An Important Board Meeting 📅

Our final meetings of the year are Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday’s meeting has several items that I wanted to bring to your attention.

1. My colleagues have brought forth an item to allocate another $3 million for migrant services. If approved, we will have spent $6 million of local taxpayer dollars on migrant services. I’m against this for several reasons, primarily because immigration is a Federal issue, and San Diegans should not be footing the bill. We have seen over 50,000 migrants enter San Diego County since September 13 and there are no signs of this slowing down. Our immigration system is broken and San Diegans shouldn’t have to sacrifice local services because of this breakdown.

2. While I disagree with adding another $3 million for migrant services, I am bringing an item forward focused on getting people off the street, specifically those in recovery. There are approximately 909 individuals currently engaged in outpatient treatment for addiction recovery but remain homeless. These individuals diligently attend meetings, undergo regular testing, and exert tremendous effort toward their recovery journey.

At our last meeting, we unanimously approved providing housing for 100 of these homeless individuals in North County. The next step is finding funding, and at our Board meeting on Tuesday, I’m proposing to allocate $8 million to find housing, not just the 100 individuals, but the entire group. This would come from the same funding source as the proposed migrant service allotment.

3. Finally, I’ve been very focused on making everyone aware of the fixed-rate electricity proposal from the State of California. The proposed fixed-rate bill fundamentally operates on an income-based charging model, where the more one earns, the higher the flat-rate electricity charges, even if you have solar. While this is a state law, I’m proposing to take a stand against this legislation and urge our county to push back on the plan.

Those are just a few of the topics we will be discussing. As always, I encourage you to participate in the County process. Here are some ways you can make a difference:

Attend the County Board of Supervisors meeting in person:

Board meetings are held in the Board Chamber (Room 310) of the County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA 92101.

1. You must fill out a Request to Speak form if you want to speak at the meeting. Forms are available outside Room 310 and in the Chamber.
2. Write in the information and give it to the Deputy Clerk. You will need a form for each item you want to speak on.
3. You need to turn in the form before public comment on that item begins. You can only turn in a form for yourself to speak. You cannot turn in a form for someone else.
4. The Clerk of the Board will call your name when it is your turn to speak.
5. You will have two minutes. You cannot give your time to someone else.

Call in comments during a meeting. 

1. Fill out a tele-comments form. You need to submit the form before public comment on that item begins. After you submit the form, you’ll get instructions on how to call into the meeting.
2. Watch or listen to the meeting.
3. When the Board begins to discuss the item you want to comment on, call the phone number from the instructions. Turn off your TV or live stream. You’ll continue to hear the Board meeting on the phone.
4. When it is your turn, you will hear a message. Begin speaking after the beep.
5. You will have two minutes to speak. You can hang up when you’re done.

Encourage friends, family, and neighbors to join in and voice their opinions. Share information and raise awareness about the issue on social media and within your community.

San Diego County District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond
https://www.supervisorjimdesmond.com/