The economic impact of a minor-league team is not sufficient to justify the relatively large public expenditure required for a minor-league stadium.” That was the conclusion of Arthur T. Johnson, author of the 1995 book Minor League Baseball and Local Economic Development, from the University of Illinois Press. Politicians in Escondido, who want to build a stadium for a minor-league team, should read that book.

Johnson studied a number of minor-league teams, searching for any economic impact they might have on their communities. “If new development is the goal, more is needed than building a stadium in the middle of a corn field and waiting for businesses to grow around it,” wrote Johnson. “Consumers must be nearby or about to move into the area. A stadium, by itself, will not attract businesses or residential development.”

In fact, the same is true for a major-league team. A ballpark or football stadium or hockey/basketball arena does not attract development. “Ask any independent economist — one not being paid by a league,” says Philip Porter, economist at the University of South Florida. Income, population, and retail sales are “not affected by the presence of a minor-league team or a major-league team. It’s been studied ad nauseam.”

Even when economic development is part of the deal for a taxpayer subsidy, it won’t work if there is no market for it. Look at the deal in East Village that the Padres wangled. They promised to build office buildings, retail establishments, hotels, and condos. They reneged on most of the promises, and the condos and hotels that were built have few people in them.

But Escondido wants to spend $50 million of taxpayer money to build a ballpark and infrastructure for the Portland Beavers, the Padres’ AAA affiliate, who have been pushed out of their longtime Oregon home because their stadium is being switched to soccer-only and no other place in the area wants them. A syndicate (not the Padres as a team) headed by Padres’ chief executive Jeff Moorad is considering buying the Beavers and moving them to Escondido. The team would play at the home of the Padres’ A-level affiliate, the Lake Elsinore Storm, next year while a new stadium is being built in Escondido for occupancy in 2012.

Plans aren’t finalized, but what seems likely is that the new 9000-seat ballpark would be on city land east of I-15 and south of Highway 78, near the Sprinter light-rail line. The Moorad group would not put money into the project and would get all ticket, concession, and naming-rights revenue.

Dick Daniels, a councilmember who is running for mayor, claims the team could draw from a market including Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Escondido, Temecula, Murrieta, Carlsbad, and some other North County and Southwest Riverside County locations — a total market of around 700,000. Single-game tickets would be $8 to $16, says Daniels, and attendance should be 6000 to 7000 a game. The Padres, who are 30 miles away, charge $10 to $63, and there should be no cannibalization, he says. (Even though the Padres are in the running for the playoffs, attendance has been very weak this year, mainly because of parking and other logistical difficulties, high ticket and concession prices, and the recession.)

Escondido would sell redevelopment bonds to finance the project. “We can make the case for blight,” a requirement to qualify for redevelopment status, says Daniels. Because the Moorad group wants a commitment by December 1, citizens will not vote. “This will be a political decision. There would be no way to bring it forward if it required a vote.”

The City of Escondido owns 18 acres at the site, including 8 acres used for storing vehicles and the like. The overall area now has warehouses and industrial buildings. “What we’re looking at is the potential for redeveloping — we need to stir office building, a little bit of residential and retail; it would give impetus to the building of life science parks,” says Daniels.

“That’s total nonsense,” says Porter. “Minor-league teams move all the time. There is never any indication that economic variables change when a team moves in or out. Expecting development is silly.”

Ed Gallo, who is running for Escondido council, opposes the expenditure. The stadium for the Lake Elsinore Storm has been a severe drain on that city, he points out. And it has not brought development: “Two business have been built and opened in the Lake Elsinore ballpark area in the 16 years of the ballpark’s existence,” says Gallo. The debt capacity for the Escondido project is $75 million, and the $50 million plus $25 million to move the equipment yard eats it up. “Holy cow. We’re covered,” he says sarcastically. “We have no idea what the financial ramifications will be, and we have no idea what the potential economic impact is projected to be.”

Sam Abed, another candidate for mayor, favors the project with three conditions. He wants the Moorad group to commit to financing collateral development, or at least agree to put money into land. He also wants to see a reasonable interest rate and a cap on costs “so the City will not be at risk from overruns like Lake Elsinore has been.”

