Board of Supervisors - Special Meeting

Hey there, wanna make your voice heard at a Board of Supervisors meeting? We're all ears. Here's how you can get involved. First, hop online and look at the agendas. This will give you the scoop on what's coming up before the board. Each agenda item includes a brief description of the issue, the recommendations, and potential impacts. If you need more detail, check out the detailed reports online. Those are called board letters. Then decide if you want to speak at Tuesday's general legislative session or Wednesday's land use session. You'll have three opportunities to have your say. Let's start with non-agenda public comment. This is your chance to talk about things that aren't on the agenda, but try and keep your topic related to county government. For non-agenda public comments, you can speak at either the Tuesday or Wednesday session, but not both. So pick your day accordingly. And keep in mind, the board can't act on the spot. They'll refer your comments to the chief administrative officer who will look into the issue. Last thing, the board will hear from the first 10 speakers, five in person and five by phone at the beginning of the session. Then all the remaining speakers will get their chance to speak after the discussion items. During the consent agenda, the board handles a bunch of routine items with one vote. If you want to comment on an item, keep it simple. For example, I'm John Doe, speaking on item five, and I agree with approving the contract. Discussion items are the main event where the board debates before making a decision. Want to speak at one of the meetings? It's really easy. Just hop online and fill out a quick request form at publiccomment.sandiegocounty.gov. Pick the meeting you're interested in, hit the register button, then fill in your details. Make sure to include a phone number if you plan on speaking by phone. Prefer speaking at the podium in the board chamber? No problem. Just pick the in-person option. After that, just check off the agenda items you want to talk about and let them know you're for, against, or neutral on them. Hit register and you're good to go. A confirmation email will land in your inbox to wrap it up. If you're speaking by phone, the email will include the instructions for how to dial in. Be sure to submit your request early. Once public comment begins on the agenda item, we can't take any more requests to speak. And if you have documents, hand them to the deputy clerk when it's your turn to speak at the podium. Now, you get two minutes to speak, but if lots of people want to talk, it might get cut to one minute. So, you might want to consider writing two sets of comments, one for two minutes, another one for one. That way, if time's cut, you won't be scrambling. There's also a countdown clock at the podium to keep you on track. Once you're at the podium, stay on topic. Stick to the current agenda item. If you stray off topic, you might get a gentle nudge to get back to the point. Keep your comments related to the agenda item's recommendations because that's what the board is relying on to make a decision. Also, speak directly to the board. They're the ones making the decision. When your time's up, it's up. Overstaying might mean getting muted or even asked to leave. Now for some ground rules. For safety, keep aisles and doorways clear. If there isn't a seat, head across the hall to room 302 or the fourth floor balcony to watch the meeting. Respect is huge. Everyone should feel heard. That means you, other speakers, and the board of supervisors. Disruptive behavior gets one morning, and after that, a deputy sheriff might show you the door. So let's keep it respectful. Your voice matters, and we want to hear from you. Remember, we're all here to make a difference.

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Thank you.

June 1st, 2026 San Diego County board, San Diego County budget hearing to order with the board meeting as the board of supervisors, flood control district in home supportive services, public authority, sanitation district, San Diego County fire protection district and county successor agency. As everyone gets settled, we're about to do the tribal acknowledgement, so I want to make sure that the chambers are silent during that time.

Okay.

We would like to take a moment to acknowledge the land that we call home. There are communities in the San Diego region that face unjust conditions and circumstances related to the environments in which they live. The tribal nations of the San Diego region are an example of one community that has historically faced such injustices. We acknowledge the harmony that existed between the land, nature, and its original peoples who have since endured displacement, persecution, and systemic oppression. We pay our respects to the unceded territory and homelands of the 18 tribal nations in our region, the most in any county in the United States, from four cultural groups, the Kumeyaay, the Kumeyaay de Guiño, Luiseño, Kupeño, and the Cahuilla. We aspire to learn from indigenous traditional knowledge and experiences in undoing the injustices of the past. Andrew, please call the roll for today's session.

Thank you, Vice Chair Montgomery-Stepp. Before I call the roll, I would like to note for the record that Supervisor Lawson-Reimer is participating via teleconference under Section 54953C of the Brown Act. As such, any votes will be handled by a roll call vote. At this time, Supervisor Lawson-Reimer will disclose whether anyone over the age of 18 is in the room with her, as well as their relationship to the supervisor.

No one over the age of 18 is in the room with me. Thank you.

Thank you. With that, I will now call the roll and noting that Supervisor Anderson is absent due to illness and Supervisor Desmond is attending a funeral. With that, Vice Chair Pro Tamagiri. Here. And Chair Lawson-Reimer. Here. And Vice Chair Montgomery-Stepp, who's chairing tonight's meeting.

Here. Thank you so much, Andrew. So before we begin this meeting, I want to take a moment to address some House rules. Thank you all for being here. Public engagement is the cornerstone of transparent and accountable government, and these Board of Supervisors meetings are one of the primary venues where all San Diegans can make their voices heard. The county is committed to a work environment free from unlawful discrimination and harassment, including sexual, racial, religious, age, disability, or any form of discrimination or harassment. Under the board's rules, speakers are not allowed to use loud shouting, threatening, impertinent, slanderous, profane, or abusive language to any member of the board, staff, or the general public. Additionally, all remarks and questions must remain on topic during the duration of your speaking time and must be addressed to the board and not to county staff. Any speaker who engages in comments that break these rules will be issued a warning. After one warning, you will be asked to leave the chambers for the rest of the meeting. Finally, speakers threatening violence may be reported to law enforcement and removed from the meeting. This is a space for community engagement, deliberation, and progress, not for harassment, violence, and hate. So with that, we will move on to our discussion item number one. Noticed public hearing, budget hearings, chief administrative officer recommended operational plan for fiscal years 2026 through 27 and 2027 through 28. Before I turn it over to our CAO, let me just say a few things. Thank you everyone again for your attendance and to those watching from home for joining us for the budget hearing this evening. A budget is more than numbers on a page. It is a reflection of both the immediate needs of our community and the core values of this county. It is a culmination of hard work from our county staff who have dedicated themselves to ensuring that the critical services our communities rely on are adequately and responsibly funded. ultimately it represents how we prioritize services invest in people and plan for the future because of that it is absolutely essential that the community remains engaged throughout this process your voices your experiences and your feedback ensure that the final adopted budget is not only fiscally responsible but also equitable, inclusive and responsive to the diverse needs of all of our neighborhoods. Your participation helps shape a budget that truly belongs to the people that it serves. And I thank you again for being there. With that, I will now hand the floor over to our CEO, Ebony Shelton, and the county team.

Thank you so much. Good evening, members of the board. Thank you so much for the opportunity to share this year's recommended budget, which was recently released for both public and for your review on the 18th of May. This balanced recommended budget proposes $9.15 billion in county programs and services and funds 20,388 staff dedicated to serving the people and communities of this region every day. More than a financial document, this operational plan reflects the county's ongoing commitment to delivering responsive services, advancing board priorities and investing in programs that improve quality of life across our communities. I know that this is a values based community informed budget focused on measurable results. The development of this budget was shaped by engagement throughout the year with residents, community partners, employees, departments, and this board. Our ongoing dialogue has helped us to understand emerging needs, evaluate what's working and adapt our strategies and investments to best serve our region. This year's recommended budget reflects those efforts and represents a balanced approach that maintains our services while making targeted investments in areas that matter most to our communities. Developing and implementing a budget of this scale requires extraordinary coordination and stewardship across the organization. And I want to recognize the thousands of County employees who work year round to manage public resources responsibly deliver essential services and ensure that this organization continues meeting the needs of our residents every day. This year's budget development process required us to navigate evolving economic conditions changing service demands and long-term operational considerations. The county's navigating a period of significant transformation with major changes occurring in federal policy funding streams, and the needs of the communities that we serve. These changes challenge us to improve, to deepen our partnership with communities, and ensure that we're delivering the right services in the right way. Through this ongoing transformation, our commitment to stewardship of county public resources remains unwavering. Our disciplined financial planning and management remains constant and has enabled me to recommend a budget that's balanced, responds to the challenges of today while maintaining fiscal stability. Working in partnership with your board, your ad hoc subcommittees, county departments, labor partners, and community stakeholders, we continue strengthening our collective approach to addressing regional challenges and delivering meaningful outcomes. We appreciate the partnership and the guidance that was provided throughout this process and look forward to walking through the recommended operational plan with you this evening. So before we get into the numbers, let's briefly review what will be covered today. We'll walk through the recommended budget, beginning with a look at the county overall from Assistant CAO and Chief Financial Officer Joan Brockie. And following Joan, we'll hear from the general managers of the county's group, as well as from the behavioral services director, who will be providing budget highlights in health and human services, behavioral health, public safety, land use, finance, and general government. And close with some important dates for the public to engage with your board thoughtfully as it considers budget adoption. So with that, I'll transition things over to Joan.

