The San Diego City Council narrowly voted Monday to override some but not all of Mayor Todd Gloria’s moves to reverse changes to the city’s budget that the Council approved earlier this month.

After an initial failed attempt to bat back all of the mayor’s proposed line-item vetoes, a six-member majority voted to accept Gloria’s push not to count on $3 million in projected revenue from digital billboards the city doesn’t now have to balance the budget. 

They also nixed a plan to hire a new chief operating officer who would take back duties that the mayor has taken on since he fired ex-top city bureaucrat Eric Dargan. 

Other Council concessions: The 6-3 majority also voted not to restore Arts, Culture and Community Festivals grant funding that community leaders rallied to bring back and to partially reduce funding for stormwater projects and new Fire-Rescue positions meant to increase the city’s brush fire prevention efforts.

What a Council majority wouldn’t change: The City Council is sticking by revenue assumptions for paid parking at Balboa Park and at the San Diego Zoo, and for credit card transaction fees on parking meters. It’s also sticking with its plan to move staffers now in the Office of Race and Equity into the Office of the Independent Budget Analyst and to hire a new director. The budget the City Council approved also called for the elimination of two high-level city bureaucrats known as deputy chief operating officers who typically oversee multiple city departments and functions, two city communications positions and two management positions in the police and compliance departments.

Councilmembers Jennifer Campbell and Stephen Whitburn rejected these proposed changes while Vivian Moreno, who also rejected the budget the City Council approved on June 10, said she couldn’t support either proposal unless the city dramatically increased funding for stormwater projects.

What the mayor is saying: Gloria wants you to know that if things don’t pan out with budget projections, it’s the City Council’s fault.

“While the Council has now chosen to partially override certain vetoes, I remain concerned that these actions could still weaken our ability to stay on stable financial footing,” Gloria wrote in a statement shortly after the City Council vote. “If their assumptions don’t hold, they’ll be responsible for the fallout: midyear cuts, layoffs, facility closures, brownouts, and broken promises to the communities we all serve.”

What the Council’s saying: Council President Joe LaCava said immediately after the budget vote that he stands ready to schedule votes on budget changes as needed – and ahead of quarterly budget updates if necessary.

Before and during Monday’s vote, some councilmembers criticized the mayor’s line-item vetoes and argued Gloria was failing to respond to the demands of both the City Council and community members who spoke up at budget hearings. 

Another Big COO Vote Coming Today

Last month, our Lisa Halverstadt broke the news that the city’s former top bureaucrat, who Mayor Todd Gloria belatedly said he fired for cause, had reached a tentative $146,000 settlement with the city.

Today the City Council is set to vote on that proposed settlement, which is larger than the three months of severance that ex-COO Eric Dargan sought when he was abruptly dismissed in February.

The proposed settlement follows Dargan’s March discrimination lawsuit against the city alleging that Gloria reneged on a pledge to pay him three months’ severance after a dismissal – and an admission by Gloria’s office that he was fired rather than laid off.

In a report to the City Council about the proposed settlement, Assistant City Attorney Travis Phelps rejected the notion that the city was admitting it had mishandled the situation.

“The settlement is a business decision and the result of a compromise and dismissal of the litigation proceedings and is not an admission of liability by any party,” Phelps wrote. “(The) city and its representatives specifically disclaim any liability or responsibility to (the) plaintiff.”

Reminder: Under the city’s strong mayor form of government, a chief operating officer reporting to the mayor has typically overseen day-to-day city operations. After Dargan’s firing, Gloria took on that role in addition to his mayoral duties. The City Council has been skeptical of how this is working, hence an initial budget move to try to force Gloria to hire a replacement for Dargan. Gloria successfully batted back that change during Monday’s second City Council budget vote. 

County Supe Votes to Watch Today

County supervisors are set to vote today on a proposed $8.6 billion budget.

The Union-Tribune noted that county officials pitched closing a projected $139 million shortfall by reducing capital spending and eliminating 190 positions, most of which are in the county’s Health and Human Services Agency.

The county board’s two Democrats last week highlighted county staff projections that the Trump administration-backed “Big Beautiful Bill” could cost the county $286 million annually.

On that note: Today, Democratic Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Monica Montgomery Steppe will propose a plan to have county staff do a deeper dive on potential impacts and propose strategies to address those new costs, including potentially dipping into county reserves or seeking grants.

Refresher: The two Democrats’ proposal to make it easier to dip into the county’s large reserve fund failed earlier this year. The District 1 supervisors’ race will tip the political leanings of the county board, meaning the county is more likely to tap into its reserves if Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre is elected and likely kill it if Chula Vista Mayor John McCann wins the seat.

One more county vote: Supervisors Montgomery Steppe and Republican Joel Anderson are each more quietly proposing to spend up to $20,000 each from their office budgets to attend a six-day September Global Policy Leadership Academy field study on mixed-income housing in Vienna, Austria.

In a joint board letter, the two supervisors write that their participation in the LeSar Development Consultants trip will support county efforts to “increase affordable housing supply, reduce homelessness, and pursue sustainable development.”

“By authorizing this travel, the board will support Supervisor Anderson and Supervisor Montgomery Steppe in gaining valuable insights and learning best practices that can inform San Diego County’s efforts to increase affordable housing supply, reduce homelessness, and pursue sustainable development,” the letter reads.

What the supes are saying: Anderson declined to comment on the item, which will for now appear on the county’s consent agenda which is generally approved with little discussion. A spokesperson for Montgomery Steppe shared a statement that reiterated points in the board letter.

