San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo here: Happy Friday!  

Welcome to this week’s Raul Roundup, your go-to source for the latest news, updates, and insights from our community and City Hall. 

This week, the Rules Committee heard two contentious items. Here’s a broad overview of those items with links for further reading: 

1. An Initiative to Repeal Paid Parking in Balboa Park 

1. Shane Harris, a community advocate, proposed a ballot measure to repeal paid parking in Balboa Park on Sundays. I made an amendment to his proposal that would repeal paid parking in Balboa Park entirely. This proposed ballot measure, with my amendment, was essentially killed by gridlock, with myself and Councilmember Moreno voting for free parking, two others in favor of charging you, and one member absent.  

2. A Proposed Ballot Measure to Implement a Significant Tax on Vacation Rentals 

1. I opposed this Tax when it was first proposed in October for a multitude of reasons. Between legal issues, my concern for middle-class San Diegans relying on their small business income, the potential impact on workers who are hired to care for those rentals, and the inflation it would cause throughout our City, I could not support the ballot measure. I was also uncomfortable with its framing as an ”us versus them” problem, a framing that overrode the need for honest conversations about impacts and implementation issues. This proposal failed 3 votes to 2. 

Congratulations to our January Local Luminaries—the Patrick Henry High School Flag Football team, the school’s first to win a CIF Championship! This week, their athleticism, dedication, academic excellence, and contributions to Patrick Henry's athletic history were honored in Council Chambers.  

 

These athletes, led by Coaches Alona “Lonii” Harper, Chris Young, Shannon Collins, and Cherie Woods, as well as Team Captains Mia Ng, Lexi Raymond, Piper McGlenn, and Ayla Grace Collins, left their hearts on the field and put in the work to secure the championship all while maintaining 3.0 or higher GPAs, an outstanding achievement worth celebrating. 

There is a lot of lead up and cross departmental work before the final vote on the City of San Diego budget. To arrive at a final draft that balances Councilmembers’ priorities, revenue sources, unpredictable expenditures, and critical city programming requires months of analysis and discussions. Here is a general overview of that process and where we are at now: 

 

December/January 

City Departments develop and submit budget proposals to the Department of Finance. 

January/February 

City Councilmembers update budget priorities in their budget priority memo. 

February/March 

Chief Financial Officer & DOF oversee continued development of citywide Proposed Budget 

April 

Mayor releases Proposed Budget by April 15 and the Independent Budget Analyst (IBA) releases a document titled Review of Proposed Budget 

Early to Mid-May 

City Council Budget Review Committee holds budget hearings. Mayor’s May Revision is released. 

Mid to Late-May 

Councilmembers provide IBA with final budget modification priorities. IBA provides final budget report and recommendations. 

June 

Council adopts Budget Resolution by June 15. Appropriation Ordinance is adopted by Council. 

Good afternoon Councilman,  

My wife and I appreciate your stance opposing the paid parking fees at Balboa Park. Frankly, I have not visited the park since the parking fees were implemented, as the process of determining payment has become unnecessarily time-consuming. Thank you for advocating on this issue, and please keep up the great work! 

 

For out-of-towners and residents alike, the implementation of paid parking in Balboa Park has been a financial and an ease of access deterrent. Keep emailing and voicing your honest thoughts about the policy and I’ll keep fighting against it. We are in this together. 

Opening Day is right around the corner. The Padres just announced their calendar of giveaways and themed games. Scarves, bobbleheads, hats, you name it. There is a lot to look forward to on top of the excitement for baseball season, the best ballpark food in the country, and cheering for the Padres in our beautiful city.  

 

For the full list of giveaways, click here. For the list of themed games, click here.