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$4.9 Million Total spending of San Diego Mayor and Council above that of the City of Phoenix Mayor and Council-a City one size larger! 127.5 Percent Increase in budgets of Mayor and Council since FY95 3 "Phantom" Staffers Total positions included in the Mayor's FY 2005 budget that are intentionally held vacant but not eliminated so future Mayoral staff size maintained 3 Total number of floors in the City Administration Building for Mayor and Council staffs-up one this year alone! 33 Number of Mayoral and Council staff who earn a base salary in excess of the $75,386 paid to councilmembers $191,592 Base salary of the Mayor's chief of staff, John Kern – higher than the President's chief of staff, Andrew Card, and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice

NOTE ON FOOTNOTES: The San Diego Citizens' Budget Project is committed to presenting accurate, methodical research. The Citizens' Budget Plan contains more than 100 footnotes, all of which can be found in the print and full PDF versions.

Reduce Mayor and Council Staff Size and Budgets
Require that the Mayor and City Council Share in the Pain of Balancing Our Budget and Set an Example to All Departments that Cost Savings are Expected of Everyone

Excessive Staff Size and Expenditures for Mayor and Council: The Mayor and Council budgets have skyrocketed in the past 10 years—despite the worsening condition of the City’s finances. Moreover, when comparing the budget for the Mayor and Council with other cities, it is clear that the Mayor and Council budgets are bloated.

In the budget review, Phoenix was selected as the best comparison to San Diego for several reasons. First, Phoenix is one size larger than San Diego population-wise. Second, Phoenix has the same governance structure as San Diego: a Council-Manager system of government with eight Council Members and a Mayor. Despite Phoenix being larger, San Diego’s Mayor and Council budgets are still $4.9 million more!

Lack of Transparency in Mayor and Council Budgets: The excessive spending by the Mayor and Council on their personal staff is worse than the public budgets for the Office of the Mayor and City Council depict. The budget review uncovered more than $1.1 million in expenditures for the Mayor and City Council buried in the budget for “City-Wide Expenditures.” Moreover, an undisclosed sum is spent to provide security services for the Mayor—presumably a reduction in the Police Department budget.

Unequal Funding for Council Members: A curious inequality exists among individual offices for City Council Members. As citizens deserve equal representation, the budgets for each Council Member should be equalized.

The following initiatives would bring the budgets of the Mayor’s Office and City Council to reasonable levels.

• Reduce Mayor-Council Budgets by $4.5 Million
By benchmarking the San Diego legislative budgets against those in Phoenix, it is clear that a $4.5 million reduction could be made. This benchmarking does not even factor in the additional $1.1 million spent to subsidize Mayor and Council operations out of the City-Wide Expenditures Budget. 96 Indeed, factoring those expenditures would mean the San Diego Mayor and Council will still out-spend their counterparts in Phoenix for legislative staff.

Making the $4.5 million reduction would send an important signal to citizens and even City employees that the Mayor and Council are willing to share in the pain to balance the budget and are leading by example.

• Equalize Funding for City Council
Even without the reductions outlined above, the City Council should equalize the funding for each Council Office—providing equal representation and service across each Council District for City residents.