Thank you, Ebony. The county's responsibilities are broad and this budget reflects the many services and functions required to support communities across the region. The work of the county is to serve this region. County services touch nearly every aspect of daily life including health and human services, public safety, emergency response, environmental protection, and critical infrastructure such as roads. Many of these programs are supported through state and federal funding sources and operate with requirements established outside of the county's direct control. As a result, the county must continuously balance our local needs, available funding, regulatory requirements, and long-term operational sustainability. The county also serves as a local government for unincorporated communities, providing municipal services such as parks, libraries, land use regulation, and code compliance. Taken together, this creates a unique operating environment requiring disciplined financial planning, commitment to long-term stewardship, and the ability to adapt as community needs, economic conditions, and external requirements continue to evolve. The budget is more than a financial plan. It is the operational framework that allows us to deliver services to this region, respond to emerging challenges, and invest in priorities identified by our communities and our governing board. and reflected in our strategic plan. Now let's look at the values upon which our budget is built. This budget is built to serve our residents and communities and reflects community voices using data to guide decisions and to prioritize the most impactful programs. It acknowledges uncertainty created by HR1, which modifies key programs like CalFresh and Medi-Cal. It maintains public safety and emergency response services. addresses responsibilities under Proposition 36, which increases penalties for certain repeat crimes and provides for court mandated treatment and it invests in the county's infrastructure, both facilities and technology. With this in mind, let's review some of the key elements of the environment in which this recommended budget was built. This budget planning cycle is marked by continued but moderated growth in the economy, tempered by uncertainty reflecting geopolitical events and continued increases in costs. Federal and state funding concerns along with policy changes that directly affect vulnerable residents continue to present pressure. Growth in the county's funding isn't keeping pace with rising costs requiring careful prioritization of available resources. In response, all county program groups and departments continue to identify and implement efficiencies. aligning program investments with demand and program outcomes, shrinking our facilities footprints and the related costs, restructuring the way we do business, leveraging technology, innovation, and strengthening partnerships with stakeholders. Improving operations also means recalibrating contracts and services to align to their actual usage. Aligning programs where there is reduced demand in services and shifting staff to prioritized areas of responsibility based on caseload experience and service demand while avoiding layoffs allows us to propose a budget that invests in county priorities and protects core services on which our communities rely. Let's look at how these strategies and challenges translate into investments. This evening, the team will walk through several key investment areas made possible through the strategic recalibration to build this year's budget, including strengthening safety net programs for county residents, focusing on access to food assistance and health coverage amid federal program changes, expanding behavioral health access across the continuum of care to help people get needed treatment, preventing homelessness and promoting housing stability through development efforts, inspections, and streamlined land use review processes, advancing environmental stewardship and regional collaboration, including continued efforts to address challenges in the Tijuana River Valley. supporting increased responsibilities under Proposition 36, and investing in community priorities such as arts and culture, the film industry, enhanced consumer protection, critical public health efforts to ensure access to care and resources, a sheriff's substation in Ramona, a fire station in Descanso, and initial steps towards a new behavioral health wellness campus. Let's take a look at summary highlights of this budget. The CAO recommended budget for the coming year reflects overall growth of 6% from the current year, adding $519 million for a total of $9,150,000,000 for fiscal year 26-27. This growth is driven largely by key investments in behavioral health, public safety, safety net services, infrastructure, and support for the county's workforce. This slide shows the budget. by county group, including the newly reorganized behavioral health services now separate from the Health and Human Services Agency. In just a moment, each group will share more about their key investments in staffing, as well as the decisions, efficiencies, and expenditure reductions made to responsibly recalibrate resources for the work that lies ahead. For staffing, we are recommending an increase of 108 staff years, primarily to support safety net services, consumer protection, and the county's responsibilities under Proposition 36. These additions were offset by reductions in vacant positions and through attrition. Each program group also participated in an enterprise-wide centralization effort. These staffing transfers were designed to create greater organizational efficiency. This slide shows how staffing is distributed across the county. Now let's look at the revenue that's planned to support county needs in the coming year. County funding comes from various sources, including federal and state revenue as the largest share, which makes up nearly half the county's funding at more than $4 billion. General purpose revenue, based largely on the county's share of property tax collections, contributes about 24%, or $2.2 billion. These funds are used for many of the county's discretionary and municipal services, such as public safety and emergency response. Charges for services account for about 17% or $1.5 billion, which includes fees for services provided by the county. And finally, other funding sources, which includes interest earnings, rents and leases, and revenue specifically to support various capital projects, make up about 15% or $1.3 billion. The recommended budget is balanced, meaning ongoing revenues support ongoing expenditures. We are not spending more than we have. Through disciplined fiscal stewardship and prudent financial management, the county team has aimed to develop a budget that reflects community priorities while strengthening long-term financial sustainability. This approach provides flexibility to navigate future uncertainty and is reflected in the county's strong credit ratings. And now I'm pleased to welcome the general managers and the behavioral health services director who will share how the county team will put this budget to work in the coming year. We begin with Elizabeth Hernandez and the health and human services agency.