“Supervisor Anderson and Supervisor Montgomery Steppe were both invited to participate in this field study as panelists, sharing insights from San Diego’s housing efforts while learning from Vienna’s internationally recognized housing model,” spokesperson Ariel Gibbs wrote.

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In Other News 

The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt and Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.

The City of San Diego is offering numerous free programs to keep children busy and learning during summer break, providing families with cost-effective alternatives to expensive summer activities.

San Diego public libraries are hosting free summer reading programs where children can earn rewards for their reading efforts.

“They get badges by reading. If they read 10 books or for 10 hours, depending on how they wanna do their reading, and they can also do a combination of activities, like literacy-based game activities. And then once they hit that goal of 10, then they can come in and get their prizes,” Emily Derry from Youth and Family Services said.

Similar online reading programs can cost families anywhere from $35 to more than $130 depending on the program length and skill level.

Local libraries are also offering free educational presentations and exhibits, including sing-along performances for younger children and STEM-based activities for older kids.

For families looking to beat the heat, the city’s Parks and Recreation department is offering free swimming lessons at public pools for children ages 6 and older, as well as adults. These lessons would typically cost between $25 and $60 elsewhere.

“Of course, it’s tough living in San Diego, and we get that. We have so many families that have multiple children, and if you wanna sign up one kid for a program and then you want all of your kids to get involved, it can be very pricey,” Nicole McNeil from San Diego Parks and Recreation said.

Some city pools, including the City Heights Swim Center, are waiving their usual usage fees for the entire summer.

“Pool usage generally is $5 for adults and $3 for kids, seniors, and people with disabilities to come in and recreate in our pools. Here at the City Heights Swim Center, the pool will be completely free all summer. Just walk in the door, show up, and have fun,” McNeil said.

Beyond water activities, the city is hosting Summer in the Park programs featuring arts and crafts and health and fitness activities. Free movie screenings will also take place in various parks throughout the summer, saving families the typical $10 adult admission and $1 child admission they would pay at drive-in theaters.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Before Sunday’s series finale against the Kansas City Royals, the San Diego Padres activated All-Star centerfielder Jackson Merrill from the 7-day concussion injured list (OF Brandon Lockridge was optioned to Triple-A El Paso). Manager Mike Shildt shook up the lineup a bit, batting Merrill 2nd and dropping Luis Arraez to the cleanup spot.

But it would be a 7th-inning substitute that made the difference for the Friars. Jose Iglesias entered late and drove in all three runs, as well as participated in a run-saving relay in the top of the 9th inning, in a 3-2, series-clinching win over the Royals on Sunday afternoon at Petco Park.

People looking at the starting lineups and seeing Randy Vasquez and Seth Lugo on the mound might not have expected a pitcher’s duel but both right-handers got off to fantastic starts. Vasquez opened with 5.0 shutout innings while Lugo gave up a leadoff single to Fernando Tatis Jr. then proceeded to retire the next 18 Padres batters, including a rare strikeout of Arraez (his first punchout since May 25).

In the 6th, Vasquez finally flinched. He let a cutter leak out over the middle of the plate and future Hall of Famer Salvador Perez annihilated it, sending a rocket at 114 MPH into the left field seats to put Kansas City on top 2-0. It was the only blemish on Randy’s day.

An inning later Merrill finally ended Lugo’s reign of tyranny, ripping a curve ball down the right field line for a leadoff double and injecting some life into the sellout Petco Park crowd. Lugo stayed in to get Manny Machado to fly out before being replaced by southpaw Angel Zerpa, who was brought in specifically to get the left-handed hitting Arraez and Gavin Sheets out.

He got it half right. Arraez grounded out to shortstop but Zerpa walked Sheets on four pitches, then gave Xander Bogaerts a free pass to load the bases with two outs. Shildt sent in Jose Iglesias to pinch-hit for Jake Cronenworth. Royals manager Matt Quatraro countered by summoning righty Lucas Erceg.

Advantage, Iglesias. The veteran slapped a single to right field to bring home Merrill and Sheets, tying the game 2-2. Erceg was still out there in the 8th inning and started playing with fire, walking Tatis Jr. with one out and putting a pitch right down the middle to Merrill, who made a bid to play the hero role. Jackson launched a fly ball to deep right field that had the distance to leave the yard but rookie right fielder Jac Caglianone made the catch of the month, getting his glove high above the fence to bring the would-be go-ahead homer back in the yard.

Erceg got out of the inning with some more luck when Machado hit a rocket at 112 MPH right at shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who made the catch more out of self-preservation than anything else.

Robert Suarez came on for the top of the 9th and nearly let the lead get away. The closer walked Drew Waters with two outs then Freddy Fermin lined one to the gap in right-centerfield. This time it was Merrill’s turn to prevent a run. The All-Star grabbed the ball on a hop, spun and hit Iglesias, who fired a relay throw home to get Waters trying to dive by catcher Elias Diaz. It’s the kind of relay play that they work on from the very start of Spring Training and it worked to perfection on Sunday in late June.

Arraez led off the bottom half with a single and went to 3rd on a Bogaerts double, setting up Iglesias once more. He wasted no time hitting a grounder up the middle, just far enough away from Witt to allow Arraez to slide home with the game-winning run and a 3-2 win, giving them their first series victory since the first weekend of June in Milwaukee.

The Padres start a 3-game set against Washington on Monday night in the East Village.