Stricter hiring policies in cash-strapped San Diego have left 150 city positions unfilled and limited the number of newly hired workers since mid-December to 14 jobs that don’t require taxpayer money.
Leaving so many positions unfilled is having some conspicuous impacts, such as limited restroom cleaning at city beaches, less upkeep at city pools and cuts to tree trimming, road striping and library youth services.
There have also been less conspicuous impacts, including cuts to maintenance of sewer pump stations, water quality monitoring, processing of liability claims and administration of short-term vacation rental rules.
Those impacts are summarized in a new memo to the City Council from Rolando Charvel, the city’s chief financial officer and Mayor Todd Gloria’s top budget official.
In the memo, Charvel also expresses concerns about the city’s tax revenue projections because of U.S. military operations in Iran and a volatile economy.
“Heightened geopolitical events continue to disrupt global supply chains and energy markets, contributing to local inflationary pressures,” he said. “Furthermore, shifting economic conditions have created uncertainty in consumer spending and business investment, which directly affects the city’s primary revenue streams.”
The city hasn’t filled 150 positions because Gloria prohibited any hiring without his permission on Dec. 15. Since then, department heads have had to make a compelling case to add any workers.
The mayor has approved only 14 of 164 requests since then, less than 9%. And 14 hires is a notably small number during a three-month period for a city with 12,000 employees.
Also, those 14 positions are all either funded by outside grants, covered by city enterprise funds like water or sewer, or revenue-generating jobs like parking enforcement officer or parking meter technician.
In the memo, Charvel warns the council that many of the unfilled positions could remain vacant for many months because the city faces a projected $120 million deficit for the new fiscal year that begins July 1.
“We recognize these measures result in operational impacts throughout the organization,” Charvel says. “While some of these impacts are anticipated to be temporary as we navigate the current fiscal year’s challenges, others may become permanent based on potential service level reductions associated with the fiscal 2027 budget process.”
Nick Serrano, Gloria’s deputy chief of staff, said Monday that it makes no sense to fill positions when the gaping deficit for the new fiscal year makes it likely San Diego will need to reduce services and its payroll.
“We really should be analyzing every position to determine, in this moment where we need to be really fiscally disciplined, whether it’s a position that does need to be filled for us to fulfill our core mission,” Serrano said. “The mayor wants to hold the line, but let department directors make their case.”
Serrano said it’s notable that the mayor’s new policy has limited new hires to 14 jobs that don’t impact the city’s general fund.
“This demonstrates the success of the request-to-fill process in terms of holding the line on spending,” Serrano said.
All 14 new positions are within four city departments: human resources, general services, stormwater and the City Treasurer’s Office.
Gloria’s staff has managed to shrink a $16.8 million deficit that was projected for the ongoing fiscal year in December to less than $2 million. Serrano said the mayor’s new hiring policy played a key role in that.
The new policy came with two other changes: a suspension of most overtime pay, restrictions of expenses for training and a deep analysis of outside contracts with hopes of canceling many.
The mayor is scheduled to release his proposed budget for the new fiscal year April 15.
Serrano said city officials are in the midst of intense efforts to determine what San Diego will and will not be able to continue funding.
“We are actively asking ourselves about the service levels we are providing,” Serrano said.