San Diego on Tuesday approved sweeping policy changes that allow infrastructure projects to be built several months faster but limit the city council’s control and oversight powers.
City council members voted 7-1 for the changes, which severely limit their own powers and strengthen those of the mayor. Council approvals are only required for the most expensive projects under the new guidelines, and far fewer cost increases now require Council approval.
The changes, which city officials predict will reduce the time it takes to complete typical projects by four to six months, also allow consultants to work on more projects and collect more fees without council approval.
Proponents say giving the mayor more powers makes sense at a time when the city’s infrastructure spending is rising sharply and is expected to continue rising.
They also point out that it’s been more than 10 years since San Diego updated the limits on the mayor’s power to pursue projects without council approval for inflation.
Critics say city officials are exaggerating how much the changes will speed up projects. They also say that Council oversight would shrink too much.
More spending is expected as the city faces a $4 billion backlog on major infrastructure projects, in part because many projects built during a city’s growth spurt in the 1950s and 1960s are reaching the end of their expected lives .
And the city expects a large influx of federal money under the $1 trillion infrastructure bill that President Biden spearheaded last year.
San Diego’s annual infrastructure spending increased from $363 million in fiscal 2012 to $542.5 million in fiscal 2022 ended June 30.
Partly due to the construction of the city’s Pure Water treatment system, infrastructure spending is expected to be $4.12 billion over the next five years. And Mayor Todd Gloria’s staff said annual spending could top $1 billion with more federal dollars.
“Infrastructure is one of the most important things we’re trying to catch up, and there are limited dollars,” Councilor Joe LaCava said.
LaCava also stressed that inflation will not allow the mayor to have more authority than the city’s mayor did when the amounts were last updated in 2012.
“We’re not talking about expanding mayoral authority, we’re just scaling it right,” he said, claiming that project delays awaiting council approval are a big problem. “This is wasted time and wasted money that benefits no one.”
Council member Marni von Wilpert, who had helped oversee negotiations on the changes as chair of the council’s Infrastructure Committee, said the policy changes passed on Tuesday should be seen as a hard-won compromise.
“The required contract thresholds were much higher,” von Wilpert said, looking at Mayor Todd Gloria’s staff.
Council member Monica Montgomery Steppe, who cast the only “no” vote, said the council’s approval is just a small component of the bureaucracy slowing down infrastructure projects.
“It is not in our best interests at this time to seek advice and approve from this big picture of what it takes to complete a capital improvement project,” she said.
Council President Sean Elo-Rivera said he shares some of her concerns, particularly if a more ruthless mayor than Gloria is elected in the future.
“The decisions we make can be made not only with the thought of who is in positions now, but who might be in positions in the future,” he said. “It’s not about whether we believe in the relationship between this council and this mayor, but the dynamic that will exist between each council and each mayor.”
But Elo-Rivera voted to approve the changes.
The proposal raises the threshold for council approval of a consulting contract from $1 million to $3 million. City officials say the increase makes sense given that the average cost of a consulting contract has increased from $650,000 in 2015 to $2.5 million today.
Other changes include raising the cumulative cap on fees that a consultant can receive in a given year without Council approval from $1 million to $5 million.
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