Students and residents made impassioned pleas at a meeting of the San Diego City Council on Monday, hoping to keep the city from reducing recreation center hours and closing libraries on Sundays and Mondays.
“Here we are begging for crumbs in your budget,” one student yelled at councilmembers.
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WATCH HERE“A lot of us learned to dance at El Toyo Park,” said another woman. “And I learned how to play tennis at MLK Park.”
The proposed cuts are part of Mayor Todd Gloria's budget plan to make up a nearly $260 million budget deficit. He presented his final budget proposal to councilmembers on Monday.
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SIGN UP Community advocate Francine Maxwell urged councilmembers not to rubber-stamp the budget. She urged council to cut people and not programs.
"At a minimum, you should be cutting deputy-level salaries," Maxwell said. "Be bold leaders and cut them. We need our services. The middle management bloat is wrong."
With the budget now in the council's court to start making amendments, Councilmembers Sean Elo Rivera and Henry Foster said they're looking to prioritize rec centers and libraries, especially after protests against plans to merge the Carmel Valley police station resulted in that proposal being scrapped, with nearly $800,000 restored to the police department.
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“Keeping folks safe is our top priority, but that requires more than just, you know, putting cops on the street or firefighters on engines," Elo-Rivera said. "That's important. And if young people don't have a place to go, a safe place to go after school, that makes us less safe."
Elo-Rivera suggested keeping libraries and rec centers open full-time with the $11 million expected to roll in next year from paid parking at Balboa Park. He’d also like to see out-of-towners pay for parking at the zoo, new revenue that could help students focus on their future full-time at San Diego area libraries.
“I live in a house with five other people,” said high school senior Jaime Lopez Gill. "It’s always chaotic. There’s no personal space. Going to these study rooms, I can focus on myself and put the best I can out there toward my education."
The council will meet over the next three weeks to make amendments to the mayor’s proposed budget. Councilmembers will vote on the final budget on June 10.
