Cal-PIRG, in Last-Minute Plea, Says It Will Close Unless City Restores Money

Members of the watchdog agency Cal-PIRG gathered at City Hall on Monday in a last-minute bid to persuade the San Diego City Council to restore money for the group’s programs, saying that, otherwise, it will be forced to close at the end of August.

“Unless some form of funding comes . . . soon, we will have to close our doors,” said Jeff Francis, director of consumer programs for the California Public Interest Research Group in San Diego.

Francis appeared before the council at its Monday meeting, and Cal-PIRG supporters held a rally beforehand.

In June, the agency had asked for $40,799 as part of the city’s social services budget proposal. But the council chose not to include funding for Cal-PIRG, one of several programs it cut to make room for more police officers.

The city concluded budget deliberations Monday, but Councilwoman Gloria McColl asked City Manager John Lockwood to report back to her Public Services and Safety Committee in 60 days on the possibility of finding funding for Cal-PIRG. The chances of such an amendment to the budget are considered slim, according to a council insider.

“This is a city program; the city should provide some assistance for consumers,” Francis said. “We’re not dealing with a huge amount of money.”

The contract the agency has with the city to run a hot line, give talks and conduct price surveys ends Aug. 31, when a two-month extension to phase out the program expires. Cal-PIRG will continue to have an office in San Diego but will have to lay off two full-time staff members, Francis said.

Funding from the statewide offices of the organization cannot be used for the consumer programs because “that’s not what citizens join our organization for,” Francis said. “They are supporting us to go out and pass legislation. We can’t use city money to do that.”

Consequently, Cal-PIRG consumer operations are separate from the statewide lobbying operations, Francis said. The agency had received money from the city since 1976 for its well-known consumer reports.

“Without Cal-PIRG, there is no other alternative for consumers,” Francis said.

San Diego has been the only major city in California not to have some kind of in-house consumer protection program, instead choosing to contract with Cal-PIRG to provide the services, Francis said.