[1:02:12] I would ask Andy do we have any

[1:02:15] ideas generally or you want to

[1:02:16] put in the real estate world

[1:02:21] how many portfolios can one

[1:02:22] real estate expert manage at a

[1:02:27] time and do an excellent job

[1:02:28] And I do not recall for sure We

[1:02:33] MAY have benchmarked that in

[1:02:34] our 2022 audit of citywide

[1:02:38] lease management looking at all

[1:02:38] 900 leases.

[1:02:39] This is just looking at Mission

[1:02:40] Bay only So we didn't look at

[1:02:45] that on this audit So I don't

[1:02:46] have any information on that at

[1:02:46] this moment for you.

[1:02:46] >> Okay.

[1:02:49] Well these 900 for the whole

[1:02:50] city is not just Mission Bay

[1:02:52] but on the Mission Bay ones,

[1:02:53] the ten that were not being

[1:02:54] followed up on and updated are

[1:02:59] now currently being dealt with,

[1:02:59] is that correct?

[1:03:05] That is correct.

[1:03:05] Okay.

[1:03:06] So pretty soon we will we will

[1:03:07] see what the outcome is of

[1:03:11] those that work.

[1:03:12] But I would just like to say

[1:03:13] that it seems to me

[1:03:17] the Department which took in

[1:03:17] the real estate division MAY

[1:03:18] need more help with its real

[1:03:23] estate problems And if it does

[1:03:24] I would like to hear as a

[1:03:29] council member how many full

[1:03:29] time equivalents more of real

[1:03:30] estate experts are needed so

[1:03:34] that the city can prioritize

[1:03:35] and make a high priority

[1:03:36] getting as much bang for

[1:03:40] the buck as we can on releases

[1:03:40] that we're putting out.

[1:03:46] Do you have any ideas at this

[1:03:47] time of how many you would like

[1:03:52] to have if you had a wish and

[1:03:53] you could make a wish for as

[1:03:53] many as you need it?

[1:03:57] >> I appreciate the question.

[1:03:58] So as I just want to mention

[1:03:59] looking at the leasing software

[1:04:03] was really one of our

[1:04:04] priorities because you know

[1:04:05] the software will help us do

[1:04:05] more with less staffing and

[1:04:10] understanding just you know,

[1:04:11] dire needs that we're in with

[1:04:11] the budget.

[1:04:15] I don't have a number off

[1:04:15] the top of my head because

[1:04:16] we're always looking at ways we

[1:04:17] can be more efficient with what

[1:04:17] we do have.

[1:04:22] I can confirm though that

[1:04:23] industry standards outside of

[1:04:23] you know, city government that

[1:04:28] you know approximately 90

[1:04:29] leases per person is is pretty

[1:04:29] high.

[1:04:29] >> Okay.

[1:04:34] It reminds me of the code

[1:04:35] enforcers trying to spec 130

[1:04:39] entities each every week which

[1:04:40] is obviously humanly

[1:04:40] impossible.

[1:04:45] So I think what we need to do

[1:04:46] as a council is realize that

[1:04:47] when we need to hire more

[1:04:51] expertise as a city or contract

[1:04:52] out for more expertise we have

[1:04:57] to spend money to do that.

[1:04:58] If we spend money to do that

[1:04:58] then we have to cut the budget

[1:04:59] somewhere else because we're

[1:05:03] not in it in a plush situation

[1:05:09] in terms of how much revenue

[1:05:09] the city is getting these past

[1:05:13] year or two years and how bad

[1:05:14] it was under covid as well and

[1:05:19] how we really haven't totally

[1:05:20] recovered after that.

[1:05:20] So these are tough decisions

[1:05:25] that we're going to have to be

[1:05:26] making in the next several

[1:05:27] weeks And I hope that we all

[1:05:31] realize that sometimes getting

[1:05:32] more expertise is actually a

[1:05:37] savings than a cost and that

[1:05:38] sometimes we have to give some

[1:05:43] things up in order to pay for

[1:05:44] other things.

[1:05:44] And at any rate I really

[1:05:49] appreciate all the work I went

[1:05:50] into this and I know Andy you

[1:05:51] will soon be coming back to us

[1:05:54] with the correct numbers for

[1:05:55] 2025 as well as for 2026 of

[1:05:55] that fiscal year will be over

[1:06:00] JULY first, 2026.

[1:06:01] So I appreciate that.

[1:06:06] i appreciate all your work in

[1:06:07] Oversight.

[1:06:07] It's so important that we have

[1:06:08] these audits and it's so

[1:06:09] important that the public

[1:06:12] realize that the city is in

[1:06:17] financial straits and we cannot

[1:06:18] do everything for everybody

[1:06:19] that they want without paying.

[1:06:24] And so these are tough

[1:06:25] decisions that have to be made

[1:06:25] and we need to have

[1:06:26] the public's help in this and

[1:06:30] understanding in this.

[1:06:31] So thank you so much for

[1:06:32] everyone's comments and

[1:06:32] questions and thank you for all

[1:06:37] your hard work and thank you

[1:06:38] Chair Pro-Tem Thank you.

[1:06:43] So we're Campbell I think that

[1:06:43] concludes the speakers for my

[1:06:44] colleagues so I'll close off by

[1:06:45] noting that my colleagues to

[1:06:49] ask me the questions that I

[1:06:50] think I would have and I

[1:06:50] appreciate them their

[1:06:51] directness and trying to get

[1:06:54] information about where we

[1:06:54] stand.

[1:06:55] I certainly agree with them all

[1:06:56] about not just getting our

[1:07:00] processes correct.

[1:07:01] I think this is why the Office

[1:07:01] of the City Auditor played such

[1:07:02] an important role for us here

[1:07:06] at the city because you're

[1:07:07] hoping to unpeel layers of what

[1:07:08] we MAY not be looking at from a

[1:07:08] day to day process given

[1:07:12] the amount of workload that a

[1:07:13] department MAY have.

[1:07:13] And I think Thank you,

[1:07:14] Councilmember Campbell for just

[1:07:14] simply pointing out how

[1:07:18] tremendous that workload is.

[1:07:19] And so I think for us this is

[1:07:20] an opportunity to understand

[1:07:24] where we've lost out as a city

[1:07:25] on potential revenue and beyond

[1:07:30] just the revenue as a dollar

[1:07:30] figure.

[1:07:31] I also think of the fact that

[1:07:32] our our lessees are not all

[1:07:36] just commercial businesses or

[1:07:37] institutions that are running

[1:07:38] different facilities.

[1:07:38] Maybe a better question for you

[1:07:43] or whoever knows the answer but

[1:07:44] up to 31 leases that we have in

[1:07:44] Mission Bay I assume at least a

[1:07:48] number of those are nonprofit

[1:07:48] organizations that are

[1:07:49] operating facilities that are

[1:07:49] serving the public that

[1:07:53] the city would otherwise not be

[1:07:53] able to do.

[1:07:54] Do we have a sense of what it

[1:07:55] looks like?

[1:07:59] I don't have the list in front

[1:08:00] of me but it would be accurate

[1:08:01] that there would be a

[1:08:01] combination of nonprofit and

[1:08:06] for profit and I presume that

[1:08:06] some of those are also in

[1:08:07] holdover status.

[1:08:07] And so I think when when we

[1:08:11] point out that the holdovers

[1:08:12] are not just impacting our

[1:08:13] opportunities to adjust leases

[1:08:17] to match up that there are also

[1:08:18] organizations, entities that

[1:08:18] are operating facilities where

[1:08:23] the holder of status means that

[1:08:24] they're not putting anything

[1:08:25] into those facilities And that

[1:08:25] is frankly at the end the day a

[1:08:29] lost opportunity for the public

[1:08:30] if any of them have been in

[1:08:31] long hold of status Typically

[1:08:35] with each of these lease

[1:08:36] updates this council will see

[1:08:36] them as an opportunity for

[1:08:37] the city to also require

[1:08:40] capital investment in some of

[1:08:41] these facilities that would

[1:08:41] again serve the public

[1:08:42] the longer term sort of

[1:08:46] agreements with organizations

[1:08:46] allow them to execute financial

[1:08:47] agreements that would allow

[1:08:52] them to meet capital

[1:08:52] commitments of or collect from

[1:08:53] private dollars.

[1:08:54] That is an impact that MAY not

[1:08:58] be a direct fiscal impact of

[1:08:59] the city but actually has a

[1:09:04] direct correlation to what

[1:09:05] the public benefits from.

[1:09:05] And so to me I see this not

[1:09:06] just the discussion of how can

[1:09:10] the city get more revenue, it's

[1:09:10] also thinking about how do we

[1:09:11] adequately serve the public

[1:09:15] with the resources that we've

[1:09:16] got knowing that the land and

[1:09:17] the organizations that are

[1:09:22] running programs from that also

[1:09:23] have an impact on that front.

[1:09:24] So that is only a thing I would

[1:09:24] add to the discussion that

[1:09:27] we've had and look forward to

[1:09:28] perhaps some further

[1:09:28] discussions on how we evaluate

[1:09:33] leases across them the city.

[1:09:34] So I think that concludes our

[1:09:34] speakers for this item.

[1:09:35] Again it was an informational

[1:09:39] items in the motion was

[1:09:39] unnecessary.

[1:09:40] >> With that we'll turn clerk

[1:09:43] to item two one item 2a1 is

[1:09:44] the 2025 annual report on

[1:09:48] internal financial control.

[1:09:49] If you'd like to speak on this

[1:09:50] item please be sure to submit

[1:09:50] your speaker.

[1:09:51] So if this is also an

[1:09:55] informational item you can

[1:09:56] submit your speakership by

[1:09:57] submitting it to the clear box

[1:09:58] at the front of the room or if

[1:10:01] you are participating remotely

[1:10:01] now's the time to raise your

[1:10:02] hand by pressing Star nine or

[1:10:03] the raise your hand icon.

[1:10:03] Thank you Council PRESIDENT

[1:10:06] Adam Thank you.

[1:10:07] We'll turn it over to the team

[1:10:10] once we're ready If you'll

[1:10:11] introduce yourselves for

[1:10:21] the record and most optionally

[1:10:22] good afternoon Council

[1:10:28] PRESIDENT Pro Tem Lee and

[1:10:29] council members I'm Ben Italian

[1:10:29] director of finance.

[1:10:30] With me today is Jeff Peel,

[1:10:33] chief accountant in

[1:10:34] the Department of Finance.

[1:10:35] Today we're here to present

[1:10:39] the city's annual report on

[1:10:40] internal financial controls for

[1:10:40] calendar year 2025 And today

[1:10:43] I'll need about ten minutes.

[1:10:44] The final report is issued

[1:10:45] pursuant to the city's

[1:10:49] municipal code which was

[1:10:50] amended by the City Council in

[1:10:50] 2004.

