SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- As the San Diego City Council prepares to vote in a week on the 2026 budget, many San Diegans living near high-risk fire zones are concerned about potential cuts to brush management.
The Independent Budget Analysis team on Tuesday is expected to release modification recommendations, and a few council members are hoping to see brush management funding included among the recommendations, and Councilmember Raul Campillo is one of them.
In Mayor Todd Gloria's 2026 budget proposal, brush management is listed under budget reductions on page 8. The mayor has proposed cuts to the Parks and Recreation department, which is responsible for managing brush in open spaces.
Campillo said it's essential that if funds are reallocated to increase dollars for brush management, the resources are directed to the right places. Campillo represents many homeowners in Linda Vista, Tierrasanta, and surrounding areas.
"Proper brush management doesn't mean more supervisors who simply go out and look and see that there is brush that needs to be cleared. It means hiring folks in, whether it's the fire department or the parks and rec department that actually go clear it out," Campillo said. "Putting more money towards contracts so that we can get contractors in there quickly to go clear out canyons, riverbeds, and hillsides that are at risk for fire."
Homeowners share responsibility with the fire department and the city to create defensible lines 100 feet away from their structures. For more information on the property owner's responsibility for brush management, click on this guide.
As wildfires become more prevalent across the state and fire insurance rates increase, residents worry that there isn't enough mitigation to prevent fires.
Campillo added that proper brush management could help reduce skyrocketing fire insurance rates. He believes that if the city demonstrates urgency in addressing brush fire management, insurance companies will have less cause to impose higher rates.
Tony Tosca, Deputy Chief Fire Marshal, said the San Diego Fire Department recently collaborated with the city's auditor on how to best tackle brush management throughout the city.
To get an idea of the scale of work to be done, Campillo said it typically takes two years to get through the entirety of the City's property with brush management.
Tosca said that if the budget could be balanced and allow more resources to be directed to the fire department, there are specific positions identified in the audit he'd like to fill.
"There are five positions we identified in the brush audit," Tosca said. "It's a program manager, it's an assistant fire marshal, a wildfire risk analyst who does all the GIS work, and then we have three additional positions: a wildfire prevention specialist, three positions we created to target and do outreach and defensible space education specifically."
The City Council will have until next Tuesday to amend the budget proposal.
A final opportunity for the public to give feedback on the budget will be at a meeting this Friday, at 9 a.m. at City Hall.
