Re “Leaders clash over park restrooms” (July 28): It is unfathomable that the mayor and City Council could not find $546,000 in the $6.1 billion budget to keep 13 public restrooms open at Mission Bay, one of the most popular beach park areas in San Diego, which the city says has 15 million visitors each year. The $546,000 represents just 0.009% of the overall budget. To put that in perspective, that would be like not buying a $50,000 car because you and the dealer are $5 apart on the price. Surely the mayor and City Council could find a few “pennies” lying around in the budget to make sure visitors to our park/beach areas can use the restroom. They could start by reducing the $24 million council operating budget by 2.5% to cover the costs.
— Steve Schneider, Tierrasanta
As mayor, Todd Gloria certainly has a warped sense of fiscal responsibility. The article notes that “Gloria says he shares Campillo’s concerns about the impact of eliminating a basic public service at one of the city’s most popular tourist destinations — but the mayor also says it would be financially risky to reopen the restrooms using the newly available money.”
The irony is that Gloria has a history of making terrible choices with taxpayers’ dollars, consistently supporting expenditures that benefit relatively few San Diegans. Now, all of a sudden, we’re told we need to be financially responsible?
— Ralph Teyssier, Talmadge