[1:10:55] It requires a high standard of

[1:10:56] quality in and efficacy of

[1:10:56] the city's financial reporting

[1:11:00] and disclosure practices.

[1:11:01] The municipal code requires

[1:11:01] that management perform an

[1:11:06] annual evaluation of the city's

[1:11:07] internal financial controls

[1:11:07] submit a written annual report

[1:11:08] to the audit committee and

[1:11:12] the City Council and submit a

[1:11:13] certification by city

[1:11:13] management regarding

[1:11:14] the design, maintenance and

[1:11:18] effectiveness of the city's

[1:11:19] internal financial controls.

[1:11:19] I'll now turn it over to Jeff

[1:11:24] to discuss the highlights of

[1:11:24] the report.

[1:11:25] >> The focus of this report is

[1:11:26] to provide an overview of

[1:11:26] management's approach to

[1:11:30] developing a maintaining a

[1:11:31] strong and effective system of

[1:11:31] internal controls over

[1:11:32] financial reporting and to

[1:11:35] highlight some of

[1:11:36] the accomplishments of the past

[1:11:37] year that support those

[1:11:37] objectives.

[1:11:38] The objectives of the financial

[1:11:41] reporting are to produce

[1:11:41] financial information that is

[1:11:42] reliable, relevant and timely.

[1:11:43] Management's ability to meet

[1:11:47] these objectives depends in

[1:11:47] part on the design and

[1:11:48] effectiveness of the processes,

[1:11:49] policies and procedures and

[1:11:53] safeguards it has in place to

[1:11:53] reduce or mitigate risks over

[1:11:54] financial reporting.

[1:11:54] >> Internal controls are

[1:11:58] important because without such

[1:11:59] controls it would be

[1:12:00] challenging to prepare reliable

[1:12:00] financial reports that utilized

[1:12:04] to be utilized by management

[1:12:05] investors, rating agencies and

[1:12:06] other interested parties.

[1:12:10] The city's internal control

[1:12:10] program is based on the best

[1:12:11] practices established by coso

[1:12:12] Kosovo's The committee of

[1:12:16] sponsoring Organizations of

[1:12:17] the Treadway Commission because

[1:12:17] it was developed a conceptual

[1:12:18] framework to guide businesses

[1:12:22] and government entities in

[1:12:22] areas of risk management,

[1:12:23] internal controls and fraud

[1:12:23] deterrence.

[1:12:26] The framework includes five

[1:12:27] interrelated components control

[1:12:28] environment risk assessment

[1:12:32] control activities, information

[1:12:33] and communication and

[1:12:34] monitoring activities within

[1:12:34] each of the components.

[1:12:37] Another layer of 17 principles

[1:12:38] helps guide as well.

[1:12:41] I will describe each one of

[1:12:42] the components briefly.

[1:12:42] Control environment is

[1:12:43] the organizational attitude

[1:12:47] toward internal controls.

[1:12:47] It starts with the tone at

[1:12:48] the top.

[1:12:48] Management creates an

[1:12:49] environment where everyone in

[1:12:50] the organization believes

[1:12:53] internal controls are important

[1:12:53] and each person has a role.

[1:12:54] Secondly is risk assessment

[1:12:58] which is how management

[1:12:59] identifies, assesses evaluates

[1:12:59] and manages the amount of risk.

[1:13:03] And it's always important to

[1:13:04] note that risk can never be

[1:13:04] completely eliminated.

[1:13:05] Thirdly is control activities.

[1:13:08] These are the policies and

[1:13:09] procedures that help ensure

[1:13:10] management's objectives are

[1:13:10] carried out and the necessary

[1:13:14] actions are taken to address

[1:13:14] risks.

[1:13:15] This includes segregation of

[1:13:16] duties, reviews and approvals

[1:13:19] within the processes.

[1:13:20] The fourth component is

[1:13:20] information and communication.

[1:13:21] This is the distribution of

[1:13:25] information needed to perform

[1:13:25] control activities and to

[1:13:26] understand internal control

[1:13:27] responsibilities throughout

[1:13:27] the organization.

[1:13:30] And the last component is

[1:13:31] monitoring activities which is

[1:13:35] the evaluation of each of

[1:13:35] the other four components to

[1:13:36] ensure that they are

[1:13:36] functioning effectively and

[1:13:40] organizational objectives are

[1:13:40] being met.

[1:13:41] The Department of Finance used

[1:13:42] a management assessment

[1:13:42] template to help assess

[1:13:46] the effectiveness of the city's

[1:13:46] system of internal financial

[1:13:47] controls as it relates to

[1:13:50] the five components and 17

[1:13:50] principles of the coso

[1:13:51] framework.

[1:13:51] This tool helps management to

[1:13:52] analyze and provide

[1:13:55] the structure of this report.

[1:13:56] The assessment can be found in

[1:13:56] Attachment one.

[1:13:57] I want to highlight a few

[1:14:01] highlights from that from

[1:14:01] the report.

[1:14:02] First, the city received a

[1:14:05] clean audit opinion for

[1:14:06] the fiscal year 2025 annual

[1:14:06] Comprehensive Financial Report

[1:14:07] with no significant

[1:14:10] deficiencies and no material

[1:14:11] weaknesses in internal

[1:14:11] controls.

[1:14:12] Next the city received a

[1:14:16] certificate of Achievement for

[1:14:17] Excellence in financial

[1:14:18] reporting from the Government

[1:14:18] Finance Officers Association

[1:14:21] gfa.

[1:14:22] This is the 11th consecutive

[1:14:23] year that the city has received

[1:14:23] this award.

[1:14:27] The city also received

[1:14:27] the Budget Presentation Award

[1:14:28] from g f a way for the fy 25

[1:14:32] adopted budget and the budget

[1:14:32] Excellence Award from

[1:14:33] the California Society of

[1:14:34] Municipalities Finance Officers

[1:14:38] csf and more for the f y 2425

[1:14:42] Capital and operating budgets.

[1:14:43] >> In last year's internal

[1:14:44] Financial controls report a

[1:14:44] risk was identified for

[1:14:48] the revenue Compliance program

[1:14:48] .

[1:14:49] As you recall, the program

[1:14:49] identified opportunities for

[1:14:50] enhanced internal controls over

[1:14:53] and over economic development

[1:14:54] departments, real estate

[1:14:54] divisions, invoicing and

[1:14:59] payment processing as well as

[1:14:59] the lease audit management.

[1:15:00] We wanted to provide a brief

[1:15:01] update on addressing that risk.

[1:15:05] The moratorium usually agreed

[1:15:05] upon by economic development

[1:15:06] and the City Treasurer for

[1:15:09] lease audits concluded in APRIL

[1:15:10] of 2025.

[1:15:10] The revenue compliance has

[1:15:15] since return resumed audit

[1:15:16] auditing of leases which has

[1:15:16] now allowed City Treasurer to

[1:15:17] work in tandem with

[1:15:21] the economic Development

[1:15:21] Department to maintain strong

[1:15:22] internal controls and ensure

[1:15:23] that there are any potential

[1:15:26] risk are identified and

[1:15:26] mitigated.

[1:15:27] The Economic Development

[1:15:30] Department has also formalized

[1:15:31] internal processes and

[1:15:32] significant processes have

[1:15:32] the need to address

[1:15:33] the backlog.

[1:15:36] The Department has continued to

[1:15:37] make improvements to ensure

[1:15:37] revenue is accurately captured

[1:15:41] and reported in compliance with

[1:15:42] the current city policy and

[1:15:43] documented internal processes.

[1:15:43] The Economic Development

[1:15:47] Department is also upgrading

[1:15:47] its aging software system.

[1:15:48] Technology enhancements are

[1:15:51] intended to reduce human

[1:15:52] errors, automate workflows and

[1:15:53] provide visibility into these

[1:15:53] compliance.

[1:15:57] We also wanted to provide a

[1:15:58] brief update on a couple

[1:15:58] outstanding audit items related

[1:16:02] to the Human Capital Management

[1:16:02] .

[1:16:03] One is the uncompetitive

[1:16:03] compensation which is being

[1:16:04] resolved with the total

[1:16:07] compensation strategy.

[1:16:08] The other is improving

[1:16:08] the employee performance

[1:16:09] process which is also being

[1:16:12] addressed with a series of

[1:16:13] implementations focused on

[1:16:14] trends and completion rates.

[1:16:17] The Human Resources Department

[1:16:18] and personnel department are

[1:16:19] working with the city Auditor

[1:16:19] to close these recommendations

[1:16:22] based on our evaluation we have

[1:16:23] concluded that the internal

[1:16:24] financial controls are

[1:16:24] effective.

[1:16:27] That concludes our presentation

[1:16:28] and we are happy to answer any

[1:16:29] questions.

[1:16:29] >> Thank you.

[1:16:33] Do we have any public comment

[1:16:34] relative to the Common Hearing

[1:16:35] Council chambers We have

[1:16:35] several people with their hands

[1:16:36] raised.

[1:16:39] Starting with Katherine Rhodes

[1:16:39] you have four people.

[1:16:40] If you can please unmute.

[1:16:42] I've started the five minute

[1:16:42] timer.

[1:16:42] >> Wonderful.

[1:16:46] First you know everything you

[1:16:47] have here and your five

[1:16:51] components of internal controls

[1:16:51] .

[1:16:52] They weren't done for

[1:16:54] the mission Bay Park So

[1:16:55] the item 200 that you just had

[1:17:00] you know the risk assessment of

[1:17:01] of of knowing you know which

[1:17:05] leases are not outstanding.

[1:17:06] I mean every single one of

[1:17:10] these components of your of

[1:17:11] your you know, internal

[1:17:16] financial controls wasn't being

[1:17:16] met.

[1:17:20] So you know so the mayor's

[1:17:21] basically saying we're doing

[1:17:21] everything great.

[1:17:26] They're not the city council is

[1:17:26] it?

[1:17:30] It's not a strong city council

[1:17:31] .

[1:17:32] You guys really do need to put

[1:17:36] forward a ballot proposition so

[1:17:36] that we can have a strong city

[1:17:41] council to counter the strong

[1:17:41] mayor right now because he's

[1:17:42] doing everything he just wants

[1:17:47] and then he's coming to you in

[1:17:47] this report here telling you

[1:17:51] everything's fine.

[1:17:52] Don't worry about it.

[1:17:52] We've got your back.

[1:17:53] They don't have your back.

[1:17:56] They don't have the public's

[1:17:57] back.

[1:17:57] You know, How about

[1:18:01] the internal controls over

[1:18:02] the budget coming up?