Thank you Joan. The County's Health and Human Services Agency provides essential health, housing, and social services to nearly one in three county residents. This includes Medi-Cal and CalFresh Benefit Administration, Adult Protective Services, and supporting child and family well-being. We also protect public health, fund affordable housing, and prevent and end homelessness. I'll share today some highlights carried out by five service departments and nearly 7,000 dedicated staff who serve residents at our family resource centers, public health centers, and riverbeds in people's homes and throughout the community. Despite changes from HR1 and state budget reductions that increased barriers to benefits, HHSA supported more than 1.2 million customers with timely enrollment and renewal in Medi-Cal, CalFresh, and CalWORKs. To prepare for the significant eligibility shifts now underway, we expanded training, strengthened quality control, and improved proactive communication with customers, the public, and community partners. To support food security, HHSA distributed 2 million meals for older adults region-wide. We also increased the number of in-home support services caregivers by nearly 11% to 46,700 and now serve almost 50,000 IHSS recipients. We advanced the child welfare system reimagining by expanding the family connection hub beyond its pilot, following strong early outcomes and reducing system involvement. Also, we continued reducing reliance on congregate care for youth and foster care, helping place 85% in a family home setting. We are proud that unsheltered homelessness in the unincorporated areas decreased by 16% this year. This downward trend is tied to the success of 313 county funded emergency housing options available nightly, such as safe parking sites. These are more than places to sleep, as case managers connect more than 40% of clients to permanent housing. These programs along with the county's broader homelessness efforts serving veterans, youth, seniors, the LGBTQ plus community and others are now publicly trackable through new dashboards. The county also published our affordable housing investments and interactive dashboards allowing the public to see units now open or coming soon. Nearly 1,000 new affordable units that the county helped fund opened this past year, and we awarded funding and vouchers for an additional 320 units across six developments that will open in the coming years. While much work remains, these investments are delivering safe, stable homes for thousands of residents. In partnership with the board, the land use and environment group, and most importantly, the community, we continued the public health response to the Tijuana River Valley sewage emergency, establishing a new contract to study chemical pollutants from emissions. Through our public health centers, we provided immunization, latent tuberculosis, and sexual health services to more than 31,000 residents. We made incredible strides in monitorizing our public health delivery system and laying the groundwork to bring in additional federal Medicaid dollars by preparing for the launch of an electronic health record system expected to go live in October. This high-level chart shows HHSA's budget by department. Overall, this budget prioritizes HHSA core services, obligations under federal and state law, and operational efficiencies that allow us to improve service delivery with minimal impact to clients. Our FY26-27 recommended budget is $2.2 billion, a decrease of $17 million, or 0.8%, not including reductions from the transition of behavioral health services to a standalone department. These decreases fall into three categories. First, our operational efficiencies, which include nearly $6 million in savings from merging public health and medical care services and streamlining administrative support, and $5 million in operating cost savings like consolidating facilities. The second category is recalibrating contracts and services to actual usage and includes reducing currently vacant positions in child and family well-being to match the department's shift toward prevention services and a smaller traditional child welfare caseload. It also includes adjusting the community services for families and multi-senior service programs to align with reduced demand while maintaining core services. And lastly, there are significant reductions from sense setting one time or time limited funding, including a 12.7 million reduction from the completed federally funded COVID surge response. The budget reflects a 2 million decrease from ARPA funding ending. However, there will be no service impact because savings are being carried forward from the current budget year. Other reductions include a decrease from the completed no place like home grants, a reduction tied to one-time refugee support services funding for individuals displaced by the war in Ukraine, and the federal elimination of CalFresh Healthy Living funding. While the HHSA budget shows an overall decrease, these changes allow us to sustain core and legally obligated health, housing, and social service operations, and reinvestments in programs that have proven outcomes. If not for one-time reductions and technical adjustments, the budget is actually increasing by $15.9 million. HHSA's staffing chart shows a net increase of 11 positions outside of the Behavioral Health Services transition for a total of 6,754 staff. This reflects reductions in 65 vacant positions tied to the efficiencies and recalibrations just discussed, and additional transfers to support enterprise-wide centralization to create greater efficiencies. This decrease is offset by 122 new staff to support implementation of HR1's new eligibility changes affecting the CalFresh and Medi-Cal programs. Looking ahead, we're investing in the community's most vulnerable residents with $852 million to ensure residents can enroll in and renew their CalFresh, Medi-Cal, CalWORKs, and other public assistance on time. This includes direct assistance such as $4.2 million increase for general relief. This amount includes nearly $24 million in one-time general purpose revenue to protect the safety net in light of HR1, with 122 new positions and $15.8 million in new CalFresh administrative requirement costs. This budget also continues to invest in older adults through nutrition, caregiver support, elder abuse prevention, and disease prevention programs. The in-home support services budget will increase to nearly $250 million to help older adults and people living with disabilities remain independent, including support for public authority operations and caregiver benefits, and $16.5 million tied to recently negotiated United Domestic Workers provider wage increases. Lastly, $502 million will be used to prevent child abuse and neglect by supporting families before crises arise and providing protective services when children cannot safely remain at home. This includes a $2 million increase from the Family Connection Hub and Community Response Guide to strengthen prevention services and ensure appropriate service referrals. Housing and homelessness solutions are another important investment area. Among the 93 million invested in housing community development services is 16 million to support for the regional homeless assistance and inclement weather programs, which are emergency housing options that our homeless outreach teams connect people to in the unincorporated communities. It also includes opening 60 sleeping cabins on Troy Street in 2027, which will increase emergency housing by 27%. It continues investments that connect youth ages 18 to 24 to stable housing, sustains the LGBTQ plus innovative housing program and launches another round of rental subsidies for 200 senior households at risk of homelessness. Planned investments also include continued eviction prevention support to keep people housed. And lastly, we are investing in public health. The $235.6 million public health services budget protects community health by preventing disease and promoting healthy behaviors. It promotes and supports home visiting programs, disaster preparedness, and broad access to care. This includes continued operation of six public health centers, beach water quality testing, ongoing Tijuana River Valley sewage crisis health education and monitoring, and a net increase of $2.1 million for the electronic health record to allow for expanded billing and data systems integration. These investments, and many more not covered today, will continue to help our region be healthy, safe, and thriving. I'll now turn it over to Nadia Privada Brahms, Behavioral Health Services Director.

