SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — On Wednesday, Mayor Todd Gloria released his final draft of San Diego's budget proposal for 2026, attempting to balance a significant $258 million deficit while responding to public concerns about key services.
Gloria said that due to decreased revenue streams and inflation, he's had to make regrettable decisions about where to make cuts. However, Gloria hopes that it will only be temporary. He said his priority for 2026 is to meet the City's most critical needs.
The revised proposal includes two major changes from the initial draft: restored funding for public safety and $2.1 million to the San Diego Humane Society.
The initial budget proposal had called for the Northwestern Division police station to be shut down, which serves areas like Carmel Valley and Del Mar.
Gloria said that after receiving feedback, his latest version scraps that plan.
Gloria's office said his new draft restores $773,529 of the $1.7 million reduction that consolidated police patrols in the northern part of the city between the Northern and Northeastern divisions. Also, the new draft restored the San Diego Fire-Rescue department's bomb squad cross-staffing, which uses funds reallocated from operations of one of Fire-Rescue's two helicopters for part of the year.
"This is going to be a tough budget year," Mayor Gloria said. "I believe if we eat our vegetables this year, make tough choices necessary, and fix the foundations of The City's fiscal house, we can be in a stronger position next year to grow and reinvest in the things that San Diegans care most about."
Despite these restorations, many other city-wide amenities will still face cuts, including recreation centers, which 10News has received feedback about.
In an effort to save the City more than $4 million every year, dozens of recreation centers throughout the city face the potential of having their hours and staffing trimmed down, causing concern among residents who rely on these facilities.
At the North Park Recreation Center, senior citizens who regularly play pickleball expressed worry about losing valuable staff members.
Cathy Faigle, a recreation center user, said she's especially concerned about the Assistant Center Director position being cut.
"It's scary. The position that they're cutting is actually the position where the person is doing the lionshare worth of the work," Faigle said. "This guy sets up the nets for us, takes it down for us, looks out for us, it's going to be really hard not to have him here anymore. I don't know how it's going to be after you take out that position."
Faigle said she's written to Gloria's office multiple times expressing opposition to the cuts.
Yan Katz, another North Park resident, said he and his wife were considering hosting their baby shower at the recreation center. Katz said limited staffing could impact their plans.
"Four million dollars for a city doesn't seem like a lot, but I think community is the most important factor," Katz said.
ABC 10News presented these concerns at Wednesday's presser. Gloria responded that his intention is not to eliminate jobs but rather to re-purpose some roles within the recreation centers to other positions.
The final draft budget now moves on to the City Council, where members will review and vote on its approval.