[1:18:02] You know there was a

[1:18:04] Union-Tribune article today

[1:18:10] that says that you know there's

[1:18:10] I forgot the 400 and something

[1:18:11] percent increase in the amount

[1:18:15] of middle managers that came

[1:18:15] about And all these middle

[1:18:20] managers started coming about

[1:18:21] in in 2013 when Todd Gloria was

[1:18:25] the mayor and he want to get

[1:18:26] around the five year

[1:18:26] pensionable pay freeze and

[1:18:29] the way to get around that is

[1:18:30] to make people be nonunion

[1:18:34] members and become middle

[1:18:35] managers And then they're paid

[1:18:35] sometimes doubled, sometimes

[1:18:36] tripled.

[1:18:40] I don't see you have controls

[1:18:40] And then of course I always

[1:18:44] have my big problem with

[1:18:44] the with the fund balance that

[1:18:45] you don't have all the fund

[1:18:49] balances you're included next

[1:18:50] to the original if you can

[1:18:53] please unmute after that will

[1:18:54] be 8700 and I mean obviously I

[1:18:55] don't and you guys have an item

[1:18:58] prior to this that shows that

[1:18:58] this is not working as

[1:18:59] Katherine was pointing out and

[1:19:03] it's like I don't understand

[1:19:04] how you could be getting awards

[1:19:07] for this when just the item

[1:19:08] before showing that for years

[1:19:11] nearly a decade there has been

[1:19:12] issues that this internal

[1:19:13] controls didn't catch didn't do

[1:19:18] anything about.

[1:19:18] I mean it constantly there are

[1:19:19] issues showing

[1:19:22] the mismanagement, fraud, waste

[1:19:23] and abuse that it's taking

[1:19:23] place in the city.

[1:19:24] So for you guys to sit here and

[1:19:27] give a presentation like this

[1:19:28] as though you know, this is

[1:19:32] working really well obviously

[1:19:32] it is not from the prior item.

[1:19:37] I don't know if you guys don't

[1:19:37] think about those things or if

[1:19:38] you're kind of just like

[1:19:39] throwing it in our face to be

[1:19:42] like Oh yeah, everything is

[1:19:42] fine.

[1:19:43] Just don't pay attention to

[1:19:44] the prior item that we had in

[1:19:46] question How the internal

[1:19:47] controls were working there and

[1:19:48] why they didn't stop these

[1:19:51] things for years Like it's for

[1:19:52] years this has been going on

[1:19:53] and for years you guys have

[1:19:56] been in debt and mismanaging

[1:20:01] the money So it's like weird

[1:20:01] that you can sit here and bring

[1:20:02] forward an item and act like

[1:20:03] your internal controls are

[1:20:05] working Really well.

[1:20:06] Are they working well to hide

[1:20:06] that stuff?

[1:20:10] Because if that's the case then

[1:20:11] sure yeah they're working

[1:20:11] extremely well because they're

[1:20:12] making sure that you know

[1:20:16] business as usual goes on with

[1:20:16] the you know, intentional

[1:20:21] willful negligence and and

[1:20:22] mismanagement of the people's

[1:20:26] money who work very, very hard.

[1:20:27] So it is a slap in the face to

[1:20:30] sit here and tell that

[1:20:31] everything is going well when

[1:20:32] you just proved prior to this

[1:20:35] that it wasn't And so I think

[1:20:36] you need to rethink the way

[1:20:36] that you're presenting this

[1:20:39] item and not claim that it

[1:20:40] works really well and you know,

[1:20:41] be all excited because you're

[1:20:45] getting awards because

[1:20:45] the people you're probably

[1:20:46] getting awards from are people

[1:20:47] that are also hiding things and

[1:20:50] just wanting to make it seem

[1:20:50] like things are hunky dory when

[1:20:55] in fact they aren't But

[1:20:55] everything is inverted and so

[1:20:56] we get an inversion inverted.

[1:20:59] Martino has concluded Next is

[1:21:00] 8700 After that will be Blair

[1:21:07] Beekman 8700 star six To unmute

[1:21:10] Joy Sonata pd three from

[1:21:15] the staff report rather

[1:21:15] the controls are intended to

[1:21:20] mitigate the risks of financial

[1:21:21] reporting errors to a level

[1:21:25] that is acceptable based on

[1:21:30] conditions of materiality and

[1:21:30] to quote I study materiality in

[1:21:34] this context and believe me I

[1:21:39] was not reassured in any way

[1:21:44] Also expenditure errors

[1:21:45] appeared to be in compliance

[1:21:49] Look up the word appeared in

[1:21:50] this context I was not

[1:21:54] reassured I am leaning on this

[1:21:59] in this way That risk is more

[1:22:03] discretionary and subjective

[1:22:04] And I'm sorry to have to say

[1:22:05] that because I love our

[1:22:05] Department of Finance.

[1:22:08] They know that and the people

[1:22:09] that are in there they're great

[1:22:10] people But something's wrong

[1:22:13] here.

[1:22:14] Do you see what is calling to

[1:22:14] us?

[1:22:18] It's a red flag of opportunity.

[1:22:26] Let us be except what happens

[1:22:27] if you look at it Go with an

[1:22:27] Eagles.

[1:22:31] I let us seize the opportunity

[1:22:36] to change to grow and to become

[1:22:36] a better city for all.

[1:22:40] When are we going to truly

[1:22:40] truly be willing to have

[1:22:45] the courage and the greatness

[1:22:45] to do that step?

[1:22:46] We're not there yet but let's

[1:22:50] try to do it together.

[1:22:51] >> Look to all Thank you.

[1:22:52] Next is Blair Beckman If you

[1:22:55] can please unmute The five

[1:22:56] minute timer also concluded

[1:22:57] that there were four speakers

[1:23:00] in the queue No additional

[1:23:01] speakers will be taken.

[1:23:02] >> Blair Beckman After that is

[1:23:05] Kathleen Lippert.

[1:23:06] All right, thank you.

[1:23:06] Beakman Thanks for this item.

[1:23:08] Thanks for the public comment

[1:23:09] on this item.

[1:23:14] I feel similar really nice work

[1:23:14] on the previous item.

[1:23:18] I think everyone is involved on

[1:23:19] the previous item and I think

[1:23:20] it relates to what you're

[1:23:23] talking about overall for this

[1:23:23] item Overall accounting and

[1:23:28] auditing issues for our city

[1:23:28] concerns.

[1:23:33] So a good history was presented

[1:23:34] on previous problems and what

[1:23:34] we need to do to address this

[1:23:38] is issues that stem far back

[1:23:39] before Mayor Gloria.

[1:23:43] We I good luck that we really

[1:23:44] can be addressing the previous

[1:23:47] item and how it relates to this

[1:23:48] item and I think we really can

[1:23:49] do it as a city These are

[1:23:52] the one of the projects that we

[1:23:52] work as a community at this

[1:23:53] time So I hope we don't get

[1:23:56] caught up in you know people

[1:23:57] get lost in the process and we

[1:24:01] really develop something really

[1:24:02] good with this going on for

[1:24:03] good ideas.

[1:24:06] Good luck with that and for for

[1:24:07] this type of thing, you know, I

[1:24:11] think we still have to

[1:24:12] acknowledge that we made

[1:24:15] mistakes in 2024.

[1:24:15] I mean why did that happen?

[1:24:16] At least we're holding

[1:24:19] ourselves accountable now.

[1:24:23] But what did we do wrong in

[1:24:23] 2024?

[1:24:24] And as much as I think

[1:24:25] the mayor's office and I had a

[1:24:28] part in bringing this to

[1:24:28] accountability at this time, i

[1:24:33] think it suggests the overall

[1:24:33] idea that, you know, council

[1:24:34] has been asking how do we

[1:24:38] create a better set of

[1:24:39] governance at this time There's

[1:24:42] something lacking in our

[1:24:43] governance policies that

[1:24:43] the strong mayor position is is

[1:24:48] is it lacks something in

[1:24:48] creating a better governance.

[1:24:52] I really hope and the strong

[1:24:52] mayor position because learn to

[1:24:53] take suggestions from our

[1:24:57] current city council on what

[1:24:58] can be better organizational

[1:24:58] practices and better governance

[1:25:02] practices and learn to be

[1:25:03] flexible in that thinking And I

[1:25:08] hope that can develop our

[1:25:09] future plan has concluded.

[1:25:12] >> Kathleen Lippert, if you can

[1:25:13] please join me after that is

[1:25:16] Judy Strang.

[1:25:16] Kathleen, I can hear me before

[1:25:21] you if it takes a minute to

[1:25:21] find the unmute button.

[1:25:25] >> Thank you.

[1:25:26] >> My name is Kathleen Letter

[1:25:27] in Good afternoon.

[1:25:30] The public is really served so

[1:25:31] well by individuals such as

[1:25:31] Katherine Rhodes in order for

[1:25:36] their candor I am also confused

[1:25:37] as to why the city receives so

[1:25:40] many accolades for audits when

[1:25:45] they are clearly in deficit

[1:25:45] when they clearly are sending

[1:25:46] there they are doing fit

[1:25:49] fiscally in responsible things

[1:25:50] like spending out all of their

[1:25:54] reserves, finding everywhere to

[1:25:55] look under overturning every

[1:25:59] rock to find taxpayer money,

[1:26:00] not taking the money out of

[1:26:05] the city budget card San Diego

[1:26:05] has the worst fiscal health of

[1:26:09] any city in the county.

[1:26:09] That's hardly something to brag

[1:26:14] about and they while serving in

[1:26:15] the California Senate and one

[1:26:15] of the senators decided to

[1:26:19] prepare a fiscal ranking of

[1:26:19] the cities when cities are

[1:26:23] delinquent paying real property

[1:26:24] tax I'm sorry when taxpayers

[1:26:28] are delinquent in paying real

[1:26:29] property tax on their homes

[1:26:30] Even one day the county

[1:26:34] treasurer taxes them a 10%

[1:26:34] penalty of the amount that

[1:26:35] they're due.

[1:26:39] So why the Sacramento allow

[1:26:39] cities to be so complacent in

[1:26:43] their fiscal reporting

[1:26:44] responsibilities?

[1:26:44] Having due dates and penalties

[1:26:48] should at least be a two way

[1:26:48] street.

[1:26:53] Also the city is not served by

[1:26:54] one party or the other having a

[1:26:58] total say without having

[1:26:59] alternative opinions because

[1:27:03] clearly you all need to get out

[1:27:04] of your echo chambers and

[1:27:08] listen to alternative opinions

[1:27:08] which typically prove to have

[1:27:12] some merit.

[1:27:13] The last thing is strong public

[1:27:13] employee unions tend to

[1:27:18] influence the outcome of who is

[1:27:18] elected to the city councils

[1:27:19] and when they control who

[1:27:22] becomes their bosses they tend

[1:27:23] to get a little greedy as time

[1:27:27] has concluded to a string.

[1:27:32] Good afternoon San Diego City

[1:27:36] Council I just have kind of an

[1:27:37] a comment or an observation

[1:27:41] that I've been making because I

[1:27:42] think everyone on city council

[1:27:46] has some of the same concern

[1:27:47] about receiving the revenue

[1:27:51] that we need and what are

[1:27:51] the internal financial controls

[1:27:52] that can make that happen.

