By Macy Meinhardt, Voice & Viewpoint Staff Writer
Navigating this year’s 1,500 plus page budget document that outlines how and where the city spends our tax dollars to serve residents can be a daunting task.
In case you missed it, in last week’s editorial, “The City, the Budget and YOU the Voter,” Voice & Viewpoint Publisher Dr. John E Warren reviewed the importance of citizen engagement in their budget. Noting that for people of color, “the crisis is even more real since we have less to start with.”
In addition, the City’s budget also clues into where our local government’s priorities are. For example, V&V readers might be interested to know that the City plans to cut $36 million in equity programs, according to Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed FY 2025 Proposed Budget.
Therefore, on top of other review documents the Office of Independent Budget Analyst has released regarding the budget, their newest report offers a crash course to understand the intricacies of budget functions.
The 45 page document breaks down in simple terms the functions of our budget and what is up ahead for 2025. Residents can access the crash course by following this link: HERE
The mission of the IBA office, led by Analyst Charles Modica, is “To provide clear, objective and unbiased analysis and advice to the City Council and the public regarding all legislative items bearing financial and policy impacts to the City of San Diego.”
Let the City Know what YOU want in the budget
Attend the following public hearings to voice your viewpoints on this year’s budget.
- Wednesday, May 8, 2024 6:00 PM City Council meeting for public input on FY 2025 Proposed Budget.
- Wednesday, May 15, 2024 – Budget Town Hall in District 6 with Councilmember Kent Lee and IBA
- May 16, 2024 (6:00PM) – Council District 9 Budget Forum (RSVP here: sdd9.info/rsvp)
Other key dates:
After the public hearings for community and City Council input wrap up, the final budget modifications are due May 22nd. The hearing on the modifications will be on June 7th and the final adoption date of the budget will be June 11th.
