Local libraries faced grim prospects in early budget talks, as the mayor proposed across-the-board cuts to Sunday and Monday library hours at all branches.<\/p>\n
The Council was ultimately able to restore Monday hours at 16 local branches, including at least one in each council district, but the city is still slashing Sunday hours at all locations. Proposed cuts to recreation center hours were also rolled back.<\/p>\n
Library Branches Open on Mondays<\/strong><\/p>\n * Locations offering Do Your Homework @ the Library<\/a> services<\/p>\n The city also proceeded with a $450,000 cut to the Arts, Culture and Community Festivals program, which provides grants to nonprofits and public agencies.<\/p>\n Parks, Beaches, Bays and Lakes<\/strong><\/p>\n Proposed cuts to public restrooms and fire pits were among the most controversial<\/a>, landing on the radars of many locals who wouldn\u2019t ordinarily care about the city\u2019s budget process.<\/p>\n Beach fire rings were restored in the end thanks to an offer from Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer<\/a> to pull $135,000 from her Community Enhancement Grant Program to maintain the pits for at least another year.<\/p>\n Plans to scale back public restroom services in Mission Bay, Fiesta Island, Balboa Park and some beaches were also abandoned, although some cuts were made to downtown restrooms.<\/p>\n Weekday closures for several local lakes and reservoirs also did not come to fruition.<\/p>\n Parking Changes<\/strong><\/p>\n All these dodged service cuts don\u2019t come without their caveats.<\/p>\n The city is going through with a plan to begin charging for parking in Balboa Park and implement non-resident parking fees at the San Diego Zoo (from which revenue will be split between the zoo and the city).<\/p>\n It\u2019s still unclear exactly what form parking management will take at the park, how much it might cost and whether San Diego residents will pay a different rate<\/a>. Although officials have said there will likely still be free spots in lots that are further from the park\u2019s center.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t expected to be implemented until later this year. In the meantime, Gloria requested the expedited installation of parking meters along streets surrounding Balboa Park, including Fifth Avenue, Sixth Avenue and Park Boulevard, as well as extending the daily parking enforcement period by two hours.<\/p>\n Local drivers will also have to pay credit card transaction fees at parking meters going forward, a cost that\u2019s historically been absorbed by the city.<\/p>\n These changes come in the wake of a whole host of parking reforms made in recent months, from increasing meter rates to streamlining the installation of new meters, as well as consideration of other revenue-generating moves like removing free parking on Sundays in some areas.<\/p>\n Homelessness Services<\/strong><\/p>\n A previously abandoned plan to open a safe parking lot at Central Elementary School for unhoused families made a surprise appearance<\/a> in late budget negotiations, at less than half the cost that was initially projected.<\/p>\n Yet a Midway District homeless shelter didn\u2019t get a last-minute save. After Gloria decided not to include funding<\/a> for it in his initial budget, county supervisors committed to chip in $800,000<\/a> to help with a key cost \u2013 if the city kept it open.<\/p>\n But rather than keeping it open indefinitely, the City Council voted to fund it only through Aug. 31<\/a> to ensure no one was forced onto the street. Since mid-April, the city\u2019s housing agency reports that about 75 people have moved into other programs and 13 have moved into permanent homes. Fifteen have moved back to the street.<\/p>\n Stormwater and Brush Maintenance<\/strong><\/p>\n A proposal by the City Council to add about $760,000 to stormwater operations was vetoed by Gloria, who said his original proposal fully preserved service levels for stormwater maintenance and related items, and that additional money wasn\u2019t needed. The preserved funds will support actions such as maintaining flood control channels and storm drains, as well as street sweeping.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Council also wasn\u2019t able to salvage plans to invest in brush management positions as part of its fire prevention efforts.<\/p>\n Animal Control Services<\/strong><\/p>\n The city was able to strike a deal to maintain its contract with the San Diego Humane Society to provide animal control services, after proposed cuts threatened to sever the city\u2019s relationship with the nonprofit earlier this year.<\/p>\n However, services will still be impacted after the city settled on a $1.5 million cut from what it is contractually obligated to pay, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported<\/a>. This is likely to result in scaled back animal control services, as well as higher fees for members of the public who go to the Humane Society for pet care.<\/p>\n City Hall Reorganizes and Scales Back<\/strong><\/p>\n Some of the final sticking points between the mayor and Council stemmed from disagreements over staffing and organizational changes within City Hall.<\/p>\n For starters, the Office of Race and Equity will get a new department director and will be transferred to operate under the Independent Budget Analyst, which supporters say will allow the department to act more autonomously. This ran contrary to Gloria\u2019s wishes to refrain from hiring a new director and to instead have the office operate under the Human Resources Department.<\/p>\n As for staffing changes, the mayor successfully vetoed a proposal to hire a new chief operating officer. This position was eliminated by Gloria in February, after which he absorbed the role\u2019s responsibilities himself, but the city\u2019s poor handling of the firing will cost it a pretty penny<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Balboa-Park_0004-1024x683.jpg\")
Balboa Park Lilly Pond on March 24, 2025. \/ Ariana Drehsler for Voice of San Diego<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/johnsonfire-8-1024x683.jpg\")
Firefighters watch containment work on the Johnson Fire in a canyon in San Diego\u2019s University Heights neighborhood, April 26, 2025. \/ Photo by Zoe Meyer for Voice of San Diego<\/p>\n