San Diego arts and culture community bracing for major funding cuts

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria unveiled a revised budget proposal Tuesday that prioritizes core city services such as police and fire protection while keeping nearly $12 million in cuts to arts and culture funding as the city confronts a projected $146 million budget deficit.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria unveils revised city budget draft

Gloria said the reductions were necessary to maintain essential services in the fiscal year 2027 budget, which begins in July.

“San Diegans expect us to protect core services, make responsible decisions, and keep this city moving forward,” Mayor Gloria said.

The proposed cuts are alarming arts leaders across the city, especially organizations in Balboa Park that are already struggling financially following the implementation of paid parking fees earlier this year.

At the San Diego Model Railroad Museum, Executive Director Mike Warburton said attendance has dropped an estimated 40% since paid parking took effect in January.

“We also realized that we needed to cut an hour of our operating time and one day a week to save operating costs, so we’ve really cut it pretty thin,” Warburton said.

Warburton said the museum has already laid off three full-time employees and two part-time workers to offset declining revenue.

If the revised budget is approved, the museum would lose grant funding equal to about 9% of its annual budget, or roughly $92,000, according to Warburton. He said the museum may be forced to raise admission prices and reconsider its policy of offering free admission to children, which began in 2022.

“Children have been free since 2022,” Warburton said. “That may not be sustainable. These are real big changes that affect our visitors.”

Arts advocates say the railroad museum is only one example of the potential impact the proposed cuts could have on cultural institutions throughout San Diego.

Christine Martinez of Arts and Culture San Diego said hundreds of artists, educators and community members have attended City Council meetings in recent weeks, urging officials to preserve arts funding through the city’s Transient Occupancy Tax, commonly known as the hotel tax.

Martinez said advocates are asking the council to maintain grant programs and use discretionary hotel tax funds to backfill arts and culture funding.

“What’s really sad is that so many organizations really, really need that funding,” Martinez said.

Without additional support, Martinez warned that many groups may not survive.

“There’s something like 30 organizations that will probably fold altogether,” she said. “This is changing the landscape of arts and culture for years to come.”

The San Diego City Council is scheduled to discuss the budget proposal on May 18. Arts and culture advocates plan to hold a rally outside City Hall that day in opposition to the proposed cuts.

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