Morning Report: If Supes Tap Reserves, It Could Trigger Employee Bonuses

Tuesday could be a historic day for progressives who have long wanted to unleash the county’s massive reserve fund.

County supervisors will vote today on whether to amend the county’s reserve policy, which could allow the county to dip into more of its big rainy-day fund to combat impending federal cuts.

There are a couple catches. First, as our Lisa Halverstadt revealed Friday, Democrats now hold the votes on the board to amend the policy but they’ll need a Republican ally to actually dig into that reserve account.

Now Halverstadt has revealed another twist: If supervisors approve changes to the policy, they’ll trigger millions of dollars in bonuses to county employees. Supervisors pledged those lump-sums as county officials finalized labor deals with a handful of county labor unions earlier this summer.

Read the full story here.

Also on Tuesday’s agenda:

• Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Monica Montgomery Steppe are calling for the creation of a board subcommittee made up of the two supervisors to further develop a county plan to respond to federal changes and turn the county’s behavioral health department into a standalone office capable of functioning as a Medi-Cal health plan. 
• The Union-Tribune reports that Montgomery Steppe is also pushing a plan to phase out pepper spray in the county’s juvenile detention centers.
• County supervisors will also get an update on the county’s progress delivering new behavioral health beds and slots and to pursue state Proposition 1 bond funding for additional services.

San Diego’s Water Leader Joins Met Board

The leader of the San Diego County Water Authority is joining the delegation that the region’s main water buyer sends to manage its water seller – the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. 

It’s rare that the Water Authority’s general manager, Dan Denham, serve in this capacity. Metropolitan has 26 member agencies, including San Diego’s Water Authority. Most of the board’s directors are political appointees. But it’s the votes of these member agencies that determine who will lead Met after its general manager was ousted, among other things.

Denham will now, potentially, have a vote or a say on the matter. Denham stressed that he’s not been sworn in yet, and likely won’t be until September. (The quest to find Met’s new leader is in progress now – in fact the board is meeting in closed session Tuesday on the matter.)

As to why he was selected, Denham said it’s because he’s fully up to speed on what’s going on at the Los Angeles-based water wholesaler who provides water to all of Southern California. 

“I really do know how to separate the policy side from the politics if you will. It’ll be a good test,” Denham told me. 

Under Denham’s leadership, the Water Authority settled a years-long dispute with Metropolitan over the cost of transporting Colorado River water to San Diego. 

“Dan came in and was clear that he would be more of an externally focused GM focusing on his board but simultaneously on Met, and the settlement with Met being part and parcel to that,” said Nick Serrano, chair of the Water Authority’s board and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s deputy chief of staff.

Denham replaces Gail Goldberg who is leaving her post on the delegation due to health issues. 

Border Report: Mexicali Journalist Summoned By Prosecutor After Questioning Governor

A journalist who questioned the governor of Baja California during a recent news conference was later called into the state prosecutor’s office.

Journalist Dianeth Perez Arreola asked a question during a news conference earlier this month led by Gov. Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda. She had been reporting on a bid process that selected a company to run a project at a water plant, only the company’s name and information was never made public.

After asking the governor for the company’s name, Perez Arreola was summoned to the prosecutor’s office for questioning, writes Voice contributor Kate Morrissey.

Now, journalists and journalist advocates are rallying around Perez Arreola and against the state government.

Read the full story here.

In Other News 

• The city of San Diego has filed more than 20 cross-complaints against more than a dozen parties, including at least two flood victims, over last year’s flooding. The city says the parties bear some of the responsibility for damage. (Union-Tribune)
• As California’s newly proposed congressional map heads to a special election, Ammar Campa Najjar has announced that he will run again for the East County congressional district he lost to Rep. Darrell Issa back in 2020. (KPBS)
• After being closed for two years, the road to Friendship Park has reopened, but the meeting spot at the U.S.-Mexico fence is still closed with no word on if or when it will reopen. (Union-Tribune)

The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt, MacKenzie Elmer and Tigist Layne. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.

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