San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria has signed the city’s budget, which aims to tackle the $118 million deficit. The budget signing comes after months of tense negotiations between Gloria and the City Council.
Key Budget Points
The final budget includes funding for various city programs and services, such as the police department, libraries, and recreation centers. However, it also includes cuts to certain programs, including the city’s arts and culture funding, which was initially proposed to be entirely slashed by $11.8 million.
The City Council managed to restore the majority of the funding for arts and culture, thanks to a deal struck with County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe. The budget also retains the Office of Child and Youth Success and maintains library and rec center hours in districts 4, 8, and 9, which include some of San Diego’s most low-income neighborhoods.
The budget also includes funding to improve the city’s infrastructure, such as the Fatal 15, the 15 most dangerous intersections in the city. Additionally, it maintains funding for the Multi-Modal Team, which designs safety improvements like crosswalks, stop signs, and bike lanes.
Homeless Services and Restroom Cuts
The budget also addresses homeless services, with the city’s Neil Good Day Center set to relocate after a six-month wind down. The center provides resources and services to unhoused San Diegans, including case workers, shelters, laundry, mail service, showers, phone charging, and a respite area.
The budget includes cuts to public restroom access in downtown, Balboa Park, Mission Bay, and Fiesta Island. However, an earlier plan to cut five restrooms at local beaches was dropped in the mayor’s May revision.
The budget also avoids cutting hundreds of shelter beds at the 16th and Newton shelter, with only 50 beds set to be lost under the new plan. The San Diego Housing Commission said female residents of those beds will be moved to Rachel’s Promise downtown, a shelter for women and children.
Original reporting: Voice of San Diego — read the source article.
