San Diego City Council Special Meeting: FY2027 Budget May Revision and Public Hearing

On May 27, 2026, the San Diego City Council held a special evening meeting to receive the Mayor's May Revision to the Fiscal Year 2027 draft budget and to hear public testimony. The meeting began at 2:45 PM and ran late into the night, with over 200 speakers registered. Mayor Todd Gloria and his finance team presented the updated budget, which partially restored some previously proposed cuts but left significant reductions in arts and culture, libraries, parks, and youth services. The Independent Budget Analyst (IBA), Charles Modica, provided a fiscal context, noting the city’s structural deficit and infrastructure backlog. The council took no formal action but heard extensive public comment and committed to further deliberations ahead of the June 9, 2026 final budget adoption.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Arts and Culture: Numerous speakers, including artists, nonprofit leaders, and residents, urged full restoration of the nearly $12 million in arts grants. Speakers from the Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Symphony, San Diego Opera, Diversionary Theater, and many others described how city funding supports free community programs, youth education, and economic activity. Barry Edelstein (Old Globe) noted that city funding supports programs in every council district, including work with incarcerated populations. Several speakers argued that arts cuts would devastate the creative economy, which generates $1.8 billion in tourism. Speakers opposed the elimination of the Commission for Arts and Culture staffing.
• ADA/Accessibility: Julia Cardenas (National Federation of the Blind, San Diego chapter) and others advocated for funding to clear the backlog of ADA-required accessible pedestrian signals (APS). They described dangerous conditions for blind pedestrians due to broken or missing signals, and requested $18 million over five years. Jared Harrison shared his personal experience with non-functional APS at 10th and J and 10th and Park intersections.
• Parks and Recreation: Youth from Mid City Can Youth Council and others spoke in support of restoring maintenance staff, park rangers, and asset management positions. They requested a streamlined repair process via a deputized engineer and direct access for Parks and Rec to manage repairs up to $5 million. Belén Hernandez noted that the city has an opportunity to fix Henwood Park after years of delays.
• Youth Services (OCYS): Many youth advocates, including members of Youth Will and the Youth Commission, called for full funding of the Office of Child and Youth Success (OCYS). They highlighted that OCYS leverages small city investments into larger grants (e.g., $350,000 from city brought in $3.5 million in grants). They argued that defunding OCYS would harm child care, workforce development, and after-school programs.
• Opposition to Flock Surveillance: Numerous speakers opposed the $2 million Flock ALPR contract, calling it ineffective and a privacy threat. Several referenced the May 18th terrorist attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego, noting that Flock cameras did not prevent the attack or help apprehend the perpetrators. Speakers urged the council to cancel Flock and redirect funds to community programs.
• Homelessness and Public Restrooms: Speakers opposed cuts to the Neil Good Day Center, safe parking programs, and shelter security. They highlighted the lack of public restrooms, especially in downtown and District 8, and urged the city to maintain restroom access and hygiene services.
• Stormwater Infrastructure: Residents from Shelltown and other areas affected by the January 2024 floods called for increased stormwater funding, arguing that the department's cuts jeopardize public safety.
• Police Budget: Several speakers questioned the increase in the police budget to over $700 million, arguing that the city could redirect funds to social services. One speaker noted that the police budget is 32% of the general fund, while arts funding is less than 1%.
• Golf Revenue: Christian Frank proposed raising non-resident green fees at Torrey Pines to generate additional revenue without burdening locals.
• Miscellaneous: Speakers also supported funding for the multimodal transportation team, fire department, and urban forestry. One speaker read a statement from Muslim-led organizations expressing grief and urging the council not to use the tragedy to justify more police funding.

Discussion Items

• Mayor's Presentation: Mayor Gloria introduced the May Revision, highlighting a $4.3 million increase in golf fund payments to the general fund, $4.4 million in higher hotel tax revenue, and targeted restorations for rec center hours (partial), library hours (partial), youth drop-in centers, and speed management plan implementation. He acknowledged the city's $118 million structural deficit and stressed fiscal discipline.
• Finance Director's Presentation: CFO Rolando Chavall and Finance Director Ben Batalia detailed revenue changes and spending adjustments, including consolidation of brush management and tree maintenance responsibilities, and $4.9 million in homelessness program support from the general fund.
• IBA Comments: Charles Modica noted the May Revision's restorations but emphasized that the city's underlying fiscal challenges remain. He highlighted that the partial restorations of rec centers and libraries are not comprehensive, and that arts and culture funding was still zeroed out. He urged the council to consider the long-term revenue gap.
• Councilmember Comments: Councilmembers expressed gratitude for public input. Councilmember Foster thanked the mayor for prioritizing districts 4, 8, and 9 but said more work is needed. Councilmember Ela-Rivera read a statement from Muslim-led organizations condemning the attack and urging reallocation from police to social programs. Several councilmembers committed to seeking full restoration of arts funding and other cuts using budget memos and IBA recommendations.

Key Outcomes

• No votes were taken; the item was informational.
• The council set a special Budget Review Committee meeting for May 29, 2026 at 3:00 PM to review outstanding sub-items.
• The IBA will release a final report and recommended budget modifications on June 2, 2026.
• The Budget Review Committee will meet on June 5, 2026.
• Final budget adoption is scheduled for June 9, 2026.
• Councilmembers indicated they will work to restore funding for arts and culture, libraries, rec centers, OCYS, and other priorities using budget memos and potential reallocations (e.g., from Flock contract).