San Diego Citizens' Budget Project

Phil Thalheimer
Candidate for City Council, District One

Click here to download the original Word document submitted by Mr. Thalheimer to San Diego Citizens for Accountable Government.

Click here to skip down the page to Mr. Thalheimer's accompanying statement.

Survey

No.	Reform	Support or Oppose
#1	Enact a Balanced Budget Accountability Initiative
1a	Transparency in the Budget – as Proposed and as Enacted	Support
1b	Transparency on Personnel Vacancies	Support
1c	Quarterly Budget Reconciliation Rule	Support
1d	“Pay-As-You-Go” Budget Rule	N/A
1e	Reverse Sales Tax Accrual Accounting for FY 2006	N/A
1f	Require Annual Performance and Cost Audit of 20% of Programs	Support
1g	“Strong Mayor” Form of Government	Support
1h	Create an Independent Council Budget Analyst Office	Support
#2	Launch an Independent Audit of City Enterprise Funds
2a	Launch an Independent Audit of Enterprise and Special Funds	Support
2b	Elimination of Right-of-Way Fees in FY 2006	Support
#3	Reorganize City Government to Streamline Overhead Costs
3a	Reorganize City Government to Streamline and Consolidate Functions	Support
3b	Create an Office of Management and Budget	Support
3c	Complete DPC Reform in One year; Devise City-Wide IT Architecture Investment Plan	Support
3d	Complete a City Lease and Asset Inventory	Support
3e	Create a Management De-Layering Reform Plan	Support
3f	Launch a Competitive Sourcing and Performance Contracting Initiative	Support
3g	Reform City Civil Service Rules and the Charter to Enhance City Manager Authority Over City Personnel	Support
#4	Create “311” Citizen Service Center
4a	Create a “311” Service Center	Support
4b	Integrate Public Affairs Outreach and Campaigns into One Office	Support
#5	Create a Competitive Bid Process to Make Support Services Efficient
5a	Create a Competitive Sourcing Initiative to Compete at Least Seven City Support Functions in FY 2005	Support
#6	Reform Employee and Optimization Incentive Funds
6a	Provide Incentive System for Employees and City Departments to Achieve Cost Efficiencies	Support
6b	Conduct Employee Morale and Feedback Surveys	Support
6c	Docket and Formally Vote on ZBMR Recommendations	Support
#7	Reduce Skyrocketing Labor Costs and the Pension Liability
7a	Divert Half of FY 2005 Salary Increases to Contribute to a Comprehensive Pension Solution (Contract Renegotiation, Furlough, or Personnel Reductions)	Support
7b	Restrain City Employee Salary Increases by implementing a FY 2006 Salary Freeze, Followed by a 1.5% “Cost of Living’ Increase in FY 2007, and a 1.5% “Performance Pay Increment” in FY 2008 (Divert all Savings to Pension Fund)	Support
7c	Reform of Special Pay and Allowances	Support
7d	Require City Employees to Make the Employee Portion of their Pension Contribution	N/A
7e	Implement Annual Employee Performance Reviews	Support
7f	Roll Back Pension Benefits for New Hires (e.g. Reduce Benefits to Previous Levels) *See Page 23	Support
7g	Elimination of the City Council’s Conflict-of-Interest in Pension Votes	Support
7h	Elimination of Option to Purchase Years of Service	Support
7i	Reform Contingent Benefits	Support
7j	Elimination of the Deferred Retirement Option Plan	Support
7k	Change Composition and Governance of SDCERS Board to Eliminate Conflicts of Interest	Support
7l	Change Disability Requirement Definition to that of Social Security System	Support
#8	Establish a Reasonable Limit on City Spending Increases
8a	Limit Spending Increases Proportional to the Population and Inflation Increase in the City Annually (Amend Article VII, Section 71)	Support
#9	Reduce Corporate Welfare and Subsidies to Special Interests
9a	Achieve Full Cost Recovery on Special Events	Support
9b	Assess Fair Market Value Rent for City Properties	Support
9c	Expand Corporate Sponsorship Opportunities to Provide Vehicle for “Giving Back” to the San Diego Community	Support
9d	Replace General Fund Support for the Business Resources and Technology Link	Support
9e	Reform the Subsidy of the San Diego Convention Center Through Competitive Bid	Support
#10	Reduce Mayor and Council Staff Size and Budgets
10a	Reduce Mayoral and Council Budgets by $4.5 Million	Support
10b	Equalize Funding for City Council Members	Support

Statement
The City of San Diego does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. Over the last Ten years, the City Council has raised taxes and fees by 1/3 of a billion dollars. This is in addition to incredible growth in property, sales and other taxes and fees.

By following the guidelines of the Performance Institute, as well as other reforms I have proposed, I am confident the city can save approximately $100 million annually.

My approach to government spending is straight forward:
• Don’t spend more money than we take in
• Spending priorities should be: public safety, public works and community services.
• All else is on the chopping block

Hundreds of unnecessary positions can be cut from city hall. We should eliminate corporate welfare, and reduce subsidies to dozens of groups and organizations whom do not serve the citizens.

Ten years ago my partners and I started a flight training school which trains hundreds of pilots annually.

After 9/11, the aviation industry was devastated. Small airports like Montgomery field were shut down for almost two months. I am proud that during those dark days we kept our business open and today it is thriving.

The City of San Diego is facing a fiscal 9/11. This devastating financial mess is a result of reckless spending and mismanagement by our elected officials.

But with proper leadership and discipline, we can turn things around downtown.

Please join me.

To find out more, see www.philforcouncil.com

Phil Thalheimer.