In a partisan vote, Republican members of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors blocked a proposal to modernize the County’s outdated reserve policy—leaving local communities vulnerable to looming federal cuts that threaten the foundation of services that hundreds of thousands of San Diegans rely on.
The Reserve Reform, introduced by Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Monica Montgomery Steppe, would have aligned the County’s reserve policy with national best practices from the Government Finance Officers Association’s (GFOA), and ensured critical dollars could be mobilized during emergencies. The failed vote comes just days after the Trump administration released its federal budget proposal signaling a 22% cut to non-defense discretionary federal spending—triple the scale of the controversial cuts proposed in 2017.
“Today’s vote wasn’t just a procedural setback—it was a choice to tie our hands while Washington walks away from its responsibilities,” said Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, who serves as Chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. “We offered a commonsense solution to safeguard San Diego’s most vulnerable communities. Instead, our Republican colleagues chose polemics and posturing over preparedness.”
The Stakes: What San Diego County Could Lose
The Trump administration’s proposed FY 2026 budget would slash federal funding for everything from public health to housing:
- Housing & Homelessness: A 44% cut to HUD would put up to 12,000 households at risk of losing Section 8 vouchers across the region. The County alone could see 4,500 families pushed to the brink of homelessness.
- Affordable Housing Development: Federal funds that helped expand affordable housing production by 500% since 2021 could be gutted, stalling urgently needed construction.
- Clean Water: The EPA’s clean water fund faces a 54% cut, threatening projects like the $1B East County Advanced Water Purification Program.
- Public Health: Trump’s plan proposes a 44% cut to the CDC and deep reductions to mental health and addiction services that help thousands of San Diegans.
- Biomedical Research: San Diego could lose over 3,000 jobs and $1 billion in NIH funding, crippling one of our region’s most vital industries.
What the Reserve Reform Would Have Done
- Added strict guardrails—limiting use to moments of economic crisis, such as federal cuts or recessions, and capping drawdown at 25% of available funds annually.
“This isn’t the end. It’s the beginning of a fight to protect the people of San Diego County,” said Lawson-Remer. “We have been here before. We pushed back in 2017—and we’ll do it again. We won’t let partisan games stop us from delivering for our communities.”
