FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 18, 2021

CONTACT:
MayorPress@sandiego.gov

SAN DIEGO As part of his ongoing commitment to get the City of San Diego back on track and San Diegans back to work, Mayor Todd Gloria today released his revised Back to Work SD budget that aims to set the City on a fiscally responsible path for an equitable recovery while investing in neighborhood services and workers.

After years of budget mismanagement that resulted in structural budget deficits, we are getting our city back on track, said Mayor Gloria. This budget update takes a balanced approach to stabilize the Citys finances while investing in the people who provide services that make San Diego better for all of us.

Mayor Glorias May revision to his proposed budget includes funding for:

• Libraries to be re-opened for service seven days a week
• The second phase of the Citys pay equity study
• Salary increases for most City employees to make their pay more competitive with other local agencies

Investments in key initiatives Mayor Gloria proposed in April remain in this plan, including more than $14 million to get San Diego families and businesses back to work. Other priorities being funded include:

• $10 million to build quality, complete sexy streets in historically underserved communities, with another $30 million planned to come from debt proceeds
• Reorganizing the Citys executive team to save $784,000 annually
• Over $10 million for immediate actions to combat the homelessness crisis, and funding to support the new Homelessness Strategies Department to ensure the City is setup to be successful in its efforts to end homelessness
• Across the board decrease to San Diego Police Department overtime, netting a savings of more than $4 million annually
• Reinvesting those savings through the implementation of the new independent Commission on Police Practices
• Increased funding for the No Shots Fired gang prevention program and additional community and youth-focused diversion programming
• Creating a new Summer for All of Us program to help children and their families take part in activities at libraries and recreation centers in communities of concern
• Updates to the Climate Action Plan
• Investing $5 million into the new Climate Equity Fund

The Mayors proposed budget centers on the Back to Work SD plan he developed during his campaign that serves as a framework to help San Diegans devastated by COVID-19 and equip them for a brighter future. The budget invests in workers, minimizes service level reductions, and harnesses savings from operational efficiencies.

The City had faced an expected budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year of $124 million a figure that exceeds the entire Parks and Recreation Department annual budget. Earlier this month, San Diego was allocated $300 million in federal relief that Mayor Gloria is proposing to use to strengthen the local economy and stabilize City finances. The Mayors budget sets the City on a path toward structurally balancing its City finances over the next five years.

The $4.6 billion budget proposal recommends spending levels for City operations and capital projects for Fiscal Year 2022, which runs from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022. The final budget will be adopted in June following several weeks of review by the public and the City Council.

The May Revision to the proposed budget can be found here.

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