Mayor Seeks New Spending For Streets, Homelessness, Police In $5.12B Budget Plan

By Editor, Times of San Diego

April 14, 2023

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria on Friday released his proposed 2023-24 budget, a $5.12 billion spending plan focused on improving infrastructure as well as providing new funding for homelessness and public safety.

Gloria’s proposal for the coming fiscal year reflects an increase of $120 million over the current budget, which the mayor said was intended to maintain city service levels while also expanding programs in certain city needs.

He called his last two budgets “a strong foundation for improving the infrastructure and overall quality of core city services.” His office, which labeled last year’s plan as the “Ready to Rebuild” budget, is touting the current proposal as the “Getting It Done” budget.

“This coming fiscal year, we’re focused on efficiently and effectively delivering on those investments and making substantial progress toward ensuring that, operationally, we’re the well-functioning city government that San Diegans expect and deserve,” he said.

A chunk of new spending Gloria is seeking includes funds for to aid homeless people and preventing others from losing their housing:

Gloria’s budget also allocates nearly $140 million to street repair and resurfacing projects. The mayor predicts the funding will enable the city to resurface 157 miles of streets, whether by full overlay or slurry seal.

According to the mayor’s office, another $38.6 million is tabbed for parks, playgrounds and green spaces.

Last among the major proposed additions is $2.2 million to fund 10 police investigative service officers and 11 other civilian positions to “support administrative functions more cost-effectively for the police department, freeing up sworn police officers for patrol and responding to calls for service,” Gloria’s office said.

Chief David Nisleit said the added funding, which is subject to approval by the City Council, would allow his department to bring back Smart Streetlights to support investigations while also better addressing “the proliferation of illegal drugs in our communities.”

“SDPD is grateful for the investment by Mayor Gloria and the City Council to assist us in keeping San Diego one of the safest big cities,” the chief said.

Gloria said his staff crafted the budget to avoid creating departments and programs which could need to be cut if expected revenue dips occur in the next several years. It also has been developed with equity in mind, with the intention of providing similar services to the city’s varied neighborhoods.

Kim Desmond, the city’s chief race and equity officer, called the mayor’s proposal “a great first step” to “eliminate disparities that in some cases have grown over generations.”

“Budgets are statements of priorities and determine allocations of resources, making the budget-development process a great opportunity to evaluate how we might be favoring one neighborhood or group of people over another in ways that contribute to disparities,” she said.

Gloria will formally present the budget proposal to the City Council on April 24, followed by weeks of public hearings in which San Diegans are encouraged to provide feedback. Following council and public input, Gloria will release a revised budget on May 18.

Council President pro Tem Monica Montgomery Steppe, who represents District 4 and chairs the council’s Budget and Government Efficiency Committee, said her “commitment is to provide transparency and to ensure the public is fully aware and educated about the city’s budget.”

“We want to hear from you,” she said, addressing residents, “as you play an important role in the process of ensuring the adopted budget represents the diversity of our city and is representative of the needs of our vulnerable and under-represented communities.”

Times of San Diego is an independent online news site covering the San Diego metropolitan area. Our journalists report on politics, crime, business, sports, education, arts, the military and everyday life in San Diego. No subscription is required, and you can sign up for a free daily newsletter with a summary of the latest news.