Mayor Gloria Releases Final Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2026

Mayor Todd Gloria today released his Final Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2026, incorporating feedback from the public and the City Council to reallocate funds and restore some proposed reductions, primarily to public safety operations. The proposal also partially restores funding for the Humane Society’s animal services contract with the City. 

Revenue projections for the fiscal year that starts July 1 are largely unchanged from the preliminary draft budget released on April 15. Revisions to the budget are primarily reallocations of funding in response to feedback from the community and City Councilmembers. 

“The projections for the major revenues the City relies on to pay for our operations have not improved since the draft budget’s release last month, but we were able to make small changes in response to what we heard from San Diegans about their priorities through the budget review hearings,” Mayor Todd Gloria said. “The cuts we were forced to make to balance the budget are not what any of us want, but we’ve worked within our means to create a responsible, strategic, and balanced spending plan that prioritizes keeping San Diegans safe, fixing our roads and critical infrastructure, and reducing homelessness with a range of interventions – including building more housing.” 

The most significant adjustments to the budget restore and reallocate funding for public safety. They restore $773,529 of the $1.7 million reduction that consolidated police patrols in the northern part of the city between the Northern and Northeastern divisions. With the budget revisions, patrol officers will continue to be based at Northwestern Division, but with staffing changes that have them reporting to a lieutenant instead of a captain. The proposed budget also restores two vice detective positions that the draft budget had removed. 

“I want to thank Mayor Gloria and Council President La Cava for listening to the community and prioritizing public safety," said Sergeant Jared Wilson, President of the Police Officers Association. “The now-restored vice detectives are critical to addressing some of San Diego’s most pressing issues, including prostitution and human trafficking. Northwestern Division’s restoration will ensure that the San Diego Police Department maintains its high level of service throughout every corner of our city. This final proposed budget delivers on the message Mayor Gloria has said time and time again – public safety is this administration’s highest priority.” 

Restoration of Northwestern Division as a patrol base was a high priority for the community, which advocated for the adjustment. 

“Our community spoke loud and clear when we delivered our message that the Northwestern Police Station needed to stay open and that our command and patrol officers needed to remain there,” Michelle Strauss, chair of the Carmel Valley Community Planning Board. “We are grateful that the Mayor heard our call to action and revised his budget to confirm that there is nothing more important than the safety of our communities.” 

Changes to the San Diego Fire-Rescue department include the restoration of a community resources officer and bomb squad cross-staffing, which uses funds reallocated from operations of one of Fire-Rescue's two helicopters for part of the year.  

Lifeguard Sergeant Connor Robbins, Chief Steward of Teamsters 911, praised the inclusion of an advanced lifeguarding academy. 

“We have been eager to get started on our new advanced lifeguard academy, and this budget includes it,” Robbins said. “This budget indicates that the City’s leadership recognizes the life-saving measures that our members provide each day. We are proud of the work that we do to keep our residents and visitors safe when they enjoy our beaches and bays.“ 

The proposed budget released today will be turned over to the City Council to review and revise, with a vote on the final budget expected by June 10. Councilmembers can make adjustments to the budget; however, any expenses added into the budget must be offset by a corresponding reduction or new revenue source in order to balance the budget, as required by law. 

In December, Mayor Gloria announced that the City would need to solve for a $258 million budget deficit in the next fiscal year amid declining growth in property, hotel room and sales taxes. This deficit subsequently grew larger from a marked dip in sales-tax revenue, lower-than-anticipated franchise fees from San Diego Gas & Electric, and an increase in employee pension costs.  

Mayor Gloria also vowed that he would tackle the City’s longstanding structural budget deficit – the historic imbalance between ongoing revenues and expected service levels that has plagued the City for decades. The Final Proposed Budget released today makes significant progress toward closing the structural deficit while ensuring residents can continue to rely on critical City services. 

“The City needs to live within its means. And especially after the failure of Measure E, this structural deficit became foreseeable,” said Tim Douglass, President of AFSCME Local 127, which represents nearly 2,200 blue-collar City employees. “Local 127 wants to thank Mayor Gloria for his leadership in trying to craft a budget with hard choices, and to also thank our Councilmembers for their continued work to find other innovative ways to cushion the impacts on all San Diegans. Although the options before us are not easy, we know we will find a way forward with the valued partnership of our elected leaders.” 

The Final Proposed Budget is based on updated revenue projections, which were largely unchanged since the preliminary draft budget was released in mid-April. Like the draft, it assumes $169 million in new revenues -- a combination of updated fees for services, as well as voter-approved adjustments. Among these new revenues are increased parking meter rates and parking citation penalties modernization of various user fees and the retail cannabis tax, and two voter-approved revenue measures – one that allows the City to levy a fee to cover the cost of residential trash collection (Measure B), as well as an increase to the City’s hotel-room tax (Measure C).  

Mayor Gloria will present his Final Proposed Budget to the City Council in a public hearing on Monday, May 19.