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Residents urge restoration of senior transport, tenant legal aid, LGBTQ housing and arts funding during budget hearing
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Summary
More than a dozen speakers at the county budget hearing asked supervisors to restore or add funding to specific programs, including a no-cost senior transportation program facing cuts, tenant legal services, LGBTQ adult housing contracts and arts funding.
Multiple residents, service providers and advocacy groups used the county's budget hearing on June 3 to press supervisors to restore or add funding for community programs they said are at risk under the recommended plan.
Ray Whitmer, a representative of Teamsters Local 911, told the board that proposed labor and benefit assumptions in negotiations would amount to effective pay cuts for county skilled trades workers, and he urged higher wages for maintenance and infrastructure staff.
Representatives of Jewish Family Service, including Kaylee Levitt and Maureen Glaser, asked the board to allocate $450,000 to continue the county's no-cost transportation program for older adults through June 2026. "This program has truly changed my life," said Brian Gottman, a 75-year-old Oceanside resident who testified that free rides restored his access to medical appointments and social connection.
Advocates for LGBTQ housing and homeless prevention pressed for funding to sustain contracts that provide housing-centered wraparound services. Several speakers, including Karina Pugh of the San Diego LGBT Community Center and Curtis Fitzgerald of Escondido, asked the board to include a $3 million allocation to fully fund the Innovative Adult Housing Services and Enhanced Housing Services programs, saying the programs prevent homelessness and serve LGBTQ residents across county districts.
Legal Aid Society of San Diego representatives provided data on the county's tenant legal services (TLS) program, saying a proposed 50% cut -- roughly $1.5 million as projected by speakers -- would reduce services that keep households housed. "In 2024, 91 percent of TLS-served households avoided homelessness at case closure," deputy director Gilberto Vera told the board.
Arts organizations and advocates also called for restored funding for the newly reestablished Commission for Arts and Culture, asking supervisors to allocate $350,000 for FY 2025-26. Speakers from San Diego Art Matters, La Jolla Playhouse, Transcendence Youth Arts Project and others said public arts programming supports education, public safety and economic opportunity.
Speakers asked the board to weigh these requests during the remaining budget hearings; county staff and board members noted that the CAO will release a revised recommended budget before deliberations and adoption on June 24.
Ending: Speakers represented a range of constituencies urging targeted restorations that advocates say could prevent homelessness, preserve services for older adults and support arts and cultural programs. The board will consider public input as it finalizes the budget.
