County releases initial budget spending plan

The County of San Diego re­leased its recommended budget for Fiscal Year 2026-27, a spend­ing plan totaling more than $9.1 billion. The plan reflects a 6% increase from the current year budget and aims to maintain stability while investing in es­sential services and responding to growing community needs.

Collaboration, Core Services

and Community Needs

The values-centered proposed budget was shaped through close collaboration among com­munity members, the Board of Supervisors and its ad hoc subcommittees. The process focused on strengthening core services and responding to pub­lic needs.

The plan augments public safety to meet the added re­sponsibilities of Proposition 36 and supports health and safety-net services impacted by fed­eral policy changes of H.R. 1. It expands behavioral health care and continues critical in­vestments in homelessness re­sponse, public health and infra­structure while also maintain­ing vital community services like libraries and parks. The budget also dedicates resources to addressing the pollution cri­sis in the Tijuana River Valley. See additional highlights below.

Balancing the FY 2026-27 budget required thoughtful and strategic choices due to un­certain state and federal rev­enues, which account for nearly half of all the County’s fund­ing. Growth in local revenue streams have not kept pace with the overall growth in the cost of doing business, prompting the County to leverage recalibration strategies.

To recalibrate and prepare for the challenges ahead, the proposed budget reflects new efficiencies by reducing costs, shrinking the County’s facilities footprint, and shifting staff to address evolving responsibili­ties while avoiding layoffs.

The recommended budget in­cludes 20,388 staff positions, a net increase of 108. Growth is primarily driven by Consumer Protection, Proposition 36 im­plementation, and H.R. 1 re­sponse, and is offset by unfilled vacancies, consolidation, and attrition.

Public Participation

and Key Dates

Community input played a key role in shaping the recom­mended budget through sur­veys, focus groups, emails, calls and more. Now that the recom­mended budget is available, the public can:

• Review the recommended budget online.
• Submit comments through 5 p.m. June 11 on Engage San Diego County.
• Attend a virtual communi­ty meeting from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 27.
• Visit an in-person open house from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday, May 28 at the County Operations Center.

Participate in a public budget hearing on June 1

The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider and adopt the new budget June 23. Get more details about the proposed budget.

What the County Does

The County delivers pro­grams and services that reach nearly all of the county’s 3.3 million residents across the un­incorporated areas, the 18 in­corporated cities and 18 feder­ally recognized tribes.

In the unincorporated area, County government provides day-to-day services a city gov­ernment typically provides, in­cluding law enforcement, roads, building permits, animal ser­vices, parks and libraries. Some cities also contract with the County for these services.

Regionwide, the County also oversees emergency prepared­ness, criminal prosecution and detention, food and financial as­sistance programs, behavioral health services, public health programs, restaurant inspec­tions, elections and beach water monitoring.

Highlights from the New

Recommended Budget

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

• Housing Interventions – $88 million

Provides a full continuum of housing to ensure people are sheltered while receiving treat­ment and support services. This includes a Flexible Hous­ing Pool pilot as part of the new Transitional Rent benefit that will strengthen long-term hous­ing stability.

• Residential & Long-Term Care — $176 million

Provides behavioral health treatment and 24-hour support in a structured, therapeutic set­ting for people needing a higher level of care.

• BH CONNECT Implemen­tation —Adding $47.3 million

Expands community-based behavioral health care through evidence-based programs that support children and adults with complex conditions.

• Substance Use Treatment for Adults — Adding $23 million

Enhances the network of substance use services and supports, including narcotic treatment programs and a new chemical dependency recovery program.

• Behavioral Health Work­force — $15.2 million

Supports development and re­tention of a skilled public behav­ioral health workforce through the ELEVATE Fund and train­ing and technical assistance for small, diverse community-based organizations.

• Community Engagement and Network Support — $14.4 million

Strengthens community en­gagement and supports pro­viders through technical assis­tance, ensuring meaningful in­volvement of all 29 state‑identi­fied stakeholder groups (BHSA) in shaping behavioral health work in the region.

• Behavioral Health Wellness Campus — Adding $12.7 mil­lion

Supports the design and de­velopment of the new integrated campus on County-owned prop­erty that will offer a continuum of mental health and substance use treatment and support­ive services. The County was awarded a $99.5 million state behavioral health grant for this project in March 2026.

• Crisis Residential Treat­ment — Adding $9.6 million

Increases capacity within community-based crisis care settings that offer step down care along with diversion from unnecessary hospitalization.

• Behavioral Health Facili­ties — Adding $3.5 million

Supports facility improve­ments to develop new Children’s Crisis Residential Care and Substance Use Recovery Treat­ment Services programs funded through State grant funds.

• Child & Youth Behavioral Health — Adding $2 million

Prioritizes early intervention, outpatient, residential treat­ment, and crisis stabilization care to ensure children and youth have access to care.

• In-Home Outreach Teams — Adding $1.1 million

Connects people with serious mental illness who haven’t en­gaged in services to care.

ENVIRONMENTAL

SUSTAINABILITY

• Regional Watershed Protec­tion & Ocean Pollution Preven­tion — $25.6 million

Supports watershed protec­tion efforts that reduce ocean pollution and promote clean beaches, healthy ecosystems and safe drinking water.

• Waste Diversion, Emissions Reduction & Closed Landfill Management — $25 million

Integrates programs that di­vert waste from landfills and re­duce greenhouse gas emissions with long-term monitoring and management of closed landfills to protect air and groundwater quality and strengthen regional environmental safeguards.

• Farmland Preservation, Open Space Protection & Ag­ricultural Safeguards — $17.3 million

Protects the region’s agri­cultural economy and natural landscapes by permanently preserving farmland, expand­ing protection of open space and enhancing efforts to detect and prevent invasive pests that threaten crops and local ecosys­tems.

• Climate Action Plan-related Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduc­tion Investments — $15 mil­lion (includes some programs referenced in other areas of the budget) Implementation of the County’s Climate Action Plan measures that cut GHG emis­sions, improve air quality and strengthen long-term climate resilience.
• Groundwater Resource Management — $3.4 million

Supports long-term ground­water management and pro­tects regional water security.

• Green Building & Solar En­ergy Promotion — $1.4 million

Promotes green building prac­tices and accelerates solar en­ergy adoption throughout the region.

• EV Roadmap Expansion & Fleet Electrification — $1.2 mil­lion

Advances the County’s EV Roadmap by replacing fleet ve­hicles with electric vehicles and installing new charging stations at sites including Campo RMS, Julian RMS, Pine Valley Park, Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, El Monte Park and Lake Morena Park.

• Tree Planting — $500,000

Plants 1,000 new trees to im­prove air quality, expand shade coverage and support healthier neighborhoods. In addition to planting trees on County prop­erties in support of our climate action goals, our private proper­ty tree program gives unincor­porated area private property owners or their designees free 15-gallon trees to plant them­selves.

POLLUTION CHIEF FOR

TIJUANA RIVER VALLEY RE­GIONAL COORDINATION

A new Pollution Chief to lead regional collaboration, identify resources and drive long‑term solutions for the Tijuana River Valley.

HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS

• $93.1 million in housing re­sources for vulnerable residents

Supports the development of affordable and supportive hous­ing, rental assistance and ser­vices that help families achieve self-sufficiency. Including:

This is an abbreviated story that was reprinted courtesy San Diego County Office of Communications. A full version can be found at countynewscenter.com.