Mayor Todd Gloria needs to close a projected budget deficit of $146 million. To do this, he proposes closing restrooms, reducing library and parks and recreation hours, and cutting arts and culture funding. These are small portions of the aggregate budget and they are the kinds of lost services that directly and adversely impact city residents. It is a shameful tactic by the city — hitting us where it hurts while shielding city workers.
A serious and responsible approach to balancing the budget would target the dominant expenditure: personnel costs. The total citywide personnel budget is $2.34 billion and two-thirds of that ($1.56 billion) is in the general fund budget. This budget has had to absorb a 23% pay increase at a time when revenues are nowhere near that growth. Until the city attacks the headcount problem, we will know that the interests of City Hall continue to take precedence over its citizens.
— Jonathan Scheff, La Jolla