San Diego City Council Meeting - March 10, 2026: Budget, Infrastructure, and Proclamations
San Diego City Council Meeting - March 10, 2026
The San Diego City Council met on March 10, 2026, in three sessions (morning, afternoon, and evening) to consider ceremonial recognitions, proclamations, consent calendar items, and key informational reports on the city's capital infrastructure outlook and zero-based budgeting. The evening session was dedicated to public input on the Fiscal Year 2027 budget. The meeting featured extensive public testimony on a range of topics including the city's structural budget deficit, stormwater funding, cannabis social equity, public safety, and community services.
Consent Calendar
- The council approved a consent calendar that included ceremonial proclamations: Diversionary Theater 40th Anniversary Day, Women's History Month, St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival Day, Lowrider Stamp Day, and Jeff Davis Day. All proclamations passed unanimously (9-0) after a motion by Councilmember Von Wilpert and second by Councilmember Moreno.
- Council President LaCava registered no votes on item 55 (Preservation of Progress) and item 50A (related to a prior vote on a state of construction), citing concerns about the de novo hearing process and consistency with prior votes. Councilmember Von Wilpert registered a no vote on item 53 (an expired contract). The remainder of the consent calendar passed unanimously.
- Item 105 (reappointment of Dr. Joan Chen to the Privacy Advisory Board) and other routine items were approved.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Non-Agenda Public Comment (carried over from March 9): Six speakers addressed topics including the need for racial equity reporting in city contracts (John Stump), the management of Torrey Pines Glider Port and calls for a waiver and advisory board (Bob Kazuski), e-waste disposal resources (Anish), alleged irregularities in city payroll (Andrea Ebbing), and opposition to the Socially Equitable Cannabis (SEED) program citing statewide data showing low business opening rates (Becky Rapp).
- Ceremonial Items (Women of Distinction): Public speakers praised the honorees but also called attention to broader issues of women's rights and systemic problems (Lori Saldania, Andrea Ebbing, others).
- Proclamations: Public comment included support for the St. Patrick's Day parade, Lowrider Stamp Day, and Women's History Month, as well as criticism of the city's handling of homelessness and housing (speaker 'the original').
- Consent Agenda: Speakers commented on Liberty Station leases (Gary London, Joe Heisler, Mitch Mulanix), East Village Green Phase 1 project (Blair Beekman), the Tijuana sewage crisis, and the need for dedicated stormwater funding (Lori Saldania, Andrea Ebbing, Bob Kazuski).
- Item 330 (CIP Outlook): Speakers emphasized the urgency of stormwater funding and the need for dedicated revenue (Courtney Brown, San Diego Coastkeeper) and discussed equity in project distribution (John Stump, Hector).
- Item 331 (Zero-Based Budgeting Training): Public comments were mixed, with some supporting the ZBB approach and others criticizing it as a control mechanism (Blair Beekman, John Stump, 'the original', and a speaker concerned about globalist agendas).
- Evening Budget Hearing (Item 332): Over 20 speakers provided input on FY2027 budget priorities, urging funding for libraries, rec centers, LGBTQ+ substance use programs (Jacob Duarte, Karina Pugh from The Center), cannabis social equity (Andrew Bañez, Eduardo Bautista), and public safety. Others called for cuts to middle management, police overtime, and non-core services (Natalie Rashke, Catherine Douglas, Stephen Schmoll).
Discussion Items
- Item 330: Fiscal Year 2027-2031 Five-Year Capital Infrastructure Planning Outlook
- Staff from Engineering and Capital Projects and the Department of Finance presented the outlook, showing $12.82 billion in identified needs over five years, with only $5 billion in projected funding, leaving a $7.8 billion gap. Stormwater needs ($5.5 billion) dominate, driven by aging assets and regulatory deadlines. The Office of the Independent Budget Analyst (IBA) highlighted that 66% of projected funds are for water and wastewater, and that the funding gap grew $1.3 billion from the prior year.
- The Division of Race and Equity (Kim Desmond) noted that only 23% of funded CIP projects (45 out of 504 requests) were in structurally excluded communities, raising equity concerns. She recommended setting targets and improving data tracking.
- Council discussion focused on the need for dedicated stormwater revenue, creative financing (e.g., environmental impact bonds), and the impact of a proposed ballot measure that would cut $100 million in core services. Councilmember Campbell stressed the inadequacy of the current 98-cent monthly stormwater fee.