Obviously, Escondido’s leaders should do their homework before deciding that the presence of a ballpark will enhance development. But there are other reasons to be skeptical of this proposal.

First is the idea of locating a team within the parent Padres’ market. Of the 30 AAA teams, only 3 are located close to big-league teams. The Pawtucket (Rhode Island) Red Sox are 36 miles from the Boston Red Sox; the Tacoma Rainiers are 34 miles from the Seattle Mariners; and the Gwinnett Braves are 25 miles from the Atlanta Braves. Two are farther: the Lehigh Valley IronPigs are 61 miles from the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Toledo Mud Hens are 53 miles from the Detroit Tigers.

Eighteen of the 30 AAA teams are not only in metro areas of above 1 million but are long distances from a major-league team. These include teams in markets that are large enough to be home to professional teams in other sports, such as Buffalo, Charlotte, Columbus (Ohio), Indianapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, and (you guessed it) Portland. In fact, Portland, with 2.2 million people in its metro area, has the largest market of any AAA team. And the Beavers can’t make it there, even though the team has been a part of Portland since 1903.

So the Beavers may be moving to Escondido, a city of 145,000 (and a purported market of 700,000), which is located only 30 miles from a major-league team.

Escondido resident Bill Stephenson is gathering an opposition group. “City leaders are not doing due diligence, are only being cheerleaders, and aren’t discussing it publicly,” he says. “The public has to have a seat at the table.”

Somebody in Escondido leadership has to sober up. Ditto for Moorad’s group. Its chief negotiator, Steve Peace, did not return phone calls for comment.

Ground will be broken soon on two new affordable housing complexes in central Escondido, now that the projects have been awarded nearly $3 million total in crucial federal tax credits.

Crews will begin constructing the 61-unit Juniper Senior Village later this month on the southwest corner of Juniper Street and Washington Avenue, city officials said. And construction is scheduled to begin in February on The Crossings, a 55-unit project that will replace the crumbling Elder Place neighborhood off Mission Avenue.

The complexes will be the 19th and 20th that the city has built for low-income residents, and they also reflect a new city strategy for locating such projects. Both projects will replace neighborhoods that have been notorious for gangs, drugs and violence.

"We have been using our housing dollars to revitalize and rejuvenate some sore spots in our city," Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler said last week. "We really want to strengthen these neighborhoods."

Juniper Senior Village will replace the Mobile Haven trailer park, which was torn down in 2005 to make way for the project. But construction has been delayed because it took six tries to secure the federal tax credits.

The Crossings will be built on the Elder Place cul-de-sac, where nearly all of the roughly 20 apartment buildings have been acquired over the past two years to make way for the new project.

After struggling in recent years to secure the tax credits required for such projects, Escondido received more than half the total monies disbursed to San Diego County this time around. Of the $5.2 million awarded countywide, Escondido got slightly more than $2 million for the Elder Place project and $864,000 for the Juniper project.

Roni Keiser, manager of the city's housing division, said she could not remember the city ever receiving credits for two projects in the same round.

Besides providing more affordable housing in the city and boosting the affected neighborhoods, Keiser said the projects would also stimulate the local economy by providing work for contractors and subcontractors.

John Seymour, a vice president for National Community Renaissance, said his housing development company was pleased to finally secure the tax credits for the Juniper project.

The $17.6 million project, which will be restricted to people age 55 and older, will be three stories with elevators. It is scheduled to open in early 2011, Seymour said.

The proximity to Escondido's Joslyn Senior Center makes the location ideal, said Seymour, explaining that there are plans to coordinate some programs with Joslyn.

The 1.14-acre complex will also feature a spa that will be named for former City Councilman Ed Gallo, who suggested a few years ago that such an amenity would make sense in a seniors-only complex.

A groundbreaking ceremony has been scheduled for 1 p.m. Oct. 21.

To get on an "interest list" for prospective tenants, call 866-706-8065.

The Crossings will feature 55 shiny townhomes and apartments on five acres. It is scheduled to open in April 2011, said Mark Irving, director of land development for Urban Housing Communities.

Irving said his company was pleased to receive their tax credits so quickly, and he praised the city to committing more than $5 million to acquire the properties required for the $27 million project.

