weeks of concern over a major budget shortfall<\/a>, but not all programs are being restored \u2014 and some advocates say key cuts remain.<\/p>\nIn his latest May budget revision, Gloria pointed to stronger-than-expected tourism revenue and funds from municipal golf courses as reasons the deficit has shrunk since last month. At that time, city leaders were facing a projected $118 million shortfall, prompting proposals for significant reductions to popular programs and services.<\/p>\n
The mayor described the updated plan as a more balanced approach, with renewed focus on what he called the fundamentals for San Diegans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis May revise will maintain our focus on the fundamentals for San Diegans \u2014 keeping you safe, repairing our roads and other infrastructure, reducing homelessness, and building new homes that you can afford,\u201d Gloria said.<\/p>\n
Among the restorations included in the revised proposal are funding to bring back hours at recreation centers and libraries in Districts 4, 8 and 9 \u2014 communities that officials acknowledged have historically faced service gaps.<\/p>\n
City leaders emphasized the importance of those investments, particularly for young residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a move in the right direction by investing in communities that have historically been underserved,\u201d Councilman Henry Foster said. \u201cOur young people are our future and we must uplift, provide opportunity, and most importantly surround them with love and care.\u201d<\/p>\n
The revised budget also allocates $100,000 for the city\u2019s No Shots Fired gun violence prevention program. Additional changes include restoring maintenance staffing for shoreline park restrooms and preserving staffing support for the planning and operation of December Nights, a major annual community event.<\/p>\n
Despite those additions, the proposal leaves out funding restoration for arts and culture \u2014 a decision drawing criticism from leaders in San Diego\u2019s nonprofit arts sector.<\/p>\n
Bob Lehman, executive director of San Diego Art Matters, said the proposed reduction \u2014 from $13.8 million to less than $2 million \u2014 could have far-reaching impacts on organizations that provide free community events and youth programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, we were disappointed,\u201d Lehman said.<\/p>\n
He added that arts groups are now shifting their focus toward advocacy ahead of the city council\u2019s final decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal now is to keep moving forward \u2014 work with the city council to restore funding,\u201d Lehman said.<\/p>\n
The debate is expected to continue as council members take up the budget. Some have already signaled that additional changes are likely, including calls to reevaluate certain expenditures.<\/p>\n
Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera raised concerns about funding designated for AI-based surveillance technology, arguing that resources should be prioritized elsewhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe $2 million we\u2019ll be spending on AI surveillance of everybody in San Diego \u2014 I believe today, and I will always believe, that it is better to invest in safety and fun, and good opportunities than pay for watching people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The city council is scheduled to begin deliberations Monday night, where members of the public may also comment. Further revisions to the budget are expected before a final plan is approved in June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tourism boost eases deficit, helping recreation centers and libraries, but deep arts cuts remain as city council prepares…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":794673,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,3549,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-794672","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-san-diego","12":"tag-sandiego","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-united-states-of-america","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","17":"tag-us","18":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116570236640925838","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=794672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/794673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=794672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=794672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=794672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}