[1:27:56] But I noticed on the last item

[1:27:57] that my own city council person

[1:28:01] Joe LaCava was missing and we

[1:28:01] were talking about Mission Bay

[1:28:06] and it made me wonder about all

[1:28:07] the city council people Are

[1:28:07] they missing in action?

[1:28:11] Do you know in your city

[1:28:12] council district which are

[1:28:12] the city leased public

[1:28:15] properties?

[1:28:16] Do you know what's been going

[1:28:17] on and have those leases been

[1:28:20] negotiated And recently do you

[1:28:21] know what sort of loss of

[1:28:25] funding has happened because of

[1:28:26] those leases not being

[1:28:26] negotiated?

[1:28:30] Are you aware that they might

[1:28:35] be presenting the visual

[1:28:36] the optic if you will, of

[1:28:39] preferential treatment Because

[1:28:40] perhaps that's the problem is

[1:28:44] that you all don't have a good

[1:28:45] handle on who it is within your

[1:28:49] city council district that hold

[1:28:50] leases of public property And

[1:28:54] we in the public of course very

[1:28:55] difficult for us to understand

[1:28:59] who in our neighborhoods might

[1:29:00] want public land in our

[1:29:01] neighborhoods might be under

[1:29:05] lease And so hard for us to

[1:29:06] know whether we're receiving

[1:29:09] the funding we need.

[1:29:10] So maybe the buck doesn't stop

[1:29:10] at the mayor's office.

[1:29:14] Maybe the buck doesn't stop

[1:29:15] with middle management.

[1:29:15] Maybe it stops at the city

[1:29:19] council or at least it's

[1:29:20] something for us all to

[1:29:20] consider And this is our

[1:29:23] opportunity that this report is

[1:29:24] providing us to take a look at

[1:29:28] our our own 90 our own nine

[1:29:29] city council districts and ask

[1:29:29] ourselves if we've got a good

[1:29:33] handle on it.

[1:29:33] >> Thank you.

[1:29:34] Thank you.

[1:29:34] Next And our final speaker is

[1:29:40] Tony, if you can please unmute

[1:29:40] .

[1:29:41] Yes, Hello City Council.

[1:29:41] Good afternoon.

[1:29:45] I just wanted to speak and

[1:29:45] comment on the this audit issue

[1:29:46] that's going on with these

[1:29:49] parks right now, these issues

[1:29:50] that we're having being under

[1:29:53] budget on the whole about $120

[1:29:54] million And I wanted to speak

[1:29:58] to an issue that Bob Kaye has

[1:29:59] been coming to city council for

[1:30:01] for the last 20 years.

[1:30:02] He's been talking about how in

[1:30:06] Joe the Culver's district,

[1:30:07] the La Hoya Glider Port Park is

[1:30:11] getting away with paying off.

[1:30:14] I think it's only 5000 or

[1:30:14] $10,000 a year is what their

[1:30:15] leases and they're making

[1:30:18] millions of dollars off of a

[1:30:19] public park and they're paying

[1:30:23] a super tiny minimal lease that

[1:30:24] they've been locked into for

[1:30:24] the last 20 years And it's

[1:30:25] really depressing.

[1:30:28] I go to city council chambers

[1:30:29] and Bob tells me that he's been

[1:30:32] raising this issue for over 20

[1:30:33] years and I was there in person

[1:30:33] when he asked you all to play

[1:30:36] the video of him speaking

[1:30:37] before this city council and

[1:30:38] bringing this issue to the city

[1:30:42] council's attention back then.

[1:30:43] This was back in 2006 and he

[1:30:43] played this video in front of

[1:30:47] you And still I'm not seeing a

[1:30:48] single one of you taking this

[1:30:48] issue by the reins and

[1:30:52] investigating this issue.

[1:30:53] It's really depressing as

[1:30:53] somebody that tries to weigh in

[1:30:56] and tries to make a difference

[1:30:57] in city council understanding

[1:30:57] that y'all are supposedly

[1:31:01] listening to our inputs and our

[1:31:02] opinions and y'all are supposed

[1:31:03] to take what we say seriously

[1:31:06] and then I see somebody who's

[1:31:07] been working on this same issue

[1:31:07] of corruption of the city not

[1:31:11] getting paid its its due fair

[1:31:12] share for a park that it

[1:31:16] publicly owns And he's been

[1:31:17] raising the alarm on this issue

[1:31:18] for over 20 years and it still

[1:31:21] hasn't been addressed.

[1:31:22] It's like if this issue doesn't

[1:31:22] get addressed, how many other

[1:31:26] issues you know get swept under

[1:31:27] the rug that people have to

[1:31:30] continue fighting for and

[1:31:31] coming to city council meetings

[1:31:31] for?

[1:31:32] It's not an easy thing to do to

[1:31:36] clock out of work to go to city

[1:31:36] council in person.

[1:31:39] I've gotten four parking

[1:31:39] tickets in the last five months

[1:31:40] from my involvement in these

[1:31:44] city Council meetings and still

[1:31:44] these issues aren't being

[1:31:45] addressed.

[1:31:46] >> So your time has concluded

[1:31:48] and that does conclude public

[1:31:49] comment on item 2a1 Thank you

[1:31:50] Council PRESIDENT Pro Tem Thank

[1:31:54] you.

[1:31:54] Thank you for the presentation

[1:31:55] and see no other comments.

[1:31:59] Well I'll turn first to

[1:31:59] COUNCILMAN Realer Rivera Thank

[1:32:02] you council PRESIDENT Pro tem I

[1:32:05] just want to say thank you for

[1:32:10] the report here the public

[1:32:15] comment here I was very

[1:32:15] predictable.

[1:32:16] >> I spoke with my team about

[1:32:19] this last week when we were

[1:32:20] going through the agenda and it

[1:32:25] completely understand why in a

[1:32:25] moment like this one where

[1:32:29] we're going through the budget

[1:32:30] challenges we are that this

[1:32:34] conversation can feel detached

[1:32:35] from reality But it's also it's

[1:32:39] a technical response to a

[1:32:40] technical question And I just

[1:32:43] want to kind of ask for you all

[1:32:48] to reiterate that the report

[1:32:49] out that we heard is not a

[1:32:53] declaration that everything is

[1:32:54] being done perfectly or that

[1:32:58] every decision it's been made

[1:32:59] has been ideal but instead a

[1:33:03] answer to the question as to

[1:33:03] whether or not specific

[1:33:07] internal financial controls are

[1:33:08] in place and best practices are

[1:33:08] being adhered to.

[1:33:13] It is that correct?

[1:33:13] >> That is that is correct.

[1:33:18] Council member Sheila Rivera

[1:33:18] intent of the report is to

[1:33:22] basically say do we have a

[1:33:23] strong enough system control to

[1:33:23] be able to produce financial

[1:33:27] statements that are reliable

[1:33:28] that that investors can look at

[1:33:28] and are properly following

[1:33:32] the accounting standards and

[1:33:32] the rules of accounting that

[1:33:33] the auditor goes through and

[1:33:37] verifies that that's the that

[1:33:38] there is still of course

[1:33:38] there's materiality It's never

[1:33:42] perfection will never be

[1:33:42] the goal because to get a

[1:33:43] perfect financial statements

[1:33:46] would be extremely expensive.

[1:33:47] But is it materially accurate

[1:33:47] enough?

[1:33:52] Do we have a strong system of

[1:33:52] internal controls that that's

[1:33:53] really the question to

[1:33:53] answering.

[1:33:53] >> Okay.

[1:33:56] I I appreciate that and I'm

[1:34:01] glad that we're doing things in

[1:34:06] such a way that ensures that

[1:34:07] investors see us in the way

[1:34:08] that you just mentioned and

[1:34:08] that we're doing the things

[1:34:11] that we need to be that need to

[1:34:11] be done on that front.

[1:34:12] And at the same time I just

[1:34:13] think it's important to

[1:34:13] acknowledge that just because

[1:34:16] we are saying that we are we

[1:34:17] are checking those boxes and I

[1:34:21] don't mean that in a in a

[1:34:22] flippant way but again in a

[1:34:25] technical way just because

[1:34:25] we're checking checking those

[1:34:26] boxes does mean that we think

[1:34:29] that everything's perfect and

[1:34:30] we don't need to do things

[1:34:31] differently when it comes to

[1:34:34] the city's finances and we have

[1:34:35] different opinions as to

[1:34:35] the best way to do that.

[1:34:38] But again, I want to say thank

[1:34:39] you And then I just wanted to

[1:34:43] kind of acknowledge disconnect

[1:34:44] here between having a

[1:34:45] conversation where we say we're

[1:34:49] we're doing things right and

[1:34:50] then two days from now we're

[1:34:51] going to be presented with a

[1:34:51] budget.

[1:34:54] It's going to be telling us all

[1:34:54] the ways that things aren't

[1:34:58] okay And and while that can

[1:34:59] feel incongruent in this

[1:35:02] instance, it's just because

[1:35:02] we're answering kind of two

[1:35:03] different questions.

[1:35:03] >> Thank you.

[1:35:07] Council PRESIDENT Pro Tem.

[1:35:07] Thank you.

[1:35:08] Next up is council member

[1:35:12] Yvonne Wilbert from Thank you

[1:35:13] And thank you Councilor Rivera

[1:35:14] because I was going to make

[1:35:17] the same comment about how we

[1:35:17] saw that earlier item that

[1:35:18] we're not collecting revenue

[1:35:21] from leases that we should be

[1:35:22] and now we're going to say

[1:35:23] we're doing a good job with

[1:35:27] financial controls but it's I

[1:35:27] understand it's a very

[1:35:28] technical question.

[1:35:28] I mean I've also been very

[1:35:31] upset by the lack of city

[1:35:32] staff's ability to conform to

[1:35:36] budgeted contracting items and

[1:35:36] allowing contracts to expire

[1:35:37] And we're still spending money

[1:35:41] that's not been authorized by

[1:35:42] the city council And I know we

[1:35:42] had an audit about it.

[1:35:43] We're going to have an audit of

[1:35:45] the herc rental contract which

[1:35:46] is one of the ones that

[1:35:46] spiraled out of control.

[1:35:48] I am glad that we do have a new

[1:35:49] improvements to Ariba and

[1:35:54] contracting processes.

[1:35:55] It's still it's it's really

[1:35:58] hard for us to get our heads

[1:35:59] around this when one of the big

[1:35:59] biggest budget items we're

[1:36:03] going to see next week or in

[1:36:04] the few days is you know,

[1:36:05] external contracts or outside

[1:36:08] contracts with hundreds of

[1:36:09] millions of dollars And it's

[1:36:09] very hard for us to dig into

[1:36:10] it.

