Mayor Todd Gloria’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget addresses a $118 million structural deficit with cuts to library and recreation center hours and more.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria released his draft budget for Fiscal Year 2027 (which begins July 1), proposing major cuts to most city departments.
Though it’s not yet clear how the proposed cuts will affect La Jolla, discussions about the fallout have already begun, and San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava, whose District 1 includes La Jolla, is encouraging residents to submit ideas and feedback.
Gloria’s draft budget, the first step in a process that will include revisions before the June adoption deadline, addresses a $118 million structural deficit by outlining seven percent cuts to most departments, with police, fire and lifeguard departments losing about three percent.
The cuts include reduction in city workforce; reductions to library and recreation center hours; pausing arts and cultural grants; and more.
The rec center and libraries to be affected have not yet been identified.
“That’ll be one of the interesting conversations over the next month or two,” LaCava said at the April 15 La Jolla Shores Association meeting.
Smaller cuts to the public safety departments will not result in a reduction to the number of police officers “out there,” he said, nor will it mean a change in fire-rescue or lifeguard response time.
Cuts are the only considerations to balance the budget, LaCava added. “There is no new revenue coming in. We heard loud and clear from everybody to ‘stop taking money out of our pockets to fix the budget crisis.’”
Acknowledging “no one is going to be completely happy with” the cuts, LaCava asked for people to “look at the cuts, tell us the ones that are really unpalatable, and then find a new cut that keeps us balanced.”
Balancing the budget – and priorities – will not be pleasant, he said, “but we have a job to do.”
Gloria will present his draft budget Monday, April 20 at City Council; the Budget Review Committee will hold a hearing for public input on the draft budget at 6 pm Monday, May 4.
Gloria will then release a May revision on Wednesday, May 13. More discussions will ensue.
Per city charter, the City Council must approve and adopt the budget by June 15.
