SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The Mayor promised time and time again. He would protect the San Diego Police Department from budget cuts.
"The commitment is public safety, homelessness, housing, and infrastructure," Mayor Todd Gloria said in February. "We're going to do our best to maintain or increase service levels in any of those areas."
Whether that's still true is up for interpretation. In the Mayor's proposed budget for 2026, SDPD's funding increased overall by more than $29 million. Most of that money will go toward a previously negotiated pay raise for officers.
But the Mayor also proposed $7.3 million in cuts to the Police Department, which comes from eliminating 13 positions and limiting overtime hours. Gloria also suggested closing down the Department's Northwestern Division. San Diego Police says officers would still have a presence in that community, but will likely work out of the Northeastern station.
In his draft budget, the Mayor acknowledges the drawbacks of these changes, saying they could "impact patrol response times" and "hamper our ability to solve crimes". It says officers could also have less time to respond to issues with homeless populations.
The San Diego Police Officers Association sent 10News a statement saying that this would be "detrimental for our city's public safety". The union says SDPD already has some of the lowest staffing numbers compared to other departments in large U.S. cities, and response times are "unacceptably high."
The Mayor's Office sent 10News a statement saying in part: "The targeted reductions will ensure SDPD can continue to protect and serve our community and keep San Diego one of America’s safest big cities."
The Mayor will present this budget to the City Council next Monday. Council members still need to discuss, amend, and vote on it up until mid-May.
