San Diego council approves in‑house crews for CD6 sidewalk CIP and $1.9M appropriation

San Diego City Council on Sept. 29 approved using city forces to complete a citywide‑benefit sidewalk capital improvement project in Council District 6 and amended fiscal year 2026 appropriations to allocate revenue and fund overtime for the Transportation Department. The council voted unanimously, 8–0, with Council Member Foster absent.

Philip Lowery, identified in the record as a deputy director with the department, told the council staff sought a “not to exceed threshold of $1,900,000” to have a sidewalk repair team perform CIP project B26003 and to apply revenue from the work to overtime and other immediate mitigation needs. “When we use city forces as opposed to contractors, we avoid soft contract or soft costs for administration. We can mobilize immediately,” Lowery said when summarizing the benefits.

Public commenters were divided. A caller identified in the record as Joyce Unyatta said she supported bringing the work “all in house,” praising city crews and urging the council to prioritize underserved neighborhoods: “Bring it all in house. They’re excellent people and they’ll do an excellent job.” Another remote speaker criticized the city’s fiscal stewardship and questioned whether shifting dollars would fix long‑running maintenance shortfalls: “You guys can’t be trusted with people’s money,” the commenter said.

Council President Pro Tem Lee moved the staff recommendation and Council Member Moreno seconded. Members praised the Transportation Department for expanding in‑house capabilities, noting that performing this CIP work internally can free other contract dollars for additional paving, slurry seal and minor signal work across the city. The clerk recorded the motion as passing unanimously, 8–0, with one member absent.

The approved authorization allows Transportation to deploy city crews to perform the specified CIP sidewalk repairs at more than 200 locations in CD6, to recognize the project revenue, and to reallocate those funds toward overtime and related ancillary costs such as equipment rentals. Staff said the appropriation change is intended to speed delivery and reduce administrative contracting costs; the department did not provide a detailed timeline for completion beyond the commitment to be able to mobilize “the very next day” upon authorization.

Next steps: staff will proceed under the council authorization and process the budget adjustment to recognize project revenue and allocate the overtime funding previously described.