A large pension deficit notwithstanding, the San Diego City Council voted 6-1 Monday, Nov. 25, to keep libraries and recreation centers open despite calls from the mayor to make the deep cuts. District 7 Councilman Jim Madaffer said the city needs to stop “kicking the can down the road” to cover the city’s estimated $43 million budget shortfall this year. Council voted to tap hotel transient occupancy taxes, library capital improvement funds and infrastructure money to keep the much-loved community buildings and services. The vote protects Fire and Rescue department services from current budget cuts but increases the Junior Lifeguard program fee to about $500 a student. The council also voted to close the city’s community service centers, which offers a variety of services such as a free monthly immunization clinic for children, general city information and drop-off services for city bills. The mayor is unlikely to veto the council’s decision, according to a mayoral spokesperson. The incoming City Council will revisit budget issues again in May. After campaigning to pass Proposition C, which earmarks funds generated by Mission Bay lease for Mission Bay Park projects, District 2 Councilman Kevin Faulconer said he kept his “adrenaline in check” as council voted whether or not to dip in Mission Bay’s funds. The mayor proposed tapping $4.9 million designated for Mission Bay capital improvements before Prop C takes effect July 2009, but the council decided against it. Restrooms at Mission Beach and Mission Bay will stay open for now, but funding for beach-area fire rings has been snuffed out. Council also followed the city’s Independent Budget Analyst recommendation to ask the mayor to pursue a mandatory work furlough and user fee increases. Reaching into earmarked funds puts off the decision for a real long-term plan, an issue Faulconer said needs to be addressed. Faulconer sits on Budget and Finance Committee and currently chairs the Audit Committee. The Budget and Finance Committee reviews the annual budget, oversees capital projects, taxes and fees. The Audit Committee currently includes Faulconer, District 4 Councilman Tony Young and District 3 Councilwoman Toni Atkins. They’re charged with overseeing the city’s financial business practices and internal financial reporting. The city is currently accepting applications to add three members of the public to the committee because of a voter mandate to restructure the committee. “We know the news in next year’s budget is not going be better,” he said. “While these are not easy decisions, [they’re] keeping our focus on some of our core library services and giving [city council] more time to outreach with our community”, Faulconer said at Monday’s council meeting. The decision to protect the popular programs and services will come at a cost. Some of the money used this time to keep the libraries open was supposed to pay for library improvements. Mayoral spokesperson Rachel Liang said council’s decision could affect plans for the new proposed Downtown Central library though it is unclear how. Comparing the city budget to managing household budgets, Liang said the money being tapped by the council may not be there next year. “They (council) financed the grocery bill and paid it with savings and tax returns. So it’s not putting us in good standing next year,” Liang said. She added that departments already stretched thin will have an estimated $53 million shortfall next year, she said. The city’s budget process for fiscal year 2010 starts in February of next year. Threats of closing libraries sparked a public outcry at several libraries across the city marked for closure — including Ocean Beach and University Community libraries. Clairemont branch library was also threatened with closure because it’s smaller and within a few miles of other libraries, including Pacific Beach branch and the newer North University Community branch, according to an Independent Budget Analyst report. One Ocean Beach business owner even offered about 5 percent of his two weeks of sales to help keep the Ocean Beach Library open. Isauro “Izzy” Elizondo, owner of Falling Sky Pottery, 1951 Abbott St., said he’s just trying to do his part. “I hope this effort would be followed by others in Ocean Beach. If local businesses are willing to put money into the local library, that would say a lot about the community itself,” he said. Faulconer said he would work the community to come up with additional ideas to make up for the budget shortfall. With less people spending because of mortgage crisis and market dips, tax revenue coming to city coffers has gone way down. This most recent budget problems fall on top of the city’s ongoing underfunded pension obligations. The San Diego city attorney said recently at a City Council budget meeting that the pension deficit — now estimated at $2.8 billion — is another reason why the city has to make services cuts.