Thank you, Liz. This upcoming fiscal year marks an important milestone, our first year operating as a standalone department. We have done the foundational work and our achievements over the last year have positioned us strongly for the success as we continue optimizing our role as a specialty behavioral health plan. Behavioral Health Services provides specialty mental health and substance use care to more than 113,000 San Diego County residents each year. We are grounded in equity, data, and collaboration, delivering a vast network of county-operated and community-based services that provide person-centered treatment, housing, and support services. We remain committed to transforming our system into one that emphasizes early intervention and continuous care, reducing disparities and improving long-term health outcomes for our beneficiaries. This past year, we strengthened the safety net by delivering critical care across our system. We provided more than 8,600 crisis interventions through mobile crisis response teams, including responding to more than 600 calls involving youth at schools. In partnership with law enforcement, we responded to more than 8,400 crisis incidents through our psychiatric emergency response teams, delivering safe clinical guided interventions. We provided urgent mental health support to more than 18,000 youth and adults within our regional crisis stabilization units, or CSUs. And within the county psychiatric hospital, we provided assessments to more than 5,600 adults and inpatient care to 1,100 adults. We also made key capital investments to expand services within three new facilities, including the psychiatric health facility in Oceanside, the East Region CSU in El Cajon, and the substance use residential and treatment facility in National City. To support our unsheltered population, Behavioral Health Services leased 47 new permanent supportive housing units for a total of 1,320 units across 43 developments. We added more than 400 new licensed boarding care slots, increasing capacity by 182% to support people who need housing and additional care. We also expanded short-term bridge housing beds by more than 200%, providing safe, service-oriented interim housing. Our behavioral health homeless outreach teams engaged more than 1,100 people experiencing homelessness and connected them to care, housing, and supports. To support the broader public health, we launched several new public messaging campaigns focused on youth suicide prevention, overdose prevention, and crisis services, including the 988 Lifeline. Our new community health workers also supported more than 450 community events, providing tailored education and navigation support to people seeking services. We also supported the distribution of nearly 10,000 naloxone kits to reduce risk of overdose. Our department also focused on expanding access to care for vulnerable populations, including children and youth, people with justice involvement, and Native American communities. To support young people, we partnered with the state-designated Centers of Excellence to launch new evidence-based practices. We also operationalized the Next Move program, where our skilled county clinicians provide therapy and care coordination to youth exiting juvenile detention and reentering the community. Through our CARE program, behavioral health supported nearly 200 people in achieving care agreements, the highest number statewide. And today, I signed an agreement with the Indian Health Council that enables reimbursement for traditional health care practices provided for tribal members. It is amongst the first of these in the state and supports the delivery of culturally responsive care to reduce health disparities. To build a skilled workforce, we launched the Elevate Behavioral Health Fund last September to recruit, retain, and support the advancement of people pursuing careers in public behavioral health. Within our county psychiatric hospital, we've implemented Gemba Walks, where members of leadership visit patient care areas and frontline staff highlight process improvements efforts that enhance care delivery. The Gemba walks, along with broader positive culture shifts within the psych hospital, have contributed to improved staff retention, a significant reduction in aggressive incidents, and patient satisfaction rating of 89.2%, which is remarkable. For next fiscal year, we are recommending a budget of $1.4 billion, an increase of 11%, or approximately $141 million, to sustain growth across services, infrastructure, and the workforce. Our investments are shaped by network adequacy requirements, new state initiatives, including Behavioral Health Services Act and BH Connect, and our optimal care pathways model, along with input from stakeholders received during our community planning process, where we engaged more than 1,900 people across over 280 organizations. We are primarily funded through federal and state pathways, which make up 92% of our total funding and includes $700 million in federal dollars and nearly $500 million of realignment and BHSA funds. Local funds only account for about 2% of our annual budget. Effective July 1st, 2026, BHS will be established as a standalone department with an initial transfer of 36 staff from Health and Human Services Agency to Behavioral Health, bringing the department total to 1,369 staff. Additional adjustments are anticipated as the transition continues over the coming year. Our employees include administrative staff who operate our health plan and direct services teams who provide compassionate care to the people we serve. In terms of the $140 million budget increase proposed next fiscal year, behavioral health plans include over $47 million to implement the state's Behavioral Health Connect initiative, which will enhance the quality of care and expand Medi-Cal benefits. It includes $28 million to expand substance use disorder services, which will increase treatment capacity. Almost $30 million in new funding will be included to expand outpatient services, including intensive case management and early interventions for children and youth. An additional $10 million will be allocated for crisis stabilization services, including the new East Region CSU. And $6 million in new funding will be allocated for the housing, housing for the new, within housing for the new flexible housing pool pilot as part of the new transitional rent benefit. Lastly, $19 million will support new operational needs as we shift to the standalone department in alignment with state and local requirements. In addition to the overall increase, the behavioral health budget reflects a strategic and sustained commitment to strengthening the system of care across all levels of need. Total investments span multiple service areas supporting early intervention, treatment, crisis response, housing, and long-term care. Over $79 million is dedicated to early intervention programming, helping people connect to care earlier and reducing the need for higher-level services. More than $560 million is allocated to outpatient and support services for mental health and substance use, ensuring continued access to treatment services throughout the region. $90 million is included for crisis services, including the CSUs and mobile crisis response teams, with an additional focus on long-term sustainability strategy for mobile crisis teams as the state shifts the Medi-Cal benefit from mandatory to optional. Residential and long-term care services are supported with a $278 million investment to maintain capacity for individuals requiring structured care settings. And to meet the needs of people within the highest level of acuity, $127 million is dedicated to inpatient care. Within housing interventions, we've budgeted $88 million to support the continuum of options, including permanent supportive housing, recovery residences, and licensed boarding care slots. The budget also reflects a $30 million reduction due to the elimination of local prevention dollars aligning with the implementation of BHSA. However, school-based prevention services were redesigned to become Medi-Cal reimbursable, ensuring long-term sustainability. Lastly, more than $250 million is being committed across the system to programming that supports children, youth, and transition-aged youth. Behavioral Health will also advance key infrastructure projects in partnership with the Department of General Services, including the Children's Crisis Residential Care Facility, the Edgemore Inpatient Unit in East County, and the future Behavioral Health Wellness Campus. Last year, we secured more than $148 million in grant funding to support several of these projects, bringing our five-year total to more than $250 million in grant funds. To grow this workforce, we've prioritized $2 million annually for Medi-Cal's technical assistance to support small CBOs in navigating Medi-Cal requirements, and $18 million for the Elevate Behavioral Health Fund. These infrastructure and workforce investments ensure our system can meet growing demand, ensure capacity across all levels of care, and support our community partners with the tools and resources needed to thrive under Medi-Cal modernization. To ensure long-term sustainability, we will continue maximizing revenue opportunities across the system. This includes allocating $1 million to expand Medi-Cal billing capacity, improving reimbursement across our network. This is important because for each dollar in state and local funds used for Medi-Cal services, we draw down $2 in federal funds. Behavioral health will also pursue new grant funding as it becomes available. Our North Star remains prioritizing investments that strengthen the long-term mental well-being of our beneficiaries and the community. The behavioral health budget presented today reflects these priorities. Thank you, and I will now hand it over to Andrew Strong, General Manager for the Public Safety Group.

Thank you, Nadia. With the recommended $3 billion budget and more than 8,000 professionals across non-departments, the Public Safety Group provides essential services that strengthen safety, justice, and community well-being throughout San Diego County. We support the region by investigating and prosecuting crimes, defending those who do not have private counsel, and ensuring a fair and equitable justice system. Serving victims and supporting families through child support programs, housing, adults and youth in county facilities, and ensuring access to needed medical and behavioral health services. Coordinating emergency preparedness response and recovery efforts, delivering fire protection, emergency medical services, and essential animal protection services in the unincorporated area. We work closely with our justice system partners, community groups, and regional stakeholders to reduce crime, strengthen accountability, provide alternatives to incarceration, support prevention and reentry, and enhance resilience. Through a collaborative, community-focused, data-driven approach, the Public Safety Group helps keep San Diego County one of the safest regions in the nation. This past year, we advanced several important initiatives. The Sheriff's Office expanded youth and community engagement through programs like Rise Above, the Spanish Academy, and new public safety academies for students. The District Attorney expanded trauma recovery and victim support services across the region, providing comprehensive case management therapy, forensic services, and legal assistance through its North and South County Family Justice Centers. And probation strengthened reentry and community support through expanded mobile service centers, interim housing, and new vocational and educational programs for youth and adults. The public defender grew its competency in Racial Justice Act units to better support clients with serious mental illness and ensure fair, equitable legal representation. Through the Alternatives to Incarceration Initiative, we partnered to expand diversion, treatment, housing, transportation, and other supports that reduce justice involvement. We also strengthened regional emergency preparedness by expanding disaster service worker training, updating key emergency plans, and increasing community outreach to support readiness and resilience. We enhanced wildfire preparedness with updated community evacuation planning, fuel reduction efforts, and expanded our community emergency response teams and their volunteer training. We expanded access to animal care through mobile veterinary services, free microchipping, and continued progress on the new Santee Animal Care Shelter. We delivered more than $181 million in support to families through child support services, improving financial stability for thousands of children, and expanded the annual Super Saturday Backpack event that continues to grow and serve the San Diego youth. And we advanced the region's opioid response through overdose data sharing, toxicology enhancements, and collaboration with partners to reduce preventable deaths. Public safety's budget saw an increase of $97 million, or 3.3% over the prior year. The budget maintains several mitigation measures to ensure resources are available for responsibilities required by law. This includes recalibrating department budgets, streamlining operations, suspending new requests, revenue stabilization strategies, maximizing alternative funding, and asset liability matching. The budget includes $37 million in increased salary and benefits costs, reflecting negotiated labor agreements and the addition of 47 staff. Maintaining support for firefighters, operations, and emergency medical services. Funds the one-time purchase of firefight equipment and ambulances. Continues supporting health and medical care for incarcerated adults and youth in custody. It provides additional funding to support increased demand in the immigrant legal defense program. addresses budgetary pressures in the Sheriff's Office and the Office of the Public Defender, along with operational costs increases in animal care, public liability, facilities, and other internal service fund costs. And we advance major maintenance improvements for safety, compliance, and system upgrades in our various facilities. The public safety budget is supported by 8,100 positions across nine departments. This is a net increase of 47 staff over the prior year's budget. The major staffing changes include increases related to Proposition 36, the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act. In addition, the public defender is increasing by 18 staff to meet growing service demands for an indigent defense for the Immigrant Legal Defense Program. And the district attorney's office is increasing by 32 staff to support expanded economic crimes and consumer protection division activities and investigations. The probation department is increasing by an additional four staff for a mobile probation unit, which will achieve through realigning staff to match current workload trends. This adjustment will improve efficiency by ensuring better alignment with responsibilities provided by law. The Department of Child Support Services is eliminating 10 vacant positions to align staffing with state and federal fundings and current operational needs. And finally, a transfer of eight positions to other groups to support broader organizational efforts and repurpose resources for greater efficiencies. Building on the staffing and budget strategy, our recommended budget strengthens core public safety services. It improves emergency readiness, invests in critical facilities, and expands community-based supports that promote stability and well-being. To support housing and homelessness initiatives, we're providing real-time access to shelter and safe parking options through an investment for the District Attorney's Enhanced Shelter Ready app. And our justice partners, We'll continue connecting people to services through community-based homelessness, homeless outreach, and resource events. Our $66 million investment in infrastructure includes critical safety and facility upgrades across our detention system, including improvements at Central Jail, George Bailey, East Mesa, and Rock Mountain. Planning is underway for a replacement sheriff's station in Ramona, supported by a $34 million investment to modernize a decades-old facility and enhance public safety services, and for a new VISTA detention facility with $3 million dedicated to planning, environmental review, and design to meet long-term regional needs. This long-term project to replace the existing VISTA detention facility is critical to ensure our facilities can safely and effectively meet evolving operational needs. We're strengthening fire and emergency medical response in the unincorporated area with an additional $8 million in funding for an overall investment of $84 million. This includes adding staff for our water tender trucks, which are essential for delivering large volumes of water in areas without hydrogen access, especially during peak fire conditions. It also supports enhanced overall staffing and continued preparation of the county's night flying helicopter to expand our regional wildfire response and improve nighttime emergency capabilities. We're expanding diversion, treatment and reentry supports through the resource and reentry hub with $4 million. This hub connects individuals to treatment, health care, case management, peer support and other essential services after jail or law enforcement contact. These strengthened prevention, diversion and reentry supports help individuals stabilize and successfully return to their communities. We're continuing community led violence prevention efforts through programs like No Shots Fired, supported by $250,000 for outreach, mentorship and wraparound services that reduce gun and gang violence in Spring Valley. We're also supporting gun violence prevention and crisis response work with $227,000 directed toward efforts that reduce suicide, domestic violence, and community violence in partnership with our public health and law enforcement partners. We're enhancing medical and behavioral health services for adults and youth in our custody with $198 million dedicated for adults and $14 million for our youth. These investments include over $20 million in additional funding that ensures safe, constitutionally required medical care and stronger continuity of services that support the well-being of both individuals and staff. $13 million is being invested for additional staffing across our justice partners to support higher case loads under Proposition 36, to manage increased jail bookings, to ensure timely, constitutionally required legal representation, and to expand pretrial and felony supervision and connect people to treatment and housing. An additional $6 million is being invested in the Public Defender's Office to further strengthen departmental capacity. And we're also dedicating $12 million to animal services, including a $500,000 increase to expand access to sheltering, enforcement, veterinary care, and improved web access to encourage adoption. This investment supports services in the unincorporated area, countywide adoptions, and ensures safe, humane operations that protect both community members animals and in support of the county's immigrant legal defense program we're investing 13 million dollars which includes an additional eight million dollars in new funding to continue providing essential representation to an even greater number of detained immigrants and unaccompanied minors we're adding 11 million dollars and 32 staff bringing the total investment to $16 million to expand the district attorney's consumer protection work and better safeguard residents from fraudulent and unfair business practices. Mobile veterinary services will continue providing spay and neuter and basic wellness care directly in high need communities in the unincorporated area. And together, these investments strengthen safety, stability, and community well-being across our region while supporting a more resilient, prevention-focused, and public safety system. I'll now turn the presentation over to Davia Lynch for our Land Use and Environment Group.

