With a looming budget shortfall of $258 million for the upcoming fiscal year, San Diego needs to make some difficult cuts, and the City Council wants residents to be a part of that conversation.
The city closed a $170 million deficit last year using one-time funding sources and cost reductions as a stop-gap measure, but the city is out of those options.
"No gimmicks, no Hail Mary passes, no cavalry is coming to save us," Mayor Todd Gloria said at the State of the City Address last month. "Steep cuts will be necessary, but I want to be clear that I’m not interested in slashing our way to a balanced budget."
Previous administrations had balanced the budget by cutting services, such as library hours (something Gloria considered last year before public pushback forced him to reconsider) and by deferring maintenance on roads.
The effects of deferred maintenance are still being felt as hundreds of roads received “failing” grades last year. But Council President Joe LaCava says everything is on the table in terms of cuts, including deferred maintenance.
“We have a variety of things that we're going to be looking at," he said. "Some of them are going to be very tough conversations ... but we're ready for those conversations going forward.”
LaCava said the council will focus on preserving core services, such as police, fire and lifeguards, and build up there.
“People don't care what bucket of money we're using, they don't care what the name of a department is," he said. "They want to know, are the services going to be delivered? Are the programs going to be delivered? And that's what I'm really hoping with more public input earlier in the conversation.”
The public is usually invited to comment on the budget after the preliminary version is released around April, but this year, the council is taking that feedback starting next week.
“Community input is critical to the budget development process,” Councilmember Henry L. Foster III said. He is also the chair of the budget committee.
“We do need to address this deficit," Foster said. "And we just need to make sure we put our best foot forward and do it from an informed position in a very strategic and calculated place. So we're not causing more detriment in future years.”
He noted that underserved communities typically have borne the brunt of the budget cuts in the past and wants to ensure that doesn’t happen this time.
“My goal is to ensure that we retain focus on the delivery of core services in a well-thought-out and equitable manner,” Foster said.
The City Council will hold a special meeting for a public input session at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10, at City Council Chambers.
