DATE:
September 30, 2025
14
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
PREPARING FOR FISCAL DISRUPTION THROUGH AN AD HOC SUSTAINABLE FISCAL PLANNING SUBCOMMITEE (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
After months of public engagement and deliberation, the Board of Supervisors and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) delivered a structurally balanced County budget. The Adopted Operational Plan for Fiscal Years 2025-26 and 2026-27 maintains essential functions, such as keeping deputies on patrol, firefighters on call, and home health aides supporting older adults. The Adopted Operational Plan also makes strategic investments, from behavioral health workforce expansion to emergency response infrastructure.
However, decisions in Washington D.C. and Sacramento are rapidly reshaping the fiscal landscape in ways that undermine local stability. The federal administration has withdrawn critical financial support, especially for the safety net programs that protect San Diego's most vulnerable. The recently passed "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA), introduced as H.R. 1, cuts federal spending by $1.4 trillion over the next 10 years, including $187 billion from SNAP and $917 billion from Medicaid. OBBA will cost the County at least $300 million per year in lost funding and increased administrative expenses alone, putting 400,000 San Diegans at risk of losing health insurance and 100,000 San Diegans at risk of losing food assistance. The Trump Administration's upcoming Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal goes further, slashing non-defense spending by another $163 billion next year, including a devastating 44% cut to the Housing and Urban Development Department-affecting tens of thousands of older adults, veterans, and people with disabilities who rely on affordable housing and supportive services. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a sweeping federal downsizing initiative, has frozen billions in federal grants and contracts in San Diego with no timeline for resolut...
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