[1:36:11] And now that I'm seeing so many

[1:36:13] contracts come through that are

[1:36:14] overdue that are past due and

[1:36:14] we're just expected to rubber

[1:36:18] stamp them, it has made me very

[1:36:19] frustrated.

[1:36:19] And so something on on

[1:36:20] the PowerPoint slide is that

[1:36:23] highlights of c y 2025 revenue

[1:36:23] compliance program process

[1:36:27] improvement in system upgrades

[1:36:28] Can you tell me more about what

[1:36:31] those are?

[1:36:32] I think it's Slide seven in

[1:36:36] the PowerPoint.

[1:36:37] I think that relates to

[1:36:41] the deck economic development

[1:36:46] the leases and we can have we

[1:36:47] could have our liaison from

[1:36:47] economic development speak to

[1:36:52] that.

[1:36:53] Thank you for the question

[1:36:59] Councilmember Belmore Pert This

[1:36:59] is the least system upgrade

[1:37:00] that I spoke to on the previous

[1:37:05] four item So we're currently in

[1:37:06] version six for upgrading now

[1:37:09] to version 11 and the more in

[1:37:10] the process of doing an rfp for

[1:37:12] a future system.

[1:37:13] Okay.

[1:37:18] And can I ask what is the plan

[1:37:19] going forward to upgrade city

[1:37:19] software?

[1:37:22] I know that is a budget issue

[1:37:23] but when I was first elected

[1:37:27] the water department wasn't

[1:37:28] billing residents for water and

[1:37:29] I went over to Pudi and was

[1:37:33] given a presentation of

[1:37:33] the system.

[1:37:34] They had to go through

[1:37:34] the software system and it

[1:37:37] honestly looked similar to what

[1:37:38] I used the Oregon Trail as a

[1:37:42] video game in middle school and

[1:37:43] finally it has been upgraded

[1:37:44] and they hired new staff who

[1:37:47] understand how to do billing

[1:37:48] and it's working and we're

[1:37:48] getting more revenue into

[1:37:49] the city.

[1:37:51] But why is it that our economic

[1:37:52] development department is still

[1:37:57] using software from its 11 that

[1:37:57] was six It could be you know,

[1:37:58] ten, 15 years ago.

[1:38:00] You know what is our internal

[1:38:01] processes to make sure we're

[1:38:02] updating software.

[1:38:05] I know it comes at a cost but

[1:38:06] do we have any kind of

[1:38:06] management plan for this for

[1:38:10] software for our city?

[1:38:11] We we do.

[1:38:11] Councilmember And there is a

[1:38:15] strategic plan especially when

[1:38:16] you have legacy systems like

[1:38:16] the one that we're referring to

[1:38:19] and where you can actually

[1:38:20] cause vulnerabilities in terms

[1:38:20] of cyber security and things

[1:38:21] like that.

[1:38:24] But absolutely this scenario

[1:38:25] that I know the Christina

[1:38:29] Biller had flagged for us a few

[1:38:30] years back and we're moving

[1:38:31] forward with the rfp for this

[1:38:35] particular software in MAY Just

[1:38:36] to redirect a little bit

[1:38:38] the discussion here with this

[1:38:39] particular report is the scope

[1:38:40] is very narrow.

[1:38:44] It's is about any time that we

[1:38:44] are producing financial

[1:38:48] information for external use

[1:38:49] for example financial

[1:38:50] statements, official statements

[1:38:53] when we issue bonds.

[1:38:54] So this is really something

[1:38:54] that was added to the municipal

[1:38:58] code after all the issues that

[1:38:59] we saw in the early 2000 to

[1:39:03] make sure that if there was an

[1:39:04] issue in internal internal

[1:39:04] controls for financial

[1:39:05] reporting that we would be

[1:39:08] presenting that to the city

[1:39:09] council.

[1:39:09] So we recognize that there are

[1:39:12] issues operational issues in

[1:39:13] other financial problems

[1:39:14] throughout the city.

[1:39:14] But the scope at least for this

[1:39:18] particular report is is very

[1:39:18] narrow.

[1:39:19] It's that we are actually

[1:39:23] reporting the fiscal condition

[1:39:23] of the city to the investors.

[1:39:27] But I understand that that's

[1:39:28] why this is accurate this

[1:39:28] statement.

[1:39:32] But it is a sad state of

[1:39:33] affairs that we do have to

[1:39:34] report So things to the city

[1:39:36] that they're not running so

[1:39:36] well.

[1:39:37] So but I do understand

[1:39:38] the difference and thank you

[1:39:42] for your work.

[1:39:42] You guys are always keeping us

[1:39:43] early.

[1:39:44] I appreciate you know, Rolando,

[1:39:46] since you've taken over you've

[1:39:47] been completely accessible and

[1:39:47] transparent.

[1:39:48] I know the employee groups are

[1:39:51] enjoying working with with you

[1:39:51] as well.

[1:39:52] So I know that you know

[1:39:53] the Department of Finance is

[1:39:56] not responsible for all

[1:39:56] the operational needs of

[1:39:57] the city and often you have to

[1:39:58] and try and answer questions

[1:40:01] about them when your job is

[1:40:01] just to properly make sure

[1:40:02] they're funded.

[1:40:02] So I just I appreciate what you

[1:40:03] do and thank you for continuing

[1:40:09] to work with us.

[1:40:09] Okay.

[1:40:09] Thank you.

[1:40:13] Seeing no other speakers that

[1:40:14] will conclude this item.

[1:40:14] Thank you for the presentation.

[1:40:20] Once again as a reminder that

[1:40:21] was an informational item only

[1:40:22] so no motion was required.

[1:40:26] We will now take up non agenda

[1:40:26] public comment.

[1:40:27] The council members respect and

[1:40:28] appreciate the public's input

[1:40:30] and are fully committed to

[1:40:31] protecting every participant's

[1:40:32] free speech rights at council

[1:40:35] and committee meetings quickly

[1:40:36] please proceed with public

[1:40:36] comment.

[1:40:37] >> Thank you.

[1:40:37] Council PRESIDENT Pro Tem We do

[1:40:41] have a couple of speakers here

[1:40:41] in council chambers Pearl 2.7

[1:40:42] and Agenda Public comment is an

[1:40:45] opportunity for members of

[1:40:45] the public to comment on items

[1:40:46] that are not on the agenda but

[1:40:47] within the subject matter

[1:40:50] jurisdiction of the city

[1:40:50] Council.

[1:40:51] Each speaker will have two

[1:40:51] minutes.

[1:40:52] Please note there are eight or

[1:40:54] more speakers on a single topic

[1:40:54] .

[1:40:55] The maximum time for the topic

[1:40:56] will be 16 minutes.

[1:40:56] If you're in chambers please be

[1:40:59] sure to submit your speaker

[1:41:00] slip now or if you are joining

[1:41:00] us virtually press the raise

[1:41:04] your hand icon or star nine if

[1:41:08] I can have Jabali Gutierrez

[1:41:09] please come up to

[1:41:17] the microphone after that out

[1:41:17] Del Mastro and Alan Benson

[1:41:19] Please come up to the first

[1:41:19] row.

[1:41:20] If I've already called your

[1:41:22] name you should come up to

[1:41:26] the first row Now.

[1:41:27] >> Good afternoon.

[1:41:28] My name is Julie Gutierrez.

[1:41:31] Thank you.

[1:41:32] Council PRESIDENT Council

[1:41:32] members I am a resident of this

[1:41:33] community.

[1:41:36] I'm here today since we're

[1:41:36] seeing in our downtown area

[1:41:37] it's not just a policy issue.

[1:41:41] It's a human one.

[1:41:41] Every day more individuals are

[1:41:42] living without stable shelter.

[1:41:45] We see people sleeping on

[1:41:46] sidewalks and doorways and in

[1:41:50] places never meant for rest or

[1:41:50] safety.

[1:41:51] This is not because they chose

[1:41:55] to live this way or it's just a

[1:41:56] factor that's pushed them.

[1:41:56] Many factors have pushed them

[1:42:00] to live this way but also

[1:42:00] there's not enough accessible

[1:42:04] and adequate shelter options

[1:42:05] available to them Long waitlist

[1:42:09] and long waitlist and denied

[1:42:10] requests remain common leaving

[1:42:11] many individuals without

[1:42:11] immediate help Despite a

[1:42:15] population of about 1.4 million

[1:42:15] residents, the 2025 point in

[1:42:18] time count report in 9905

[1:42:19] people experiencing

[1:42:20] homelessness county wide

[1:42:27] including 5714 unsheltered 4191

[1:42:28] in shelters, according to

[1:42:29] the University of San Diego,

[1:42:31] which conducted a research as

[1:42:32] of MAY of 2025 nearly 994% of

[1:42:36] unhoused individuals seeking

[1:42:37] shelter were denied primarily

[1:42:38] due to lack of space.

[1:42:41] This crisis also reaches

[1:42:42] diverse groups such as seniors

[1:42:42] families struggling to make

[1:42:45] ends meet and students who

[1:42:46] cannot find housing they can

[1:42:50] afford the people we see

[1:42:51] experiencing homelessness are

[1:42:51] not statistics.

[1:42:52] They are individuals with

[1:42:55] families hard emotions and

[1:42:56] human needs which is why I am

[1:42:59] speaking about their dignity as

[1:43:00] well.

[1:43:00] The contrast is especially

[1:43:01] striking in downtown San Diego

[1:43:05] yet alongside this prosperity

[1:43:05] is visible human suffering When

[1:43:06] homelessness becomes just

[1:43:10] another part of the scenery,

[1:43:10] indifference takes root Which

[1:43:14] is why I am asking and I'm also

[1:43:15] bringing awareness to this

[1:43:15] issue demands both urgent

[1:43:18] action and long term solutions

[1:43:19] grounded in empathy.

[1:43:20] I urge the Council to expand

[1:43:20] shelter capacity in

[1:43:24] the downtown area, invest in

[1:43:24] transitional housing and

[1:43:25] partner with local

[1:43:29] organizations.

[1:43:33] >> Thank you Domestic Mastro

[1:43:38] Hi, my name is Aldo Mastro and

[1:43:38] ex blue collar worker.

[1:43:39] I'm a disabled veteran.

[1:43:43] I'm a senior and yes, I'm a

[1:43:44] small mom and pop landlord.

[1:43:47] I've been a landlord for over

[1:43:48] 20 years.

[1:43:49] I've destroyed my body through

[1:43:52] my hard work and my service to

[1:43:53] this country and the community.

[1:43:54] I live in a five plex in

[1:43:57] Claremont.

[1:43:58] I never bought a house because

[1:43:59] I wanted to be a responsible

[1:44:02] senior.

[1:44:02] This new law that the city

[1:44:03] council is putting on

[1:44:06] the ballot in JUNE is extremely

[1:44:07] misleading.