Thank you, Andrew. I appreciate the opportunity to highlight how the Land Use and Environment Group supports the community and how our teams collaborate to provide efficient, innovative services. Our services cover many facets of life across the built and natural environments that protect residents and visitors. Some programs serve the entire region, like protecting food safety and agriculture, and others are only within the unincorporated areas, including land use regulations, climate action, and managing a road system that is best in class. And our libraries and parks provide trusted community hubs for all. This year, our teams continued making real progress in protecting our environment and supporting the communities most affected by climate impacts. We cut greenhouse gas emissions through our climate action plan, improving air quality. On this slide, you can see some of our young climate action heroes. We protected local waterways and supported the ongoing response to the Tijuana River Valley sewage crisis, which continues to disproportionately affect border communities. We strengthened climate resilience and supported emerging green industries that create good jobs. We kept waste out of landfills and restored natural habitats across the region. We planted 2,000 new trees in county spaces, bringing more shade, cooler streets, and cleaner air, especially in communities lacking green space. And we protected local agriculture from invasive pests. Our efforts complement the housing projects advanced by the county's Housing and Community Development Services Department. We guide the development of private housing projects, and over the past year, we permitted 932 housing units. We've also taken steps to support innovative new housing types and make the review process more efficient for builders. And we've ensured safe living conditions through nearly 40,000 building inspections and 15,000 plan reviews, as well as visits to mobile home parks. We maintain nearly 2,000 miles of roads in our unincorporated communities, keeping them safe with well-maintained pavement, crosswalks, bike lanes, and signals. This year, our roads earned a very good rating, placing us among the best in the state. Our teams also protect neighborhoods from flooding by keeping culverts, channels, and storm drains clear year round. Our libraries remain a trusted community hub. Through 33 community libraries and one of California's largest digital collections, our library teams spark learning and connection. With nearly 12 million items borrowed, our system is among the largest in the nation. In our parks, we opened the new Village View Park, adding to our park system that supports recreation, wellness, and nature through extensive programs and nearly 400 miles of trails, helping communities stay active, connected, and outdoors. Our library high school prepares people for future success through high school diplomas. This image shows some of our proud graduates. Our 33 library branches with their dedicated staff serve as welcoming, trusted hubs for communities across the county. Libraries are places where people of all ages can read, learn, connect, and create. Over the last year, to keep our community members healthy, our teams have informed the public when beach or bay water in the region was not safe to enter, reduced mosquitoes at 1,600 breeding sites, and inspected over 15,000 food facilities for food safety. And we've prevented hazardous material spills through inspections and education. For LUGE, the overall budget is increasing by $40 million, or just over 5%. The majority of our increases are for capital and maintenance investments aligned with project readiness, community priorities, and one-time funding opportunities, ensuring that this year's budget supports the most effective and responsible path forward for our infrastructure and long-term service delivery. Other increases are tied to ongoing costs for new facilities coming online and projects that support the Climate Action Plan. To propose a balanced budget, we had to look more closely at what services and support we provide and how we provide it. These increases are offset by reductions and recalibrating general purpose revenue. Using our enterprise strategies, we focused first on protecting key services such as agriculture and food facility inspections, permit issuance, and maintaining critical infrastructure. We then identified non-mandated programs and are proposing scaling them back while maintaining positive outcomes for the community. This also allows us to propose refocusing resources on required work, like maintaining closed landfills and our stormwater program, and repurposing resources to cover costs increase and new facility openings. As we recommend these important investments, we remain thoughtful about where we recommend pacing or pausing growth to stay within our resources. We're proposing a pause in new climate action plan bike lanes and sidewalk projects that have not yet entered construction, but funded projects already underway will continue. At the same time, we continue to propose funding for critical work at recommended levels, including stormwater projects and essential infrastructure maintenance. These proposed choices reflect responsible stewardship in the current environment and will be reevaluated as conditions change. This budget supports 2,136 staff across Luge departments, with a total decrease of 17 positions for the upcoming year. As the other groups have shared, 10 positions were transferred to other county departments to create greater efficiencies as part of the enterprise-wide centralization. Eleven vacant positions were removed from the budget due to alignment of resources and streamlining efforts, and this is offset by the addition of four positions in parks for the new Bonzel Community Park and vegetation management in North County. We continue to prioritize our work regionally. For the Tijuana River Valley, we're recommending an extra $500,000 to improve dredging and habitat restoration. We'll also continue our journey toward meeting a year 2045 greenhouse gas reduction goal in our climate action plan through a collective $15 million investment across the enterprise with specific actions to help make our communities more resilient and preserve the natural environment for future generations. We continue to monitor the water quality of our beaches and our bays and continue to protect land and water. We have an increase of nearly $4 million, which strengthens recycling programs that help divert waste from going into the landfills. And they also support maintaining the closed ones so they don't affect air and groundwater quality. To keep unincorporated communities safe and support their mobility needs, we increased funding to maintain the quality of our award-winning roads, deliver timely safety improvement projects, and innovate how we manage and prioritize our infrastructure with a capital improvement program portfolio of $266 million. We're also recommending $37.7 million, an increase of $1.8 million, to continue strengthening our park system. These investments support programs and events across all our park's facilities, trails, open spaces, and programming that ensure people have safe, welcoming places to gather, play, and connect in nature. This increase will also support bringing new community spaces online, including Colabo Park in Spring Valley, Bonzel Park, the revitalized Mira Mesa Epicenter, and Heritage Park in Old Town. And we're investing in a new playground park and shade structure in Lamar Park. An additional $2.4 million investment in county libraries will continue to push our push to become the top-ranked library locally and across the state and nation. increasing the number of items circulated even higher than its current circulation of almost 12 million. It also helps operate our newly built Casa de Oro branch. Another key investment for Luge is continued funding of $29.2 million to support balancing the built and natural environment through efficient, thoughtful planning and project reviews, as well as 40,000 inspections to ensure structures are safely built. We continue to invest and work to prevent health risks. This budget includes an additional $1.6 million for food safety inspections, to help make sure you see that letter A in the window, and an increase of almost $500,000 to prevent mosquito breeding and reduce the risk of West Nile virus or dengue fever. An additional $62,000 will be put to work at county libraries to provide access to free Wi-Fi and help adults realize their educational goals through library high school or the pursuit of citizenship. I'll now hand it to Brian Albright of the Finance and General Government Group.

