Gloria’s revised city budget funds at-risk Housing Commission programs

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A handful of programs overseen by the San Diego Housing Commission had some of its funding restored in the May revision of the proposed 2025 budget after receiving pushback from the commission’s leaders.

In a press release on Tuesday, Mayor Todd Gloria announced components of the updated budget, although the full draft has yet to be released. A spokesperson for the mayor said the city’s finance department is in the process of finalizing the document.

Among the budget elements that were announced include plans to fully fund the commission’s Eviction Prevention Program, which provides services to low-income renters facing eviction, and the Multidisciplinary Outreach Team, designed for unhoused people “with high intensity needs.”

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The city’s independent budget analyst said in a May 1 report that the Eviction Prevention Program would be effectively eliminated without full funding, while the city would have to return a large grant from the state for the outreach team.

According to Gloria’s office, the updated budget would provide the full $3 million needed for the Eviction Prevention Program from local coffers. As of the outreach team, it will only contribute $350,000, using a $750,000 grant from the state to meet the full $1.1 million needed.

Outside these programs, the updated budget proposal would increase funding for the Housing Instability Prevention Program — a rental assistance program administered by the commission — and the Neil Good Day Center, which is a daytime homeless services program in East Village.

According to the press release, the Housing Instability Prevention Program will receive $3 million from the city — up from $750,000. The Neil Good Day Center, which is overseen by Father Joe’s Villages, will receive a $500,000 more than before, bringing it up to a total of $919,000.

However, the mayor’s budget still be expects the commission to reallocate a chunk of its local funding to help the city close a nearly $171 million budget deficit.

Of the initial $15 million ask, the commission’s leadership said they will provide $8 million — the rest will be covered by an accelerated disbursement of funding to the city through the state’s Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention program, according to Gloria.

There were no other details announced on Tuesday about the other possible impacts noted by the independent budget analyst in his report, such as issues meeting full capacity for staffing at several of the city’s bridge shelters.

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The other homelessness-related projects mentioned by Gloria’s office in the release included funding for the proposed 1,000-bed shelter at Kettner and Vine streets, a new safe parking site at H Barracks and “initiatives that accelerate permitting for 100% affordable housing projects.”

Although commission officials appears to be content with these changes to the budget from the April draft, with the commission’s chair Mitch Mitchell saying in a statement that they are “happy to offer the Commission’s support” to help navigate “these unprecedented fiscal challenges.”

According to Gloria’s office, the May revision will be the version of the budget voted on by the city council in June.

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