[1:44:07] I guess even a judge has made

[1:44:12] them reworded it from a

[1:44:12] vacation home to an empty home

[1:44:16] law because how misleading that

[1:44:17] was The true ugliness for me is

[1:44:22] this law would pardon me if it

[1:44:26] takes me longer to renovate an

[1:44:29] apartment than six months or

[1:44:33] 183 days I'm going to be fined

[1:44:33] $8000 to $10,000.

[1:44:38] The deal is 90% of all mom and

[1:44:41] pop landlords are over the age

[1:44:42] of 55 to 80.

[1:44:43] So if one of us gets cancer or

[1:44:47] wife dies or anything like that

[1:44:47] happens, we're going to get a

[1:44:48] fine on top of it.

[1:44:52] This is about as ugly a law

[1:44:52] that you guys are.

[1:44:53] I know you guys aren't that bad

[1:44:56] of people that would anybody

[1:44:57] would put forth I think since

[1:45:00] the judge even changed about it

[1:45:01] the first time when I saw this

[1:45:02] being presented was it was for

[1:45:06] millionaires who own houses and

[1:45:06] mansions and a lawyer But it

[1:45:10] affect anybody that has an open

[1:45:11] property no matter unless I go

[1:45:11] into a nursing home.

[1:45:16] If you read the details, if I

[1:45:16] don't go into an immersion home

[1:45:17] and I have a heart attack or my

[1:45:19] spouse dies, I'm getting an 8

[1:45:20] or $10,000 fine on top of it

[1:45:24] and margins are real slim with

[1:45:25] us Now we still I my wife and I

[1:45:26] both still have parents who are

[1:45:29] alive and we still take care of

[1:45:29] them.

[1:45:34] And so this is this is a little

[1:45:34] cruel.

[1:45:35] >> I don't know if I should be

[1:45:36] doing this to handicapped

[1:45:39] people disabled.

[1:45:39] That concludes your Thank you.

[1:45:40] Thank you.

[1:45:43] Dylan Benson Hello.

[1:45:47] >> You can excuse the customs

[1:45:48] and courtesies just talking

[1:45:53] about some things today

[1:45:53] Councilmember Ella Rivera your

[1:45:54] super quick to talk about how

[1:45:58] investors view us I think now

[1:45:59] is the wrong time to like look

[1:45:59] at those kind of things

[1:46:02] especially when our huge

[1:46:03] margins are just missing money

[1:46:04] And then when we're looking at

[1:46:07] like you guys are already

[1:46:08] getting paid more than

[1:46:12] congressman Congresswoman all

[1:46:12] of you Todd Gloria is getting

[1:46:17] you are actually And MISS

[1:46:21] Campbell, when the people were

[1:46:22] having the comments on agendas,

[1:46:23] you got up and started clipping

[1:46:23] your toenails behind You

[1:46:26] haven't cared about what anyone

[1:46:27] has said today.

[1:46:28] I've watched you We're talking

[1:46:31] about Councilmember Campbell.

[1:46:32] You also said sometimes we need

[1:46:35] to give things up to get other

[1:46:36] things done.

[1:46:36] Is that including your personal

[1:46:37] salary which once again is more

[1:46:40] than the congressmen and women

[1:46:40] ?

[1:46:41] Probably not.

[1:46:41] So you guys will be hearing

[1:46:42] from me.

[1:46:45] We're talking about these money

[1:46:46] problems.

[1:46:46] It's long standing You guys

[1:46:50] have been this money problem

[1:46:50] for what, two decades now?

[1:46:51] I'm not a big money guy but

[1:46:52] I'll be coming back with more

[1:46:55] facts next time and they'll be

[1:46:56] customs and courtesies next

[1:46:56] time.

[1:47:00] But I just want to I appreciate

[1:47:00] the time for letting me speak

[1:47:01] today.

[1:47:01] So thank you.

[1:47:01] Thank you.

[1:47:05] I started the five minute timer

[1:47:06] going to those participating

[1:47:06] remotely.

[1:47:07] We currently have nine people

[1:47:07] in the queue with their hands

[1:47:10] raised starting with

[1:47:10] the original.

[1:47:14] If you can please unmute I love

[1:47:15] when people come in and you

[1:47:19] know really hold you guys

[1:47:20] accountable because there's

[1:47:21] more accolades a lot of times

[1:47:21] and people are misled thinking

[1:47:24] that what you guys are doing is

[1:47:24] actually beneficial to their

[1:47:25] lives.

[1:47:25] But you know what Dylan was

[1:47:28] saying It's like you guys get

[1:47:29] paid exorbitant amounts of

[1:47:30] money and you're never willing

[1:47:33] to cut back on that but you're

[1:47:34] willing to make cuts to

[1:47:34] the people And it's sad because

[1:47:38] there's so much fraud waste and

[1:47:38] abuse.

[1:47:39] And Shawn, as you guys are

[1:47:40] sitting here trying to explain

[1:47:42] away those last two items, I

[1:47:42] don't think it's really fair

[1:47:43] because it's like if you're in

[1:47:47] terminal controls were working

[1:47:48] then they would be working in

[1:47:48] this kind of stuff wouldn't be

[1:47:51] taking place.

[1:47:52] But it's like I mean people

[1:47:56] will come in as has been stated

[1:47:56] before about you know from

[1:47:57] the Glide report and talking

[1:48:01] about that lease for 20 years.

[1:48:02] >> So imagine how much money is

[1:48:05] actually being lost due to

[1:48:06] the you know, quid pro quo

[1:48:11] that's going on here And these

[1:48:11] people are, you know,

[1:48:12] benefiting from making, you

[1:48:15] know, millions of dollars off

[1:48:16] of that site while the city

[1:48:16] isn't.

[1:48:17] So who's getting the kickbacks

[1:48:20] for that Because it makes you

[1:48:21] wonder like when things aren't

[1:48:22] being addressed when it's

[1:48:26] decades long issues and you

[1:48:26] guys have this all the time

[1:48:27] where it's like people will

[1:48:30] come in and tell you they're

[1:48:31] really egregious things that

[1:48:32] are taking place that you guys

[1:48:35] should be mitigating.

[1:48:36] I mean it's even like Tent City

[1:48:37] and we know that you know, if

[1:48:37] Stephen Whitburn is friends

[1:48:40] with Theresa Smith then

[1:48:41] obviously you guys aren't going

[1:48:42] to do anything about making

[1:48:42] sure that the people in Tent

[1:48:46] City are actually, you know, be

[1:48:46] being provided the services

[1:48:47] that they're supposed to that

[1:48:50] they're getting into housing.

[1:48:51] So it's like you guys sit here

[1:48:51] and you virtue signal and you

[1:48:55] gaslight the people as if we

[1:48:56] can't see through what you're

[1:48:56] doing And it's like and you

[1:48:59] literally sit up there and act

[1:49:00] like everything is fine when

[1:49:01] time and time again it does all

[1:49:04] you have to do is come to a

[1:49:05] meeting and you can see that

[1:49:05] things are and that you're

[1:49:06] mismanaging money and that

[1:49:08] there's missing money or that

[1:49:09] money's going from here to

[1:49:10] there and this project can't be

[1:49:11] completed because of this or

[1:49:11] we're not going to shut this

[1:49:13] down because I'm getting

[1:49:14] kickbacks from it.

[1:49:14] It's very transparent what

[1:49:19] you're going do you're doing

[1:49:19] and that's the only thing

[1:49:20] you're transparent about

[1:49:21] everything else you're not Your

[1:49:21] time has concluded Khaya if you

[1:49:26] can please unmute.

[1:49:31] Hello?

[1:49:32] >> Yes we can hear me okay.

[1:49:32] Hi.

[1:49:33] Actually my name is Sue Taylor.

[1:49:35] This is my daughter's computer.

[1:49:36] i just wanted to talk about

[1:49:40] some general information about

[1:49:40] leases.

[1:49:41] I did listen to the item on

[1:49:46] the performance audit and I

[1:49:46] wanted to know that as of

[1:49:47] today.

[1:49:47] Background I worked in the real

[1:49:50] estate department for 41 years

[1:49:51] and retired a couple of years

[1:49:51] ago.

[1:49:55] As of today there's 825 total

[1:49:55] leases.

[1:49:58] Of those 164 are at

[1:49:58] the airports.

[1:49:59] And of those a good portion of

[1:50:03] those like over 100 are

[1:50:03] probably airport Titan

[1:50:04] agreements, airplane tie down

[1:50:06] agreements which don't require

[1:50:11] a whole lot of work.

[1:50:11] And that leaves there's about

[1:50:12] 60 that are where the city is a

[1:50:13] lessee.

[1:50:16] So that would be like your

[1:50:17] office space buildings or it

[1:50:17] could even be the bridge kiosks

[1:50:20] And on and over the 15 things

[1:50:21] like that.

[1:50:24] So that leaves about 600

[1:50:24] agreements that would have to

[1:50:28] be handled by those 13 people.

[1:50:29] Then also regarding holdovers

[1:50:33] in general, there's 180

[1:50:33] holdovers.

[1:50:38] Probably the most egregious are

[1:50:38] the samba school where there's

[1:50:39] 22 of those.

[1:50:40] Now the reason why I say that

[1:50:43] is because, you know, a couple

[1:50:43] of years ago there was a

[1:50:44] program coordinator added just

[1:50:47] to work on those leases But

[1:50:48] that has not been done.

[1:50:49] But a lot of the other

[1:50:52] holdovers like Mission Bay

[1:50:53] Yeah, there's 11 two of those

[1:50:54] went out to rfp.

[1:50:57] Those are the big ones.

[1:50:58] Six of them are storage.

[1:50:59] So they're like canoe storage

[1:51:02] for the different rowing clubs

[1:51:03] which bring in 200 to 300 a

[1:51:03] month.

[1:51:07] So those are permits like three

[1:51:08] year permits to get renewed,

[1:51:09] not major leases.

[1:51:12] Two of our telecommunication

[1:51:13] sites which do get yearly

[1:51:13] increases even though they're

[1:51:17] on hold over.

[1:51:18] And one of them is the Boy

[1:51:19] Scouts on Fiesta Island.

[1:51:20] So whatever you guys want to do

[1:51:22] with that, I just wanted to say

[1:51:22] that sometimes the holdovers

[1:51:23] are non-revenue and there's no

[1:51:23] value there.

[1:51:27] But the high value ones are

[1:51:27] the ones that should be worked

[1:51:28] on.

[1:51:28] Thank you.

[1:51:32] Next is Peggy Walker if you can

[1:51:32] please.

[1:51:32] >> On you.

[1:51:33] Thank you.

[1:51:36] Good afternoon.

[1:51:37] I'm a public health

[1:51:37] professional and if you are

[1:51:41] people are a priority and they

[1:51:42] should be.