Thanks, Davia. The Finance and General Government Group, or FG3, is the operational backbone of the county, managing critical infrastructure and providing support to county programs. As part of this year's initiative to improve efficiency, Finance, IT, communications, and human resources functions were centralized. Some departments previously within FG3 remained in the group while others transitioned into the new enterprise support structure. FG3 continues to lead several core functions including implementing the county's capital improvement program, supporting countywide fleet and purchasing operations, and conducting federal, state, and local elections. The new enterprise support departments now house the centralized core functions, finance, IT, communications, and human resources, along with legal counsel, legislative program, and labor standards and compliance. This group also manages the region's property tax collection and apportionment process, a key source of funding for schools, roads, public safety, and other critical services. We oversee an $18 billion investment pool on behalf of over 160 public agencies in the region, helping safeguard public dollars and supporting community needs. And we also play a vital role in serving the public through several important life event services, such as maintaining vital records, including birth certificates, performing civil marriage ceremonies and passport applications. Some highlights this year include delivering five affordable housing communities on county-owned land, including 404 housing units delivered across four separate phases at Mount Etna, built on the property that was the former location of the county's crime lab, and 64 units on a county property at the intersection of Cedar and Kettner Streets in downtown San Diego. Leveraging county land is increasing the availability of affordable homes and advancing the county housing blueprint in partnership with HHSA. These efforts make a tangible difference in people's lives. And as you can see in the photo, Archie's smile says it all. We continue to achieve major electric vehicle roadmap milestones with now 675 active electric vehicle charging stations and converting over 395 vehicles in the county fleet to electric vehicles. We also successfully completed two off-cycle elections while continuing to enhance access to voter information by providing election materials in 16 languages, giving the community the means to actively participate in the democratic process. The county has boosted the small businesses share of the county's $2 billion annual procurement portfolio for the first 10 months of this fiscal year. Current calculations indicate that the small and local procurement spend is almost to the goal of 25%, nearly double what we were at just two years ago. And lastly, the county board has expanded the citizens law enforcement review board's jurisdiction over in custody death investigations. For next fiscal year, we're recommending a budget of $1.0 billion for FG3 and central enterprise support departments, which is an increase of almost $50 million, or 5%, compared to the current adopted budget. This is primarily driven by higher costs for maintaining county facilities, a rise in non-capital major maintenance projects, and increases in departmental IT operations. To present a balanced budget, we had to prioritize critical facilities repairs and maintenance, reduce internal service levels by freezing vacant positions, and reduce the use of temporary staff. FG3 has also identified efficiencies within our departments by reducing administrative and overhead costs. Turning to staffing, we are recommending a total of 2,022 staff years, which is a net increase of 31, or 1.6%, compared to the current adopted budget. This is mainly from the transfer of staff tied to the enterprise centralization efforts from other groups into the chief administrative office, chief financial office, county technology office, county communications and human resources designed to create greater efficiency within the organization. Other staffing highlights include increases of nine staff years in county council to establish the consumer and fairness public protection unit. This unit will broaden efforts to protect consumers in coordination with other enforcement agencies, such as the San Diego County District Attorney and City Attorneys. Two staff years in the Office of Ethics, Compliance, and Labor Standards to provide parks, events, labor standards, and enterprise-wide contract compliance and monitoring. And an additional staff year in the Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board to support the expanded oversight role. Finally, a reduction of nine staff years in the Department of General Services driven by the department's consolidation efforts that streamline operations and in turn reduce overhead. As for our goals and investments in the upcoming fiscal year, we are demolishing a 60-year-old Rosecrans Health Services Complex that will clear the way for construction of the new Behavioral Health Wellness Center. We're funding critical repairs, facility maintenance, and major safety upgrades across county facilities, such as repairs and safety upgrades within our county detention systems, facility maintenance across our 1,400 county buildings, and continuing the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the county. To advance sustainability efforts, we will add a pollution chief to lead regional collaboration, identify resources, and drive long-term solutions for the Tijuana River Valley. Other highlights include several initiatives to strengthen our IT operations, including modernizing our enterprise resource planning systems and re-competing our IT outsourcing contract. We will also enhance labor standards and enforcement, strengthening safety in county parks and improving contract compliance efforts. Lastly, I'll touch on this year's capital program, which is the county's centralized capital facilities and space planning effort. capital program is in addition to the public works capital infrastructure plan and this budget fluctuates year to year based on operational requirements and other considerations. On the screen you'll see a view of the capital investments planned for the upcoming fiscal year totaling 120.2 million dollars. Most of these projects have already been touched on by my colleagues and I throughout today's presentation but I'd like to briefly highlight one capital investment for our group which is the rehabilitation of the East County Road Maintenance Station and Fleet Garage to provide the infrastructure needed to maintain our county vehicles. We will be funding all of these capital projects with a prudent mix of program revenue, general purpose revenue, and long-term financing where appropriate. Now I'd like to turn the presentation over to Deputy Chief Financial Officer Judy Ying.

