SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Following a lengthy and at times combative process, the San Diego City Council will vote Tuesday on the fiscal year 2026-27 budget during a special session.
The proposed budget is based largely on Mayor Todd Gloria's May revisal, which found additional revenue sources to help preserve some library and recreation center hours, shoreline bathrooms and "December Nights," compared to the initial proposal.
"Even in a difficult budget year, we continued looking for ways to protect neighborhood services responsibly," Gloria said. "My May revise restores targeted services in some of our historically underserved communities while still maintaining our focus on the fundamentals for San Diegans: keeping you safe, fixing infrastructure, reducing homelessness and building more homes."
Gloria's proposed additions include protecting recreation center and library hours in Council Districts 4, 8 and 9, Monday hours at Carmel Valley Library and preventing the North Clairemont Library Branch from closing, protection of staffing support for December Nights planning and operations, another $500,000 for youth drop-in centers, and allocating opioid settlement funds toward treatment and support programs through UC San Diego and the San Diego LGBT Community Center.
However, arts funding could still be gutted based on the May revise. Last week, City Council President Pro Tem Kent Lee was joined by Budget Committee Chair Henry Foster III with County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe and representatives of the Prebys Foundation to announce a public- private proposal to restore San Diego's arts funding, which would have the foundation put up $3 million for arts and culture programs slashed in the current proposed budget.
"Arts are essential to our city," Lee said. "Music, film, artistic expression -- this is what makes us human, and it's what transforms a city into a community. Our arts programs create jobs, attract visitors and help define what it means to be a San Diegan. This is not about funding some abstract luxury, it's about protecting one of San Diego's greatest strengths."
The proposal also would adopt recommendations from the city's Independent Budget Analyst's office to shift $6 million from San Diego's Transient Occupancy Tax -- essentially a hotel tax -- to arts programs, as well as restoring $1.3 million in grants.
"Arts and culture belong in all of San Diego and this funding supports local artists, small businesses, jobs and the community spaces that keep our neighborhoods connected," Foster said. "In District 4, the San Diego Black Arts and Culture District shows why this work matters by honoring history, creating opportunity and making sure culture isn't forgotten. As budget chair, I truly believe this proposal is a responsible way to protect funding that matters to our residents and our local economy."
It would cover around $10.35 million of the nearly $12 million cut under the proposed budget as the city looks to tighten its belt around a $118 million structural budget deficit.
"Our investment is intended to encourage the city to restore arts funding, honor the competitive grants process already underway and strengthen regional support for arts and culture," said Grant Oliphant, CEO and president of the Prebys Foundation. "For decades, San Diego's artists and cultural organizations have been promised a reliable source of public funding. It is time to deliver on that promise, and today marks an important step forward."
Gloria said new sources of revenue to cover the non-art additions include an increase in tourism occupancy tax -- charged to those who stay in the city's hotels -- and a $4.3 million boost to revenue by recovering rent from the city's golf courses.
"Every private golf course in San Diego pays rent for the land it sits on," he said. "Our public courses sit on public land owned by the people of San Diego. The new legal guidance allows us to properly account for the value of that land, and to make sure the public benefits when the courses succeed."
George Duardo, president of the San Diego City Firefighters, said some cuts slated for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department were worrying -- such as bomb squad staffing, the community resource officer, the recruitment and retention officer, fire information officer position and fire academy instructor.
"While (it's) good the city found additional money in the budget, it is unfortunate that it wasn't directed to reverse the proposed cuts to Fire- Rescue staffing and operations," he said. "We are hopeful the council and mayor can truly make public safety a priority and not compromise fire staffing and response times via the cuts on the table."
Council members will also have to weigh significant decisions made Monday evening, when the council voted unanimously to end paid parking at Balboa Park by the end of the year and reduce trash fees for single-family homes.
Paid parking will end on Dec. 31 and the trash fees will be reduced to $38.75 starting next year for the "typical" 95-gallon bin bundle -- a number adjusted for inflation from the initial proposal in 2021. Those using 65- or 35-gallon bins will pay "proportionally less." That amount will increase to $39.91 on July 1, 2028.
The decisions Monday mean the city must find the lost revenue -- or slash existing services -- from somewhere else. A possible reduction of services includes the elimination of bulky item pickup and delay of an electric vehicle rollout.
"Today's City Council action reflects a compromise reached to protect the city from prolonged litigation and the risk of even deeper financial consequences that could have resulted in far more significant cuts to core services," Gloria said.
"Faced with the potential total loss of more than $150 million and the prospect of additional cuts to police, fire protection, libraries, parks, and neighborhood services, I supported a compromise that helps protect the city's financial stability and allows us to avoid a much more damaging outcome."
The city will immediately stop selling yearly passes for the parking, will stop selling quarterly passes on Sept. 30 and monthly passes by Nov. 30. Those who have already purchased a yearly pass will get a prorated refund from the city.
Single-family refuse pickup is funded by the city's general fund, which all residents pay into through property tax -- whether they rent or own a single-family home, a condominium or an apartment. The city takes away 300,000 tons of trash and 150,000 tons of recycling, compostables and yard waste annually.
The San Diego City Council will convene at 1 p.m. Tuesday to discuss and vote on the budget.
Copyright 2026, City News Service, Inc.