An interest list for The Crossings, which will be open to tenants of all ages, will be created sometime in late 2010, Irving said.

Money for affordable housing projects comes from the city's redevelopment agency instead of its general fund, which has dwindled dramatically during the recession. State law requires cities to spend 20 percent of redevelopment revenue on affordable housing.

Before the city created its redevelopment agency in 1984, the only affordable complex in the city was Windsor Gardens on Ninth Avenue, which was built in 1977.

But the city built 17 more complexes between 1993 and 2007. The city now has five complexes featuring 528 units for seniors and 13 complexes featuring 928 units for people of all ages.

ESCONDIDO -- Hundreds of North County residents joined 24-hour Relay For Life walks Saturday to raise money for local American Cancer Society programs.

In Escondido, Gwenn Jensen, a two-time cancer survivor, grinned when asked why her team at the outdoor track at Orange Glen High School was named the Crushers.

"We do not have mercy," said Jensen, of Escondido. "We crush those bad cells."

In Oceanside, hundreds walked laps around the track at MiraCosta College to recordings of Kool & the Gang's "Celebrate" and other upbeat songs.

Cancer survivor Carolyn Medlin of Oceanside was walking to raise funds pledged by supporters and to honor friends and relatives, she said.

"I've had several friends who have had cancer," Medlin said. "My mom passed away from cancer."

She was one of dozens of North County residents in each city wearing white sashes with purple letters spelling "Survivor."

Across California, thousands more have joined Relay for Life events in 300 California communities this spring for the annual relay-style walks or runs that raise millions for local cancer research and patient/family services.

In Escondido and Oceanside, teams representing clubs, groups of friends and local businesses planned to take turns walking until mid-morning Sunday.

Some set up tents to camp overnight.

"We do that because cancer affects us all 24 hours a day," said Mark Umek of Escondido, chair of this year's fundraiser at Orange Glen High School.

Umek said 15 teams comprised of 183 people were participating at the Escondido relay walk.

Among the walkers was Escondido City Council member Ed Gallo, captain of an Escondido Rotary Club team he formed after his daughter-in-law died of breast cancer five years ago.

"I have four granddaughters, so I have a vested interest in this, as do all of you," Gallo told the Escondido teams before the start of the day's relay walks.

In Oceanside, MiraCosta College Superintendent/President Francisco Rodriguez had joined one of several teams at an event expected to attract more than 800 people by Sunday.

"I have family members of my own who have survived cancer and who have died of this horrific disease," Rodriguez said as he walked.

One of the more popular stops on grounds surrounding the college track was a free massage booth set up by students attending MiraCosta's massage therapy classes. All tips were donated to the American Cancer Society.

"It's nice to give back to the community," class instructor Chris Vettel of Oceanside said.

Members of the "Laps of Love for Lois" team were having a bake sale near the massage tables to augment funds that friends and relatives of the late Lois Leonard of Oceanside had raised for their team.

"My mother should have been walking with me," cancer survivor Tracy McNamara of Oceanside said about Leonard, who died last year of cancer.

McNamara and her sister, Kristin Sharp of Vista, said participating in the event had proven a positive way to cope with their loss.

"It gives you a place to focus your energy," Sharp said.

"It helps you realize you're not alone," McNamara said.

The Oceanside event's chair, Diane Pardin of Vista, was eager for the annual lighting of candles that would take place at the tracks in each city at dark.

"It's probably one of my favorite parts because it gives me a chance to remember and be with my grandmother," said Pardin, who lost her grandmother to cancer.

"It gives us hope," Pardin said.

Call it the thrill of victory mixed with the agony of da feet. Or, as some men discovered, it's not so easy walking around in women's shoes.

Still, maybe 25 guys strapped on their most stylish stilettos -- or more accurately, whatever they could find that fit -- and joined in Friday's Stiletto Walk against ovarian cancer in downtown Escondido.

They were joined by about 130 women and a few curiosity seekers in "walking a couple of blocks in their shoes."

"The trick is to walk on the balls of your feet, otherwise you fall backward," said Councilman Dick Daniels, who presented quite a picture in his rolled-up slacks and pink open-toe stilettos with a big pink bow.

