SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego is bracing for another challenging budget year as the Office of Independent Budget Analyst projects a $105.2 million deficit for the next fiscal year, forcing city leaders to consider significant cuts.
City Council President Joe LaCava acknowledged that tough decisions lie ahead to balance the city's finances.
"This is my 5th year doing this, this is gonna be the most challenging budget conversation in those five years," LaCava said.
Despite the financial constraints, city leaders maintain their commitment to core priorities: public safety, homelessness, and infrastructure. However, funding these essential services will prove difficult without new revenue sources.
"Public safety is job one, police, fire, and lifeguards. And so those are almost untouchable," LaCava said.
The city has ruled out new revenue options like paid parking fees, leaving budget cuts as the primary solution to address the shortfall.
"We're gonna have to come up with that in a higher shortfall that is now somewhere north of $100 million strictly through cuts," LaCava said.
Mayor Todd Gloria is on the same page for addressing the upcoming deficit. He tells ABC 10News that he does not plan to introduce new tax revenue options in the upcoming budget.
"Because of the lack of additional revenue options that are available to us, these will necessarily come from cuts."
Gloria says that during last year's budget saga, the city eliminated six departments, saved about $30 million by canceling outside contracts, and another $13 million from relocating city employees. However, Gloria says these sorts of options will be extremely limited this time around.
City officials are still considering cuts to departments and city positions. Another option where potential reductions may happen is in areas where residents have previously fought to preserve, including libraries, parks, and other community services.
LaCava acknowledged the difficult nature of these decisions and their impact on constituents.
"When you're talking about library hours in some communities, that has a greater impact if you reduce those library hours than other communities," LaCava said. "They're often not popular with our constituents, but that's a reality that we have to face, and I think will help guide us going forward."
Mayor Todd Gloria confirmed that service-level reductions are inevitable, despite his preference to maintain and even improve current levels.
"There will be service level reductions," Gloria said. "Our current state of services are lower than I'd like them to be, and to reduce them even further is nothing that I'm looking forward to".
The budget challenges extend beyond next year's planning. The city currently faces a $16 million deficit in this year's budget, meaning emergency cuts could be implemented before June, when the city's 2027 fiscal year budget must be approved.
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