County Supervisors OK Spending Reserves For Services, Sewage Crisis

SAN DIEGO, CA — The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has approved spending over $50 million to pay for facility maintenance and various services, including public health and rental assistance.

Supervisors approved two measures Tuesday following an update on the fiscal year 2025-26 budget. The board voted 3-2 to spend $47.4 million, which according to a news release from Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Monica Montgomery Steppe, will pay for:

-- $9 million for critical facility maintenance;

-- $7 million for public health services;

-- $5 million for affordable housing development;

-- $3.6 million for rental assistance;

-- $3 million for the Registrar of Voters;

-- $3 million for tenant legal services;

-- $3.2 million for LGBTQ+ housing support;

-- $2.77 million for the senior shallow rent subsidy;

-- $2 million for Supplemental Security Income Program;

-- $2 million for Multiple Species Conservation Plan;

-- $2 million for the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk's Office;

-- $1.8 million for senior nutrition;

-- $1.5 million for Domestic Violence Shelter Services

-- $1 million for food assistance via the San Diego Food Bank;

-- $350,000 for additional rental assistance; and

-- $175,000 for community violence intervention.

The money comes from what is considered unlocked reserves, and was recommended by Chief Administrative Officer Ebony Shelton. Shelton received guidance from the Sustainable Fiscal Planning Subcommittee, composed of Lawson- Remer and Montgomery Steppe.

In a statement, the supervisors said the reserves were needed to help vulnerable residents in the face of federal cuts.

"We've recognized that neither the state nor the federal government is coming to save us," Montgomery Steppe said.

A recent analysis showed that U.S. House Resolution 1, passed by Congress last year, could result in the county losing $300 million in federal funding.

Last August, the board voted 3-2 to change policies aimed at allowing the county to tap into its financial reserves to offset cuts coming from Washington, D.C. The policy states that no more than 25% of the newly available reserves could be spent in a single fiscal year.

Supervisors Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond were the no votes on Tuesday.

According to his office, Anderson's opposition was based on "grave concerns" with the subcommittee, which provided no agenda or minutes from its meetings.

Desmond said he was happy to see some great investments, including $6 million for county Fire Protection District equipment, but asked for a separate item vote for the $47.4 million request, and said it should be funded during the regular budget process.

During a public comment period, over two-dozen people -- some of them with advocacy groups -- asked supervisors to approve unlocking the $47 million figure to help senior citizens, the LGBTQ community and those in need of legal services.

Also Tuesday, supervisors unanimously supported $8.8 million to combat the Tijuana River sewage crisis.

The amount covers $4 million for more air purifiers, $2.5 million for a pipe construction project on Saturn Boulevard near the Tijuana River Regional Valley Park, and $2.3 million to study impacts on public health.

However, Desmond opposed spending money on related studies, saying leaders already know what's causing the problem.

— City News Service