Daniels needed some help from former Councilman Ed Gallo and City Manager Clay Phillips, also shod in stilettos, to get onto the stage.

"The next time somebody says 'Walk a mile in my shoes,' I'm going to ask, 'Which gender?' " Daniels added.

"I'm very hurt," Gallo said after walking around a downtown block in silver open-toe stilettos. "I wore those for 40 minutes and now I can't walk in my regular shoes."

Definitely catching the eye was John Trask of La Mesa, who took the dressing-up theme to an extreme.

He donned a black bustier, black miniskirt, fishnet stockings and a garter belt to go with his open-toe black stilettos.

A pink wig completed the ensemble.

Trask borrowed the clothes from his girlfriend, Holly Brandt -- whose mother died of ovarian cancer -- the reason for his participation in the walk.

"This event is definitely worthy of coming down and giving money," said Trask, in the process of training for an Ironman triathlon.

Asked which was more difficult, Trask said, "Training for the Ironman is easy compared to walking in heels."

Some women, too, had to scramble to get the appropriate footwear.

Lisa Koonce, co-owner of Stephen's Custom Jewelry and an admitted "barefoot girl," said as she strapped on her gold stilettos, "I had to go buy some shoes (Thursday) because I don't wear (high heels). Nine dollars at Payless."

Artful challenge: The DreamAbility exhibition, which annually features the works of artists with physical or mental challenges, is adding a twist this year.

"For the first time, we will have a silent auction of original works by the artists," said Marty Tiedeman, founder and curator of the show.

About 100 pieces of art by 22 artists will be displayed in the 11th DreamAbility show, opening Tuesday at the Escondido Municipal Gallery, 262 E. Grand Ave.

A reception and silent auction takes place from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday.

"Some of the artists work all year to get ready for this show," Tiedeman said. "It's not about their disabilities at all. If you walk through the door, there's no way you can tell what it takes to put this artwork together."

Quick hits: A sign on the door of the Escondido Municipal Gallery during Friday's Cruisin' Grand carried a chilling message: "Closed for hanging." Aren't those usually held in the public square? … Among the winning entries in a food safety calendar contest held by the County Department of Environmental Health was this sage piece of advice from Karla Mendoza, a third-grader at Joli Ann Leichtag School in San Marcos: "Do not share food with your cat."

Karla's tip, along with those of a dozen of her schoolmates, will be featured in the calendar.

Editor's note: This is part of a series of profiles on candidates running for two seats on the Escondido City Council in the Nov. 4 election.

ESCONDIDO -- Making life better for the "average" Escondido resident is why incumbent Ed Gallo ran for City Council eight years ago, and he wants another four years to continue his efforts.

Watch the video

In a recent interview, Gallo said efforts to reduce crime and make the city cleaner over the past eight years have improved the "quality of life" for most Escondido residents, while also making the city more attractive to developers and businesses that offer high-paying jobs.

Some critics say Gallo and the rest of the council have taken their efforts to clean up the city too far.

Those critics say the council has badly damaged the city's reputation with a failed attempt to prohibit landlords from renting to illegal immigrants in 2006, and a more recent attempt to adopt parking restrictions as a way to combat overcrowding in predominantly Latino neighborhoods.

But Gallo said the council's efforts are similar to the way Mayor Rudy Giuliani cleaned up New York City in the 1990s. He sent a message that ordinary residents would no longer have to cope with ubiquitous graffiti and lawlessness, Gallo said.

"Quiet enjoyment of the city is the goal," said Gallo, a 67-year-old real estate agent. "The average person wants us to do something about the parking and overcrowding problems."

In addition to reducing crime and graffiti, Gallo takes credit for a crackdown on unlicensed drivers and replacing some mobile home parks with more attractive, low-income apartments.

"There's no reason people should have to live the way they were living," Gallo said.

Gallo, a divorced father of three grown children, is a New Jersey native who moved to Escondido in 1973. He worked in retail management until he earned his real estate license and began selling commercial and residential property in 1976.

Gallo has also been a prolific volunteer since shortly after his arrival. He is a longtime member of the Escondido Jaycees and Escondido Rotary. He served on the city's planning commission and other boards before he was elected to council in 2000.

