San Diego mayor announces budget cuts, hiring freeze amid deficit – NBC 7 San Diego

Mayor Todd Gloria announced a hiring freeze Wednesday, along with restrictions on nonessential funding and a reevaluation of the city’s leases and contracts, as San Diego faces a $258 million deficit in the coming fiscal year.

Gloria said all but the most essential positions will remain unfilled. Overtime will be suspended and travel and training expenses will be suspended. Officials will also seek to monetize city properties like Golden Hall and halt construction of new facilities, including the Civic Center revitalization project.

“The five-year financial outlook makes it clear that projected revenues are not sufficient to meet our city’s needs. The realization is unmistakable: We need to cut spending, and some cuts will be deep – very deep,” said City Council President Pro-Tem Joe LaCava. “I ask my fellow council members to step up now to ensure the safety of all San Diegans, protect our most vulnerable residents, meet the needs of underserved neighborhoods and ensure a thriving economy.”

The Council’s Budget Committee will begin the process on December 11.

Gloria cited the rejection of a proposed sales tax increase in last month’s election as the reason for the changes.

Measure E, known as the San Diego Transaction and Use Tax, would have increased the tax on transactions in the city by 1%, bringing the total sales tax to 8.75%. According to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, the city’s 7.75% rate is currently the fourth lowest of the state’s 482 municipalities and lower than nine of the county’s 18 cities.

“Measure E would have stabilized the city budget for the foreseeable future and allowed us to build on the progress we have made in recent years with record investments in infrastructure,” Gloria said. “Without these additional funds, the budget process for next year will be difficult, but we will use this as an opportunity to rethink how the city operates, focusing on the delivery of core services: repairing roads and other essential infrastructure, construction of more housing.”, combating homelessness and ensuring the safety of San Diego residents.

The additional $400 million estimated to have been raised by Measure E could have been used for a wide range of city needs, including infrastructure projects, core services and general city needs – money desperately needed to sustain San Diego, officials said.

Ultimately, the measure failed by fewer than 4,000 votes, or just 0.8% of the vote. A similar statewide tax measure also failed by about 3,000 votes, or 0.9% of votes cast.

Last year, facing a $170 million deficit as federal and state funding dried up in the COVID-19 era, Gloria cut funding for services like libraries, parks and recreation. The public backlash prompted him to refocus, using one-time funding sources and strategic cost-cutting as a stopgap measure.

Those options are not available this time, he said.

“As we seek to address our upcoming financial challenges, it will be critical for the Council to work with the Mayor’s Office, the Independent Budget Analyst and the public to ensure we deliver a balanced budget that maximizes our limited resources “while maximizing our limited resources” reflect the needs of each of our communities,” said Council Member Kent Lee, Chair of the Council’s Budget and Government Efficiency Committee.

In its five-year capital infrastructure planning outlook for fiscal year 2025-2029, the city identified critical infrastructure maintenance and construction needs totaling 9 for the next five fiscal years in areas such as streets, sidewalks, streetlights, parks, libraries and other facilities .25 billion US dollars. This amount does not include the costs of maintaining public safety services such as police, fire and emergency services.