SAN DIEGO (KGTV) \u2014 San Diego’s City Council unanimously approved a balanced budget Tuesday, closing a $118 million deficit \u2014 but not before hours of contentious debate over cuts to arts funding, libraries, and homeless shelter beds.<\/p>\n
The approved budget largely reflects Mayor Todd Gloria’s May revision, though community pressure and council negotiations led to several significant changes from his initial April proposal.<\/p>\n
Kent Lee, San Diego City Council President Pro Tem, acknowledged the difficulty of the decisions leading up to the vote.<\/p>\n
“The reality is, we are being asked to make choices. In a city where we don’t have the resources, the only difficult thing we get to do is make those choices,” Lee said.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: San Diego City Council scheduled to vote on Fiscal Year 2027 budget<\/a><\/p>\n Noah Yee Yick, researcher and policy advocate at the Center on Policy Initiatives, said the final product reflected the impact of community engagement.<\/p>\n “Where the budget started, and where it got to, is a great success and it speaks to community members coming out and speaking,” Yee Yick said.<\/p>\n Here are some of the biggest changes between Mayor Gloria’s initial April budget proposal and the council’s approved June budget:<\/p>\n Gloria’s initial budget cut $12 million in arts and culture grants. The approved budget restores $10.3 million through philanthropic support and by shifting $6 million in Measure C fundsUp to 250 beds were at risk at the 16th and Newton shelter. That number dropped to just 50, and those beds will be replaced by a Rachel’s Promise Center expansion$7.8 million in library and recreation center cuts were on the chopping block, impacting hours of operation and threatening to close the North Clairemont\u00a0Library Branch altogether. About $3.8 million was restored, particularly in underserved communities, and that North Clairemont\u00a0Library Branch was saved<\/p>\n San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, who represents District 9, pushed back on the options presented to the council.<\/p>\n “If the choices being presented are not acceptable, then we need to see alternatives,” Elo-Rivera said.<\/p>\n Since only four councilmembers included full restoration of rec center and library hours in their memos, it fell just one vote short of the majority threshold the Independent Budget Analyst uses to make formal recommendations.<\/p>\n Those four also voted to cancel the city’s $2 million automated license plate reader contract, but that proposal was also rejected.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s money that\u2019s saying, you all don\u2019t matter as much, we can have these resources drift away from you. We can continue to put them into criminalization and surveillance. So, every dollar does matter. So that $2 million in the $120 (million) it does matter because it\u2019s parking being opened, parks being cleaned, it\u2019s libraries being opened, it\u2019s increased stormwater maintenance that we\u2019re all seeing disappear,” Yee Yick said.<\/p>\n San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, who represents District 5, pushed back on the idea of redirecting police funding.<\/p>\n “I reject the premise that the only way to have a good park and rec system is by defunding part of our police department,” von Wilpert said.<\/p>\n Following Tuesday’s vote, Mayor Gloria now has five business days to exercise line-item vetoes. The council can then override any vetoes with a majority vote.<\/p>\n The budget must be codified by June 30.<\/p>\n Follow ABC 10News Anchor Max Goldwasser on\u00a0Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.<\/p>\n