While conceding that criticism bothers him, Gallo said politicians sometimes have no choice in the matter.

"No matter what you do, some folks will agree and some won't," said Gallo. "So I do what I think is right. So far, majority rule has kept me in office."

Gallo said one of his biggest disappointments on the council has been the city's struggle to attract more high-tech businesses to its research and technology park near the San Marcos border. But he said he will continue the campaign to increase the city's median income, which is the lowest in North County.

Wally Gutierrez, a Jaycees member and longtime Gallo supporter, said Monday that Gallo deserves another four years because of his devotion to the community and his willingness to stand up for ideas that might get him criticized.

Gutierrez also said people who have painted Gallo as an elitist, most notably council challenger Olga Diaz, are way off the mark. Gallo goes to events for all groups and is the least wealthy member of the council by far, said Gutierrez.

Tom Hogarty, chairman of the Escondido Chamber of Commerce, said Monday that his organization endorsed Gallo because of his tireless efforts on behalf of local businesses.

But Hogarty said another important quality in Gallo is his work behind the scenes.

"Ed is kind of like an iceberg," said Hogarty. "There's so many things he does, like his work on the budget and the performing arts committee, that you never see and that he doesn't take credit for."

ESCONDIDO -- Hoping to reverse a history of deficits, trustees of the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, are recommending the center no longer book its own performances, but instead rent its two theaters to promoters who would present their own acts.

The change, which the City Council is scheduled to consider Wednesday, would relieve the center of the financial risk that comes with selling tickets, a risk that contributed to a $3 million deficit this past fiscal year.

"For 14 years the model hasn't worked, so it's time for a change," said City Councilman Ed Gallo, who studied the issue for eight months on a committee that included Councilman Dick Daniels.

Since opening in 1994, the center has worked under an agreement with the city to produce, promote and sell tickets to an annual series of shows. Some shows break even and some make a profit, but the center loses money when fewer tickets than expected are sold.

By operating as a rental facility, the center would get money upfront from promoters who would sell the tickets and take the loss if those sales fall short.

San Diego has a similar arrangement at the city-owned Balboa Theater and the Civic Theatre, as does the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, which served as a model for the arts center committee.

Joyce Masterson, assistant to the city manager in Escondido, said Thousand Oaks was used as a model because it has a 400-seat and an 1,800-seat theater, similar to the arts center's 406-seat Center Theater and 1,530-seat Concert Hall.

Both of the complexes in Thousand Oaks opened in 1994, operating as a rental facility all along.

In Escondido this past fiscal year, the city paid $1.2 million in management fees and $840,000 in utility fees for the arts center, Masterson said. Besides those expenses, poor ticket sales helped drive up the center's deficit, leading to a $3 million subsidy from the city.

The center has run a deficit during 12 of its 14 years.

In Thousand Oaks, city public information officer Andrew Powers said the city has provided subsidies from about $100,000 to up to $300,000 each year.

"They've always been very successful here," he said about the city-owned theaters. "In the last fiscal year, they reached a milestone in that the theaters would operate without a general fund subsidy."

The theaters also do not have a problem booking shows under the rental system, Powers said.

This month, the Thousand Oaks center is presenting "Singing in the Rain," singer-songwriter Karla Bonoff, a dance recital and a magic show. Upcoming months will include concerts by bands covering Led Zeppelin and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, the play "The King and I," a lecture by Thomas Friedman, the one-man show "Defending the Caveman," Bob Newhart, "Stomp" and a Beethoven symphony.

The Escondido center already has shows booked through June 2009, which arts center President Vicky Basehore said will give the center time to establish relationships with promoters who in the past had little opportunity to book the theaters.

Basehore said she is not sure whether the new system would bring the center more or fewer shows. Even if fewer shows are booked, the center still could have a better year financially than in the past because it won't lose money on poor ticket sales, she said. But the center also might have more shows than before, she said, because sometimes it has turned down shows out of concern they would sell poorly.

The risk would transfer to the promoters under the new method, she said.

Still unknown, however, is whether promoters will decide on their own to rent the theaters over similar ones in San Diego.

Gallo said he believes they will and that he expects the theater to draw audiences from throughout North County and Southwest Riverside County.

