San Diego city leaders had to cut $100 million in spending to keep a balanced budget last month. As one way to find some savings, they decided to close half the public restrooms at Mission Bay. The budget process is very hard to follow, but now the doors are locked and the people have nowhere to go.

City Hall’s Defining Crisis

Charles Modica, the city’s independent budget analyst, said that expectations for what services the city can perform are out of line with the revenues people are willing to trust the city to have. The city desperately needs voters to approve new revenue to even be able to keep its current level of government services going — much less provide new ones.

Any political leader who wants to be truly effective will have to find a way to break the cycle of City Hall cuts, voter anger, and distrust. The city’s budget crisis is a complex issue that requires a comprehensive solution.

Housing News

Apartments in San Diego have the highest vacancy rate in the 2000s, at 6.2 percent. While this increased vacancy rate isn’t really a surprise, given the new apartments built in San Diego, the question is whether the supply boom and increased vacancies mean anything good for affordability.

Rent declined more in San Diego than in all of the 20 largest housing markets except for one, according to a report by KPBS. However, the effects of the building boom on price are limited, and city leaders will have to come up with strategies beyond building more market-rate condos to make a meaningful difference for working-class people trying to keep a roof over their heads.

Original reporting: Voice of San Diego — read the source article.