By Macy Meinhardt, V&V Staff Writer, CA Local News Fellow
San Diego residents can get a first look at how Mayor Todd Gloria is proposing to make tax dollars work next year in the Draft Budget for Fiscal Year 2026.
The draft budget oversees a $6 billion budget plan that hikes police and fire funding, while proposing deep cuts to libraries, parks, and city jobs to close a $258 million deficit, attributed to declining tax revenues and rising pension costs.
Since the failure of the Measure E sales tax last November, which would have generated sufficient funding to bridge the deficit, it has been expected that this year’s budget would be tight. To offset this, nearly $176 million in savings are proposed to come from service and department reductions. Meanwhile, residents can expect to be hit with new fines related to trash, parking and other user fees as the city looks to increase revenue flow.
“What we are putting forward at this time is a balanced, draft budget grounded in our economic reality,” said Mayor Todd Gloria.
A look at reductions
The budget proposes a $8 million reduction to library funding. This will be felt in the closure of branches citywide on Sunday and Monday, as well as a reduction in certain library programming, such as tutoring, offered to students.
“Being this underfunded is not normal. It is not sustainable for the San Diego Public Library to continue to serve their communities at the level expected by its patrons when the City continues to slash money from the Library budget year-after-year,” signed the SD Library Foundation, in a response letter to the budget.
Meanwhile, about $4 million is expected to be slashed from the Parks and Recreation budget. Recreation centers across the city could expect to see their hours decrease from 60 to 40 hours. Funding for park maintenance, restroom access, and security services are also facing cuts.
About 393 positions citywide are proposed for elimination, including 160 currently filled jobs, to bring in $30 million in personnel savings. The mayor has indicated, however, that most impacted workers would be eligible for other open positions in the city.
The city has been on a gradual rollback on spending since December, when it was announced that a city-wide hiring freeze and pause on “non-essential” spending would be put in place.
Two months later, the mayor’s office announced multiple department consolidations and position eliminations, including the Chief Operating Officer (COO) role held by Eric Dargan.
From now on, the mayor will take on the duties of the COO–a role the city has held since 2004 to manage daily operations and oversee several departments across the city.
Dargan was the first Black man to hold the executive role, earning a salary of $383,000 each year.
Budget and efficiency reasons were cited for the position’s removal. Dargan, however, is now suing the city for discrimination and contract breach.
The Department of Government Affairs and the Office of Boards and Commissions were also consolidated into the mayor’s office.
Additionally, the Department of Race and Equity has been absorbed into the city’s Human Resources office. The office, established in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, pushed to advance racial justice, eliminate disparities, and promote equitable polices across city government.
Altogether, the absorption stands to bring in $925,000 in savings.
Revenue increases
Implementing new revenue streams– financed by residents and visitors—is another way the city is looking to balance the budget.
One of these new fees includes trash removal. In 2022, voters approved Measure B, granting authority to the city to begin charging for waste services. At the time, the ballot estimated the monthly fee would range from $23 to $29.
However, miscalculations in the number of households using city trash services, the addition of new services, and rising operational costs driven by inflation have pushed that estimate up to $48–$52 per household.
A public hearing on the new trash rates, which are expected to play a significant role in balancing this year’s budget, is scheduled for June 9 at City Hall.
Increased parking meter rates and ticket enforcement are other ways the city is ramping up revenue flows.
Recently, the city doubled parking meter rates from $1.25 to $2.50 per hour. Looking ahead, San Diego is considering additional parking reforms, including ending free Sunday parking, introducing dynamic pricing based on demand, and charging for spaces in popular tourist destinations like Balboa Park.
Both the trash and parking fee implementations have been met with public scrutiny.
“It’s just a very nervous way of trying to nickel and dime every single citizen for every single thing for a massive budget deficit that the Mayor is responsible for helping us to get into,” said Shane Harris in a social media post in regards to parking fines.
While the mayor’s proposal seeks to patch a widening deficit, the cuts to libraries, parks, and public programs signal a shift that will be felt across neighborhoods.
The draft budget, as presented, is far from its final form. Multiple hearings with the public and city councilmembers will take place May 5-9, which will likely influence modifications to the budget. From there, a revised draft proposal will be released, and in June a final adoption of the budget will take place.