[1:51:42] I ask you to look at

[1:51:45] the science and data to

[1:51:46] consider real consequences of

[1:51:46] adding more marijuana

[1:51:50] businesses a c program

[1:51:51] proffering more high potency

[1:51:55] products will only increase

[1:51:55] adverse health and economic

[1:51:56] outcomes.

[1:52:00] Economic downsides include

[1:52:00] increased need for health care

[1:52:01] treatment and access especially

[1:52:05] for young people.

[1:52:06] You know there's already a

[1:52:07] problem when 40% of San Diego

[1:52:10] County's marijuana related er

[1:52:15] admissions are aged 12 to 17

[1:52:18] and those 15 to 24 have

[1:52:19] the highest number of cannabis

[1:52:23] related er visits of all ages.

[1:52:24] You know there's a problem when

[1:52:27] Rudy's Children's Hospital

[1:52:28] reports 600 child admissions

[1:52:28] for cannabis related treatment

[1:52:32] last year and the county

[1:52:36] predicts a 129% increase is in

[1:52:37] use substance treatment needs

[1:52:41] in the future.

[1:52:41] Studies show teens living

[1:52:42] within ten minutes of

[1:52:46] dispensaries Those on Medicaid

[1:52:46] and those from lower income

[1:52:50] neighborhoods are more likely

[1:52:51] to use marijuana and have

[1:52:52] higher psychosis rates.

[1:52:55] Ironically this worsens

[1:52:56] existing mental health

[1:53:00] inequities right and seats

[1:53:01] target targeted communities.

[1:53:05] Remember the pot industry's

[1:53:06] business model is to keep

[1:53:06] existing users dependent and to

[1:53:10] hook future generations.

[1:53:11] And no reparation or tax

[1:53:15] revenue justifies the resulting

[1:53:16] child poisonings Addiction

[1:53:20] cannabis hyperemesis psychosis

[1:53:21] drops out suicide dui injuries

[1:53:25] or death.

[1:53:26] Now a young person's future is

[1:53:26] worth that tradeoff.

[1:53:30] We don't need more marijuana

[1:53:30] businesses.

[1:53:31] We need drug free kids.

[1:53:35] Thank you for listening.

[1:53:36] Thank you.

[1:53:36] Blair Beckman If you can please

[1:53:39] unmute me.

[1:53:40] >> All right.

[1:53:40] Thank you.

[1:53:44] Very.

[1:53:45] Thanks for the meeting today.

[1:53:49] It was an important meeting on

[1:53:49] ideas of accountability.

[1:53:50] We need it.

[1:53:54] I like accountability ideas.

[1:53:55] Good luck what we could be

[1:53:55] doing.

[1:53:58] i was councilperson LaCava was

[1:53:58] here today.

[1:53:59] Good luck How he can be

[1:54:00] returning to upcoming city

[1:54:02] council meetings.

[1:54:03] Um I wanted to comment a thank

[1:54:07] you from public comment today.

[1:54:08] I'm also interested in the idea

[1:54:12] that we continue dialog on not

[1:54:13] just council but the mayor can

[1:54:17] take a slight reduction in pay

[1:54:18] and how that can be good faith

[1:54:23] efforts and ideas to really

[1:54:23] address the budget in

[1:54:24] the future.

[1:54:24] Good luck in really considering

[1:54:25] that issue.

[1:54:27] I think it's worth considering

[1:54:27] .

[1:54:28] I also wanted to comment at

[1:54:32] this time you know I'm trying

[1:54:33] my best to learn how to balance

[1:54:33] that.

[1:54:37] The fact that we're in a

[1:54:38] current war in Iran and how

[1:54:42] that connects to our lives here

[1:54:43] at the local level do we have

[1:54:46] to be in deep fear or do we

[1:54:47] have to be in slight fear or I

[1:54:51] mean unbelievably we don't seem

[1:54:51] to have to be in fear.

[1:54:52] Things seem to be in check.

[1:54:53] I think GOD's really lucky on

[1:54:59] our end.

[1:54:59] >> What are we doing?

[1:55:00] I hope we can be continuing to

[1:55:04] address important matters from

[1:55:04] that and that you know in

[1:55:08] noting how things are going

[1:55:09] around the world we we then can

[1:55:12] balance best practices and best

[1:55:13] ideals And when we do that

[1:55:14] stuff here I keep saying at

[1:55:18] the local level openly and

[1:55:18] clearly it simply gives

[1:55:22] everyone around the world ideas

[1:55:23] of better reasoning and peace

[1:55:24] And so it's working towards our

[1:55:28] best selves that it's how to

[1:55:28] address war and not to

[1:55:32] continuously hide and be

[1:55:32] secretive because of war.

[1:55:33] It's an important lesson we're

[1:55:37] learning and I hope we practice

[1:55:38] it well and I hope we practice

[1:55:42] dialog instead of harm in

[1:55:42] the future and trust luck how

[1:55:43] we can do that.

[1:55:43] >> Thank you.

[1:55:46] Thank you.

[1:55:47] Next is Madison After that

[1:55:47] Francine Maxwell in Madison

[1:55:50] Please unmute.

[1:55:51] >> Hi, good afternoon.

[1:55:56] I'm a mother of young children

[1:55:56] and I'm here today to speak

[1:55:57] about the public safety risks

[1:56:00] associated with high thc

[1:56:01] cannabis and what that means

[1:56:01] for our roads.

[1:56:05] A recent federally funded study

[1:56:06] highlighted something important

[1:56:10] We still do not have a reliable

[1:56:11] practical way to measure

[1:56:12] marijuana impairment at

[1:56:15] the roadside like we do with

[1:56:16] alcohol.

[1:56:16] Researchers are now working on

[1:56:20] a new thc breathalyzer using 3d

[1:56:20] printed technology.

[1:56:21] But they do acknowledge it's

[1:56:25] only a proof of concept and

[1:56:25] requires significant further

[1:56:29] validation while marijuana use

[1:56:30] becomes more normalized and

[1:56:30] accessible.

[1:56:34] Our ability to keep impaired

[1:56:34] drivers off the road has not

[1:56:35] kept pace.

[1:56:39] The study makes clear that

[1:56:39] there is a growing need for

[1:56:40] fast reliable roadside tools

[1:56:44] due to the increase in cannabis

[1:56:45] use and that the current lack

[1:56:49] of such tools raises the risk

[1:56:49] of accidents and fatalities

[1:56:50] caused by intoxicated drivers.

[1:56:53] Even more concerning, federal

[1:56:54] researchers and agencies have

[1:56:58] acknowledged that thc levels in

[1:56:59] the body do not reliably

[1:57:00] correlate with impairment

[1:57:03] the way alcohol does.

[1:57:04] That means law enforcement is

[1:57:04] left without clear objective

[1:57:08] standards making it much harder

[1:57:08] to identify and prevent

[1:57:12] impaired driving in real time.

[1:57:13] At the same time we know thc

[1:57:13] affects reaction time, motor

[1:57:17] coordination and judgment all

[1:57:18] of which are critical for safe

[1:57:18] driving.

[1:57:22] When you combine increased

[1:57:23] access to high potency products

[1:57:26] with limited enforcement tools

[1:57:27] you create a real and growing

[1:57:28] public safety gap.

[1:57:31] >> This is especially relevant

[1:57:32] as the city considers expanding

[1:57:32] marijuana storefronts more

[1:57:36] retail access means more use

[1:57:37] and more inevitably increases

[1:57:41] the risk of impaired driving on

[1:57:41] our roads.

[1:57:42] We should not be expanding

[1:57:43] access to an intoxicating

[1:57:46] substance faster than we can

[1:57:47] responsibly manage its

[1:57:47] consequences.

[1:57:51] I urge you to take a cautious

[1:57:51] approach and prioritize road

[1:57:52] safety for this issue.

[1:57:52] Thank you.

[1:57:55] Thank you.

[1:57:56] >> Francine Maxwell If you can

[1:58:00] please unmute.

[1:58:01] >> Good afternoon Francine

[1:58:01] Maxwell.

[1:58:02] Thank you for allowing me to

[1:58:02] speak.

[1:58:05] I'm asking for the City Council

[1:58:10] to reimagine the cpp, reimagine

[1:58:11] you engaging in getting more

[1:58:15] involved especially since for

[1:58:15] the last five years so many

[1:58:16] things have been classified as

[1:58:19] miscellaneous.

[1:58:20] You should have the police

[1:58:20] department give you an

[1:58:25] explanation in of why they're

[1:58:26] labeling so much miscellaneous

[1:58:29] and not telling the cpp.

[1:58:30] When we used to get a

[1:58:31] spreadsheet of all complaints

[1:58:34] made to the San Diego Police

[1:58:35] Department that's what

[1:58:36] the measure be calls for.

[1:58:39] I would also like the City

[1:58:39] Council to have some bold

[1:58:44] leadership and demand that Joan

[1:58:44] Dawson be interviewed with you

[1:58:48] guys in closed session and ask

[1:58:49] why a city attorney is

[1:58:50] rewriting the policies and

[1:58:53] procedures for an independent

[1:58:53] commission.

[1:58:54] The cpp is independent.

[1:58:58] The city attorney's office is

[1:58:58] the sdp.

[1:58:59] These attorneys we're supposed

[1:59:03] to have our own attorney an

[1:59:03] independent attorney.

[1:59:04] Can you guys ask your colleague

[1:59:08] Marni when she takes a break

[1:59:08] from running for Congress, when

[1:59:09] she's going to get us our

[1:59:12] independent attorney?

[1:59:12] We have a new executive

[1:59:17] director that absolutely needs

[1:59:17] help.

[1:59:18] We need a legal voice on our

[1:59:19] independent commission.

[1:59:22] Where's the Help City Council?

[1:59:27] You are in charge of c p for

[1:59:28] those of you that are running

[1:59:28] for reelection.

[1:59:29] >> Those of you that are

[1:59:32] looking for your next office

[1:59:32] out of city council think about

[1:59:33] how we're going to attach this

[1:59:37] to your leg that you did not do

[1:59:38] what Measure b has called for

[1:59:39] you to do.

[1:59:42] We respect, meet and confer.

[1:59:43] They can take as long as they

[1:59:47] want to but to have the city

[1:59:48] attorney butting in to the cpp

[1:59:51] to have a city council person

[1:59:52] chair of public safety not

[1:59:53] secure as our own attorney you

[1:59:57] should be ashamed of

[1:59:57] yourselves.

[1:59:59] >> Our next speaker is Kathleen

[2:00:00] Lippert.

[2:00:09] If you can please unmute

[2:00:10] Kathleen Lippert.

[2:00:11] >> I can't I mean for you I

[2:00:15] will need to move on to

[2:00:15] the next speaker.

[2:00:16] >> I know.

[2:00:16] There you are.

[2:00:17] Sorry.

[2:00:20] I'm trying.

[2:00:20] Okay.

[2:00:20] Thank you.