Thanks, Brian. As we ran out the group discussions, I would like to switch gears to cover countywide expenses, which are categorized under finance other in the operational plan. These activities include community grant programs, centrally funded facilities maintenance, the funds related to employee benefits, public liability and insurance for all county departments and annual payments for pension obligation bonds and lease obligations for our capital projects. The pie chart on screen shows the recommended fiscal year 26-27 budget for all programs and activities in Finance Other. Altogether, Finance Other is increasing by $133 million or 35% from last year's budget. The increase is mainly driven by new investments captured under the countywide general expense category. The $197 million budget for countywide general expense includes the use of $71.7 million of unlocked reserves, which is proposed to fund safety net services, Tijuana River Valley efforts, affordable housing development, and supplemental security income advocacy. Other new allocations include funding for one-time needs in the public defender and district attorney's office, new arts and culture programs, and implementation of a county film office. a new office of the inspector general and additional tenant legal aid services. These are investments that will directly benefit San Diego communities by addressing critical needs as we have heard from residents and local organizations. This presentation marks the start of our public hearings for the fiscal year 2627 recommended operational plan. As you saw in the presentation, this recommended budget reflects our commitment to community priorities, including strategic investments in safety net, behavioral health, homelessness and housing, environmental stewardship, and public safety. The revised recommended budget will be released to the public on June 12th, which will incorporate feedback from these hearings with final budget deliberations and adoptions scheduled for June 25th. After adoption, quarterly updates and amendments along with individual board action will help us consider and respond to any changes at the state and federal level. And with that, I will turn the presentation back over to Ebony.

Thank you. The county team has taken a thoughtful, collaborative approach, prioritizing core services, streamlining operations, and proposing solutions to ensure that the budget is recalibrated and balanced. Specifically, I'd like to thank Assistant CAO and Chief Financial Officer Joan Brockie, our group in finance leadership teams, the Office of Financial Planning team, and all of our department heads and departmental financial teams for your department, your dedicated service to get us to a place where we could release the recommended budget for consideration and feedback. I'm also grateful to our four elected officials who lead a dedicated workforce as well, including the assessor recorder, County clerk, the district attorney, the sheriff and treasurer tax collector. Thank you for partnering with our team on this year's recommended budget. And thank you to the members of the board. We truly appreciate your partnership and we continue working together for the wellbeing of our communities. And most importantly, thank you to our community members. Thank you for your ongoing engagement. Subject to your questions, that concludes the presentation from the staff.

Thank you so very much. And we are going to have quite a bit of public comment. I want to go to my two colleagues who are in attendance right now to see if you have any initial questions for staff. Chair Pro Tem, no? Okay. And I don't see the chair with their hand up. So we'll go to public comment. You are going to have one minute. So please get your thoughts together. I want to hear what you have to say without having to cut you off. So please gather your thoughts so that you can let us know what you think in 60 seconds. And I will turn it over to the clerk.

Thank you, Vice Chair Montgomery, staff. The budget hearing tonight is for the board to receive oral public testimony on all areas of the recommended budget. With that, we have 116 requests to speak, 87 in person, and 29 requesting to speak by phone. Any individuals that requested to speak by phone, please dial into the conference line using the instructions that were provided to you. We'll begin with the in-person speakers. As your name is called, please come forward and stand on the arrows until it is your turn to speak at the podium. You will have one minute to address the board, as the Vice Chair indicated. We'll ask you to please begin by stating your name for the audio record. I'll be calling you in groups of three, so I'll ask you to please listen for your name. We will start with the first three speakers, who are Eddie Mayer, Vanessa Melendrez, and Jennifer Black. If I've called your name, please come forward.

Good evening. My name is Eddie Meyer. I'm a senior policy advocate at the ACU of San Diego and Imperial Counties. We urge the county to adopt a people-centered budget that protects residents' basic needs and invests in the long-term health and stability of our communities. One of our top priorities is robust funding for the Immigrant Legal Defense Program, ILDP. Demand for immigrant legal services continue to rise as more residents face detention and deportation. The ILDP ensures immigrants in detention have access to legal representation, No one should navigate one of the most complex legal systems in our country alone. We support the Chief Administration Officer's proposal to fully fund the ILDP in the upcoming county budget to meet current and anticipated operational needs, while maintaining the program as a universal merits blind service. The ILDP has played a critical role in protecting due process and keeping families together. We thank the county for championing this effort. We also urge you to continue to invest in other safety net programs that keep families stable and communities strong. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hi, thank you so much for the opportunity. I am Jenny Black. I am the President and CEO at Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest. I am so proud to call San Diego County home and to lead one of the nation's largest Planned Parenthood affiliates. In 2025 alone, we provided nearly 120,000 patient visits in San Diego County alone. And 80% of those patients rely on Medi-Cal to access the essential health services they need, including STI testing and treatment, birth control, cancer screenings, menopause care, gender-affirming care, HIV testing, PrEP and PEP, and so much more. Sexual and reproductive health care is not optional. It is essential. It keeps individuals healthy and whole communities strong. But we are under federal attack, and despite all of that, despite being eliminated from the Medi-Cal program, Planned Parenthood has remained steadfast in our mission no matter what. Thank you for your support.

Thank you. As the next speaker is coming forward, I'll invite three additional speakers. Bernita Gutierrez, Alicia Morrison, and Doyle Morrison. If I've called your name, please come forward.

Hi, my name is Vanessa Melendrez, and I am with the Filipino Workers Center. We are in, I believe, SD5, and we work in that district. And I am here to urge the board to support the CAO's proposed budget for the Immigrant Legal Defense Program in the county's 2026-2027 budget and fully fund the program. Immigrants facing deportation are not provided court appointed counsel in the immigration court system. They're often forced to face the complex immigration court system without legal representation. Access to legal counsel is a fundamental civil right and a cornerstone of our justice system that should be afforded to everyone regardless of who they are or where they come from. I urge the board to approve the CAO's proposed budget for the ILDP program. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good evening. My name is Vernita Gutierrez. I'm Vice President of External Affairs for Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, and I'm here to ask you to stand with our patients and support Planned Parenthood health centers in San Diego County. Since the federal reconciliation bill, H.R. 1, was signed into law last July, Planned Parenthood centers have been cut off from receiving reimbursements for care provided to Medi-Cal recipients, threatening access to preventive health care for thousands of San Diegans with low incomes. Medi-Cal work requirements taking effect on January 1st will further destabilize coverage, exacerbate inequities, and put even more strain on the county's already overburdened health care safety net. As federal funding restrictions and policies limit access to reproductive health care and eliminate insurance coverage for millions, now more than ever we need our local governments to stand up for our communities. In 2021, the board declared San Diego County a champion of reproductive freedom and committed to protecting access to reproductive health care and serving as a model for health care equity. We are here today to ask that you stand with Planned Parenthood's patients and San Diego residents to support Planned Parenthood. Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Good evening, Alicia Morrison. Community safety is at the top of my list for my community of Lincoln Acres. This community has been plagued with gang violence, drugs, and more recently human trafficking. Law enforcement services and supply is a necessity for this community's safety. Only two patrols are available that are dispatched from Imperial Beach to cover multiple unincorporated communities, Bonita, Lincoln Acres, Otay Valley, Proctor Valley, and San Miguel. I want to feel safe in the community where I was born and raised and still reside today because I am too old to start over anywhere else and I am too old to have increases in my taxes. As for the Tijuana River Valley, I am in full support of all that there is needed to clean that up. But the solution is at the source of the pollution, which comes from the maquiladores down in Mexico. Thank you.

Thank you. As the next speaker is coming forward, I'll invite three additional speakers. Lynn Booth, Gilberto Vera, and Joanne Franciscus. If I've called your name, please come forward.

Doyle Morrison from the unincorporated community of Lincoln Acres in District 1. I haven't personally needed many of the public safety group programs, but I know our safety depends on it. My biggest concern is funding law enforcement to a level that will allow the Sheriff's Department to respond when needed. Currently in D1, too few deputies are challenged geographically and are spread thin. I attended the budget open house at the county operation complex. What a beautiful campus and a great event. When I talked to the Department of Public Works, they mentioned they are in need of an update to the remote facilities they work out of. Let's not forget to help out the groups that impact us most in the communities. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good evening, Chair and Board of Supervisors. My name is Gil Ver. I'm the Director of the Housing Justice Collaborative at Legal Aid Society San Diego. Legal Aid is the recipient of the Tenant Legal Services Program, which provides free legal services, case management, and rental assistance to low-income San Diegans to prevent homelessness. In 2025, 90% of households served through TLS avoided homelessness, with 81% remaining in their homes. and 9% securing a new stable home. These outcomes show TLS is working. TLS is also a smart fiscal investment. In 2025, TLS provided legal services, case management, and rental assistance to 2,084 unduplicated households. This averaged a one-time cost per household of about $1,085. By comparison, California spends nearly $50,000 annually per person, per homelessness person. Preventing evictions early avoids far greater costs downstream to shelters, health care systems, emergency services, and the courts. We understand the county is facing serious budget constraints, and we're grateful for the use of reserves to maintain funding to prevent homelessness. Thank you.