- Item 331: Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) Training
- The IBA and Department of Finance provided a training on ZBB principles, citing examples from Georgia, Chicago, and Calgary, and noting that the city already applies ZBB to about 40% of the general fund (non-discretionary accounts, IT, hourly positions, etc.). A pilot in FY2017 led to budget additions, not cuts.
- For FY2027, departments conducted a zero-based review of external contracts and services, identifying $15.8 million in identified decreased spending and $20.9 million in increased spending, netting a $5 million increase driven by inflation. A citywide review of unclassified positions is underway.
- Councilmembers discussed the need to define core services and align resources with priorities.
- Item 332: Public Input on FY2027 Budget
- Council President LaCava and IBA Charles Mónica opened the hearing, noting a $100–120 million structural deficit that will require cuts. Councilmember Foster emphasized strategic reductions. The public offered a wide range of priorities and suggestions.
Key Outcomes
- Proclamations approved (9-0) with registered no votes on specific items as noted.
- No formal votes were taken on informational items 330, 331, and 332. These items provided guidance for upcoming budget decisions.
- Next steps: The council will continue budget deliberation with additional public hearings scheduled for May 4 and May 18, 2026. The IBA's budget crash course is set for March 24. The mayor's proposed FY2027 budget is expected in April.
Meeting Transcript
Sit down and you think, hey, this is a nice place to sit down and do what I gotta do. We always think about the impact on the city. We do whatever we have to do to make sure the public can use one of the city facilities. We want it to look good. We have a little pride in our work. We want them to be able to walk in and say this is a nice place to be. We do everything from roofs to floors, walls, ceilings, anything that has to do with basic carpentry and sometimes not basic carpentry. We build new, we fix, we repair. For the most part, we're all here working together just to try to make things easier and better for the city. It is nice to be able to make something a little nicer for the people in the community who need to use things and appreciate what it's done. I've been with the city for 29 years. So our day starts in the morning we meet with our supervisor and he if he gives us the work orders. I just get my crew and say, okay, we're gonna be going to this location. So I gotta make sure I got enough pain for the day. I gotta make sure my fuel, my everything's working. We got it like a free run before it started today. From there we go to location, survey the area, see what it needs to be done, and from there they just start striping. Each tote it carries 250 gallons. That'll be on the yellow and the white. We carry 80 gallons of black paint and 250 pounds of glass beef, which is the reflective stuff that lands on top of the paint to make it reflective at night. The Chase truck is the one to follow us after we paint. It'll be right behind us putting setting cones so that so the paint don't get run over. If you don't get a work order, you just go do what existing stuff, like maintenance, we just go at it. Can be concentrated just on the paint. You gotta look at the whole picture. Cars, pedestrians, make sure you stay online. People in a hurry, they don't pay attention. They pretty much try to get around you. Sometimes they run over paint and conies. Safety is first concerned. Make sure everybody's safe out there. There's the roads that are nice and bright for people to follow. My crew, I enjoy every single one of them. When we're working together, they easily go real quick. You gotta look at a job that you feel comfortable. You just gotta be comfortable with what you're doing. My name is Nathan Cosman. Uh I'm a senior planner in the city of San Diego and the city planning department. So we act as uh sort of subject matter experts on the plans uh for um folks in the communities that have questions about them. There is no typical day. I could be well working on software to make maps uh to sort of put complex data into something visual and easy to digest, or not just maps, other other visual things uh to present to the community, present to stakeholders. Sometimes they're working in reports uh to take to the city council or planning commission. Well I've always been an urbanist. Um I've always been interested in cities and the way that they work. I've always been interested in civics and public policy, and so city planning is kind of the perfect intersection of all those things. San Diego is a place that's growing. A lot of what we do here is try to plan for that growth in ways that work for all of us so that we can add capacity for more housing in our communities where we need it most, make a mobility network that allows all of us to get around the city and sort of better connect places to destinations and plan for more parks and more public spaces. I love that I get to work with so many dynamic and engaged community members who are passionate about the city and who want to make it a better place as well. We don't necessarily always have the same ideas or the same roadmap, but we're all trying to get to the same place. The work is exciting, the work is dynamic, the work is different, uh, and I feel like the work matters.
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