The County Budget Process, Explained

By Maya Srikrishnan, the Voice of San Diego

June 10, 2021

Every year, San Diego County decides how it’ll spend billions of dollars to provide resources and services for people living in the region.

When deciding the budget, county staff and elected officials look at how much money they’re expected to bring in and how much of that money to spend on law enforcement, homelessness, public health and more.

The county is in the middle of deciding its budget for the next fiscal year, which runs from July to June 2022. The initial plan calls for spending just over $7 billion, an increase of 7.3 percent from last fiscal year. That spending includes hundreds of additional staff positions and $226.9 million for COVID-19 response and economic recovery.

But the budget process can be confusing.

In our latest San Diego 101 video, we break down the basics of how the county budget process works, so residents can get involved in deciding how the county spends money.

The county will hear public comments on the budget on June 14 at 9 a.m. and on June 16 and 5:30 p.m.

The Board of Supervisors will deliberate and vote to adopt the budget on June 29.

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