"My background is in retail, and I always say, if you have what the people want, they will get there," he said.

In the staff report on the committee's proposal, city Community Services Director Jerry Van Leeuwen wrote that the transition would be invisible to patrons, who wouldn't necessarily know that outsider promoters were presenting the shows.

Van Leeuwen also wrote that volunteers still will be needed to work in the theaters.

Basehore said rental costs would be based on the needs of each production, depending on the technical and staff needs of each show.

Contact staff writer Gary Warth at (760) 740-5410 or gwarth@nctimes.com.

CORRECTION: Escondido mayor wasn't on arts center panel

A story about the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, in the Aug. 8 edition of the North County Times incorrectly reported the members of a committee that recommended the city rent out its theaters.

Escondido City Councilmen Dick Daniels and Ed Gallo were on the committee. Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler appointed the council members to the committee but was not a member of the panel.

We apologize.

ESCONDIDO -- Nine years after the city launched a program to help poor senior citizens and disabled residents pay their rents, city officials said last week that concerns about inflation have prompted them to consider increasing the amount of money residents receive each month.

Qualified residents in mobile-home parks have received $75 per month since the Rental Subsidy Program began in 1999, while qualified residents in apartments have received $100 per month since they were added to the program in 2001. Neither subsidy has ever been increased.

"I think having a yearly cost-of-living adjustment would be a good idea," said Councilman Ed Gallo. "Seventy-five dollars back then is not the same as $75 today."

City officials said they could easily afford to increase the subsidies, because fewer residents have been applying to the program in recent years.

The program cost the city $395,700 during the 2002-03 fiscal year, because 217 mobile-home residents received subsidies and 165 apartment dwellers got the payments. But the city's total payout has steadily dwindled to $314,000 in the 2007-08 fiscal year, when payments went to 160 mobile-home occupants and 142 apartment residents.

City officials said fewer residents have been participating because they are forced to leave the program when they begin receiving federal housing subsidies, known as Section 8 benefits.

Residents must have applied for federal subsidies to qualify for the city program, but the waiting list for federal subsidies typically takes several years, said Roni Keiser, a management analyst in the city's housing division.

"The program is not designed to be permanent for residents," said Keiser. "And we are careful not to allow double-dipping with the federal program."

State law requires the city to spend $5 million per year in tax revenue on housing programs for low-income residents, so the rent subsidy program has had no effect on this year's City Hall budget crisis.

Keiser said spending more money on the rent subsidy would leave the city less money to buy land for low-income apartment complexes and to help low-income residents become homeowners. But she said the effect would be marginal unless there was a dramatic increase in the number of participants in the subsidy program.

Making a difference

Arlene Davis said the program has made a real difference in her life since she began receiving the subsidy two years ago.

"It lowered my rent from $750 a month to $650, which makes a big difference when you're living on a budget," said Davis, who lives in the Casa Escondida seniors-only apartment complex on Broadway. "It's easier for me to pay for everything now, and it affects how much I can give my kids for birthdays and Christmas."

Davis, 84, qualifies for the program because her total income, which consists of $1,500 per month from Social Security, does not exceed 50 percent of the area's median income, which is $2,304 per month for a one-person household.

Other requirements include being at least age 62 or being disabled. Residents also must be citizens or legal immigrants, and they can't have more than $25,000 in total assets.

Davis said the city does not do enough to promote the program.

"People I play cards with told me about it or I never would have known," said Davis. "We all tell each other the best ways to save a dollar."

For details on signing up for the program, visit http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/depts/cs/housing/rental-english.pdf.

Studying the numbers

Keiser said city officials plan to study how much market rates have increased for apartments since the program was launched.

She said the apartment program is restricted to eight senior complexes in the city that may not be that sensitive to market changes. But she said rent increases are typically a bigger burden on seniors than other residents because the seniors are often on fixed incomes.

Keiser also suggested that apartment residents would probably be due for a much larger subsidy increase than mobile-home residents, because rent control has sharply curtailed rent increases in the city's mobile-home parks.

Long overdue

Managers of three senior apartment complexes and one mobile-home park said last week that they strongly support the rental subsidy program and would like to see an increase in it. But one apartment manager said the city should give large increases to the "truly needy," and not increase the subsidy for residents who barely qualify.