[2:00:21] Good afternoon.

[2:00:24] The earlier comment on

[2:00:25] the glide report that is making

[2:00:29] millions while it enjoys

[2:00:30] the benefit of profiting by a

[2:00:30] sweetheart lease is really

[2:00:34] troubling.

[2:00:35] There are a number of similar

[2:00:39] issues where either on going

[2:00:39] support the city's ongoing

[2:00:40] support of a failed policy or

[2:00:45] the absence of a policy that

[2:00:45] really should be in place.

[2:00:48] Both are critical to look at

[2:00:49] city policy should be evaluated

[2:00:53] for their costs versus benefits

[2:00:54] and the city policies that have

[2:00:58] led to higher city costs in

[2:01:02] terms of low law enforcement

[2:01:03] diverted limited resources,

[2:01:07] emergency etc..

[2:01:12] Those are where your policies

[2:01:13] are either absent or they're

[2:01:13] not working.

[2:01:18] The failure to regulate and

[2:01:18] audit city smoke shops is a

[2:01:19] good example.

[2:01:23] They continue to sell products

[2:01:23] that have been banned by

[2:01:24] the state.

[2:01:24] These products harm.

[2:01:27] Are youth and their futures as

[2:01:28] well as undermine the profits

[2:01:32] of permitted shops that are

[2:01:33] operating according to city

[2:01:33] regulations.

[2:01:37] The city has allowed alcohol

[2:01:37] retailers that unfairly draw

[2:01:42] limited long foresman resources

[2:01:43] resources over serve customers

[2:01:47] that lead to customers leaving

[2:01:48] and getting into crashes.

[2:01:52] Do you or are hitting

[2:01:57] pedestrian injuries or death or

[2:01:57] getting into fights or

[2:01:58] committing rapes?

[2:02:01] The city needs an on sale

[2:02:02] conditional use permit to hold

[2:02:03] them accountable.

[2:02:07] And last please stop with all

[2:02:07] the euphemisms.

[2:02:08] The public is tired of ballot

[2:02:11] measures, initiatives etc. That

[2:02:12] say one thing but when you read

[2:02:16] the fine print means something

[2:02:16] totally different.

[2:02:20] The Inflation Reduction Act

[2:02:21] Perfect example.

[2:02:22] Drug dealers became caregivers

[2:02:27] Federal schedule one being

[2:02:28] called medicine Marijuana.

[2:02:33] Sorry your time is patient Your

[2:02:33] time is concluded Catherine

[2:02:35] wrote If you can please on meal

[2:02:36] .

[2:02:39] Hello Catherine wrote You know

[2:02:40] the 1998 Torrey Pines glider

[2:02:41] Port sweetheart lease was given

[2:02:45] to retired city of San Diego

[2:02:45] employee who's making so much

[2:02:49] private money for themselves

[2:02:50] and paying the city very little

[2:02:54] in lease revenue.

[2:02:55] Why don't you have it be a

[2:02:56] percentage of the lease

[2:02:56] instead?

[2:02:58] Right now it's a gift to public

[2:02:58] funds.

[2:02:59] In fact there was a 2022 San

[2:03:04] Diego County Grand jury report

[2:03:04] on the Torrey Pines quite

[2:03:05] important lease.

[2:03:08] So far nothing has happened.

[2:03:09] You know that It's pathetic.

[2:03:09] So anyway, your new budget

[2:03:14] comes out next Wednesday.

[2:03:14] Why is everybody going to get

[2:03:18] 10% at least in the nba going

[2:03:18] to get 10% raises.

[2:03:19] And the management analysts are

[2:03:23] going to get like 18.8% raises.

[2:03:24] How could they possibly get

[2:03:27] raises when we have a

[2:03:28] structural budget deficit?

[2:03:31] Plus since 2023 they already

[2:03:32] got a 23% rate.

[2:03:35] So they've gotten 23% in

[2:03:36] the last three years.

[2:03:37] Now they're going to get

[2:03:37] another 10% more.

[2:03:41] And remember in 2013 is when

[2:03:41] I'm mayor or inner mayor todd

[2:03:45] Gloria started using the league

[2:03:45] legal loophole in the city

[2:03:49] charter to violate the five

[2:03:49] year pitch double pay freeze by

[2:03:50] creating the middle managers at

[2:03:54] that point there were 70

[2:03:54] million middle managers.

[2:03:59] Now the another u-t report came

[2:04:00] out and the San Diego County

[2:04:00] Taxpayers Association came out

[2:04:04] that the middle managers that

[2:04:07] are nonunion workers have

[2:04:07] exploded by 461% over 15 years.

[2:04:12] And then also during closed

[2:04:17] session last week you guys

[2:04:17] didn't report.

[2:04:18] You didn't report out that you

[2:04:18] had all these tentative

[2:04:22] agreements with all the unions

[2:04:22] .

[2:04:23] In fact, you didn't say you you

[2:04:26] you didn't say anything about

[2:04:26] any tentative agreement.

[2:04:27] So I don't know why I think

[2:04:31] that the city attorney should

[2:04:31] talk about that.

[2:04:36] And so I don't see how you

[2:04:36] could possibly be giving

[2:04:41] anybody any raise More time has

[2:04:42] concluded if you're raising

[2:04:42] your hand after the five minute

[2:04:46] timer has concluded already.

[2:04:47] So you MAY take any additional

[2:04:48] comments.

[2:04:50] The city clerk at San diego.Gov

[2:04:50] and those will be distributed.

[2:04:51] Becky up.

[2:04:55] Please proceed.

[2:04:55] >> Good afternoon.

[2:04:59] My name is Anne Burghoff and I

[2:05:00] come here to ask you to please

[2:05:03] prioritize public health in

[2:05:04] relation to marijuana

[2:05:04] consumption.

[2:05:05] It's more important than ever

[2:05:09] before that accurate science

[2:05:10] speak for me is presented to

[2:05:13] this Council and to the public

[2:05:13] serves.

[2:05:14] A recent report from

[2:05:15] the National Academies of

[2:05:18] Sciences Our nation's leading

[2:05:18] scientific advisory board is

[2:05:23] recommending federal action to

[2:05:23] address the serious health

[2:05:24] risks associated with marijuana

[2:05:24] consumption.

[2:05:29] This is a clear warning from

[2:05:29] the science community that it

[2:05:32] is not aligned with serious

[2:05:33] public health risks.

[2:05:33] The report highlights some

[2:05:37] critical turns dramatically.

[2:05:43] It is apparently in doubt and

[2:05:47] the abundance of toxic sulfate

[2:05:48] phc being sold at our local

[2:05:50] tobacco and smoke shops These

[2:05:57] pot.

[2:06:02] Hello.

[2:06:03] We lost you.

[2:06:04] Barbara Gordon your final

[2:06:07] speaker.

[2:06:07] Thank you.

[2:06:12] Good afternoon.

[2:06:13] I am concerned as a public

[2:06:16] health advocate that nearly

[2:06:17] every week a new intoxicating

[2:06:22] mind altering product emerges

[2:06:22] often unnoticed and until

[2:06:23] reports surfaced as people

[2:06:27] being harmed and the physical

[2:06:28] and mental health of our youth

[2:06:28] is in jeopardy.

[2:06:32] Products like intoxicating thc

[2:06:32] hemp and create them are

[2:06:36] dangerous and addictive

[2:06:37] Intoxicating compounds like

[2:06:41] Delta eight, Delta ten and many

[2:06:41] others.

[2:06:42] The products are available in

[2:06:46] convenience stores, vape shops

[2:06:46] online without any oversight

[2:06:51] and in many places without any

[2:06:51] age restriction.

[2:06:55] Potent kratom compounds become

[2:06:56] especially dangerous when it is

[2:07:00] concentrated in products like

[2:07:00] dummies, drinks, powders,

[2:07:04] Capsules are also sold in smoke

[2:07:05] shops, gas stations,

[2:07:09] convenience stores and online

[2:07:10] marketed as natural.

[2:07:11] These products can be just as

[2:07:14] harmful as synthetic opiates

[2:07:15] posing serious danger.

[2:07:19] The fda warns that kratom

[2:07:20] products like 708 is not

[2:07:23] approved.

[2:07:24] It's not lawful and unsafe with

[2:07:28] risk including seizures,

[2:07:29] depression, anxiety, addiction

[2:07:33] withdrawals and overdose like

[2:07:34] symptoms.

[2:07:35] I am urging the city Council to

[2:07:39] treat intoxicating products as

[2:07:39] a public health issue not as a

[2:07:43] product that is in the gray

[2:07:44] area as it could be.

[2:07:45] As a community we need to

[2:07:48] insist that any mind altering

[2:07:49] substance that are manufactured

[2:07:53] packaging marketed should not

[2:07:54] be allowed to be sold in in

[2:07:54] the marketplace.

[2:07:58] Public safety is the city's

[2:07:59] primary responsibility.

[2:08:04] Thank you for letting me speak.

[2:08:04] >> Thank you.

[2:08:05] Big wrap.

[2:08:05] I am coming back to you.

[2:08:08] I'm not sure if the issue was

[2:08:08] on my end or not.

[2:08:12] Thank you And I appreciate had

[2:08:13] one minute left.

[2:08:13] Great.

[2:08:13] Thank you.

[2:08:14] I was just reading about

[2:08:17] the National Academies of

[2:08:17] Sciences and their

[2:08:18] recommendations and I just

[2:08:22] wanted to add that here in San

[2:08:23] Diego our emergency departments

[2:08:24] and pediatric specialists are

[2:08:27] seeing these real impacts youth

[2:08:28] experiencing psychosis, severe

[2:08:32] anxiety and cannabinoid

[2:08:32] hyperemesis syndrome.

[2:08:33] I urge this council to invite

[2:08:37] physicians from Rady Children's

[2:08:38] Hospital and doctors from our

[2:08:38] local emergency departments to

[2:08:42] come and speak directly to you.

[2:08:43] Let them share what they're

[2:08:43] seeing firsthand.

[2:08:47] Let this Council hear directly

[2:08:47] from the medical community

[2:08:48] about these products and how

[2:08:51] they're affecting our youth and

[2:08:51] our families.

[2:08:52] The National Academies report

[2:08:56] is clear We need better public

[2:08:57] education, better data and

[2:08:58] policies grounded in public

[2:09:02] health not just access and

[2:09:02] revenue.

[2:09:03] >> Thank you.

[2:09:03] Thank you.

[2:09:04] That does conclude the agenda

[2:09:05] Public comment for today's

[2:09:09] meeting.

[2:09:10] Thank you.

[2:09:15] And with that we will now

[2:09:15] adjourn Council to

[2:09:16] the regularly scheduled council

[2:09:19] meeting on Tuesday, APRIL 14th,

[2:09:19] 2026 at 10:00 am.

City Council Meetings — Monday Agenda

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