Kristine Smeaton, manager of the Escondido Adult Village apartments, said an increase in the subsidy is long overdue because most residents in the program still work for a living.

"This money helps them out tremendously," said Smeaton.

Because 13 of the 130 residents in Escondido Adult Village participate in the program, Smeaton receives a check from the city for $3,900 every three months.

That streamlined and simple process was praised by the apartment managers, who explained that it would be a hassle for the city to send the subsidy checks to residents and then force the landlords to collect them.

"For us, the program is pretty much hassle-free," said Lori Hilliard, manager of Morning View apartments. "There's definitely not a lot of extra paperwork."

JoAnn Spencer, manager of Casa Grande mobile-home park, said she sees first-hand what a difference the subsidy makes.

"Every little bit really helps," she said. "The people are so grateful for what they get."

But Sandy Wolcott, manager of Terrace Gardens apartments, said she would like to see some sort of tiered system for the subsidy.

"I'd like to see an increase if it was warranted based on the resident's income," said Wolcott. "But I have mixed emotions, because some residents might not need more than $100."

ESCONDIDO -- In an effort to save money and streamline city operations, the City Council has eliminated a commission that analyzes low-income housing projects, merged two panels that address senior citizen and recreation issues, and combined two boards handling pedestrian and traffic safety.

Council members also considered merging the city's Planning Commission and Design Review Board this spring, but they decided last week that the duties of the two panels do not overlap enough to warrant a merger.

Some critics have suggested that reducing the number of commissions will make the city less open and democratic, but council members said last week they're trying to eliminate red tape and reduce the amount of time that city employees spend working with the commissions.

"We're not against input, but we want to eliminate and combine some of these commissions for greater efficiency," Councilman Sam Abed said last week during a public hearing on the subject.

Councilman Ed Gallo spearheaded the merger campaign.

"You could establish a committee for anything you can think of," Gallo said last week. "But we have budget problems we have to address."

Because of declining sales-tax revenue, the city faces a $3.6 million deficit for the fiscal year that ends June 30, a projected $7.7 million deficit in fiscal 2008-09 and an $8.7 million deficit in fiscal 2009-10. As a result, city finance officials are calling for 7.5 percent cuts next year to all city departments.

City Manager Clay Phillips said last week that fewer commissions would lighten the workload of city employees, but no one at City Hall has provided an estimate of how much money the city would save as a result of the mergers.

When the changes take effect July 1, the number of city commissions will be reduced from 12 to nine.

Elizabeth Gabrych, chairwoman of the seven-member Housing Advisory Commission, unsuccessfully lobbied the council not to eliminate her panel.

"Citizen participation is the lifeblood of democracy," said Gabrych, who also suggested that council members might be eliminating volunteer panels to increase their own power.

Beverly Peterka, the city's housing division manager, said the commission provides valuable input to staff members.

But Gallo said the City Council eventually goes over the same issues when it reviews low-income housing projects later in the approval pipeline. Abed said approval of such projects is so constrained by state and federal law that there is not much the commission can do anyway.

Ron Miller, the city employee who advises the Transportation Commission and Community Safety Committee, said merging the two panels is a mistake, even though they cover similar issues regarding road and pedestrian safety.

"The Transportation Commission is more about staff reports and votes, while the community safety committee is more about dialogue," said Miller, an associate engineer in the city's traffic division.

The merger of the Community Services Commission and the Senior Advisory Board was less controversial.

Robin Bettin, the city's recreation superintendent, said the two panels cover similar ground and that both boards have struggled to recruit enough members. Five of nine spots on the Community Services Commission are vacant, and four of the seven spots on the Senior Advisory Board are open, she said.

The aging of the large baby boomer generation has made the issues facing the two panels more similar than ever before, Bettin said last week.

Lynn Russell, a longtime member of the Senior Advisory Board, said there is enormous overlap in the issues facing the two panels.

"The people who are involved have the knowledge to handle both things," said Russell.

Bettin said a workshop later this spring will determine the membership and procedures of the newly merged board.

The council is slated to make its annual appointments for the remaining nine city commissions on April 23. Those appointments have been delayed so the council could consider the mergers.