Thank you. As the next speaker is coming forward, I'll invite three additional speakers. Dan Nyamanga, Luis Guerra, and Joanna Guerra. If I've called your name, please come forward.

Good evening, supervisors and county staff. I'm Joanne Francisca, CEO of the Legal Aid Society of San Diego. We provide free legal services to low-income residents throughout the county in the areas of law that have the most impact on a person's well-being. Our tenant legal services program helps thousands of residents avoid homelessness each year through a one-stop shop of education, outreach, clinic services, legal representation, case management, and emergency rental assistance. The data consistently shows that this program is a uniquely effective and efficient tool for helping people avoid homelessness. For the past several years, the demand has consistently exceeded our capacity, meaning that we have to turn people away who desperately need our help. I am incredibly grateful for the county's investment in this critical program. Budget deficits require tough choices, and I know you don't take that responsibility lightly. For every $1 invested in legal aid, there is a social return on an investment of up to $7. This investment is a fiscally responsible choice. It is also a compassionate one. Tenant legal services is not just about legal cases. It's about providing equity, safety, and stability at a time when people are struggling.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good evening supervisors. My name is Luis Guerra. I'm a resident of District 1 and also here with Immigrant Defenders Law Center proudly serving all of San Diego County. I'm here to urge you today to stand with our immigrant communities and approve the CAO's proposed budget to fully fund the ILDP. The legal support provided through this program is truly a lifeline. Our immigration system is often complex and deeply unjust with limited access to due process. No one should be separated from their family simply because they lack the resources to navigate it. ILDP helps ensure individuals have a fighting chance to be heard, protected and stay with their loved ones. Funding ILDP is a commitment to fairness, due process and the protection of families. Thank you for your support with this ask.

Good evening, supervisors. My name is Joanna Guerra. I am the resident of District 4. I strongly urge you to stand with immigrant communities and improve the proposed budget to fully fund the ILDP. As ICE enforcement actions continue to terrorize our communities and create instability, the need for deportation defense has never been greater. The program provides essential legal services that ensure people have a fair chance to defend themselves. As the chapter manager of the Surfrider Foundation San Diego County Chapter, I also ask that you fully fund and support all projects and investments surrounding the Tijuana River Valley. especially the position of the Pollution Chief of Tijuana River Valley Regional Coronation. There is a need for a dedicated position to add capacity and coordinate between departments to address the most severe public health emergency in the county. Thank you.

Thank you. Before the next speaker begins, I'd like to invite three additional speakers. Megan Day, Maria Elena Greenman, and Karina Zavala.

Good evening. My name is Adan Nyamanga. I'm with the Center on Policy Initiative, the organizer for the CBA. I stand before you with the letter co-signed by more than 500 San Diego County residents from across all five districts. But we really appreciate the three of you who are here, supervisors. These committee members share a common vision, a San Diego County where we live with dignity, safety, and opportunity. We urge you to invest in youth by allocating 250K for the DYD. Invest in workers by expanding the All Save program. Invest in immigrant and working families by creating emergency relief to fund people impacted by ICE raids. And also fund the RDP and ensure prompt access to CalFresh. At the time when many families are facing federal government manufactured uncertainties, this board ought to continue leading with courage and compassion by investing in our San Diego County. I have this. I want to.

Thank you. You can hand that to the deputy clerk right behind you. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Megan day. I'm an immigration attorney at immigrant defenders law center serving all of San Diego County and a resident of district four. I'm here today to urge you to fully fund the immigrant legal defense program. ILDP. This program provides critical legal services to our San Diego community in immigration court. There's no guaranteed right to counsel. However, the federal government is always represented. This creates a profound power imbalance with life-altering consequences. I represent immigrants in the San Diego and Otay Mesa immigration court, including veterans and their families. Detention and deportation destabilize entire families and communities. such as my client, a 20-year resident of San Diego County with no criminal history, leaving his wife and three US citizen children struggling when he was detained. His story is common, but access to counsel is not. ILDP ensures due process and keeps families together. Please fully fund this vital program.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good evening, Board of Supervisors. My name is Karina Zavala, and I live in District Number 2. I am part of EGI, which is Ending Girls' Incarceration with Miss City Camp. And I'm also a member from the Community Budget Alliance. I just wanted to start off to say that I've been system impacted. I've been in juvenile hall in and out for three years straight. And what I've seen, and as a mother too, is that the system is not really supporting us as youth mentally, emotionally. And I just wanted to ask and just say if if there's any way that we can get a 250,000 budget in order to have a Department of Youth Development in order to help our youth to succeed in this future. Thank you.

Thank you. I'd like to invite for three additional speakers. Alexis Ortega, Leila Ramos, and Ruben Alacon.

Good afternoon, members of the Board of Supervisors. My name is Maria Elena Greenman-Lind, and I'm the founder of Home Growth El Corazon, and I'm here today to speak about healing. Too many young people in San Diego County are carrying the weight of trauma, violence, abuse, neglect, poverty, and loss. When youth enter the juvenile justice system, they're often responding to pain that has never been properly addressed. Yet instead of healing that pain, our systems have to add on to it. Today I ask you to invest in healing and funding a much needed study of our San Diego County juvenile justice system. The vision of a Department of Youth Development that will invest in prevention, mentorship, restorative practices, and community-based services that help young people recover, rebuild, and strive. If we truly want safer communities and better outcomes, we must create systems that heal rather than harm. Our youth deserve care, compassion, and the opportunity to heal. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please. If I've called your name, please come forward. I'll go ahead and call three additional speakers. Sarah Gonzalez, Carol Bess, and Juliana Gonzalez.

Hello, good afternoon. My name is Sara Gonzalez, sociologist, educator. And today, I want to address you guys specifically on making space for youth in your budget. We definitely need to invest in our youth. I know it sounds maybe overgeneralized in the sense of, oh, just youth. But in reality, we need a feasibility study to be able to understand what is happening to our youth here in San Diego. I saw today that a lot of the mental health, or there's a large portion of mental health resources that are gonna be opened up, but in reality, we need specific resources for our students. As a sociologist and as an educator, I've seen an increase of students in the foster and in the incarcerated system. That can't happen anymore. We need you to invest in our youth and listen to them, what they have to say. So thank you for your time, and I hope you take this in consideration.

Thank you. I'll go ahead and call three additional speakers. Jasmine Barboza, Eddie Barboza, and Desiree Barboza.

Good afternoon. I'm here as a member of the Youth Justice Momentum team in favor for Ms. Siddiquan asking the county to invest $250,000 in a feasibility study to explore the creation of a department of youth development.

I'm sorry, can you please state your name again? Jasmine Barbosa. Thank you.

A DYD would offer young people an alternative to incarceration. The juvenile probation department is currently under an active civil rights investigation by the California Attorney General's office and is led by Attorney General Raubonta. Probation claims to care and part of their logo is compassion, yet they wear steel toe boots. While caring for the youth, there are kids known to have broken ribs caused by probation officers. How can rehabilitation care and abuse coexist in San Diego juvenile's probation care? It can't. We need change. The system is broken. The entire juvenile system has become numb. They see every youth as just another case. Youth are just dollar signs, just another number instead of a child, a human being. When questioned, By their wrongdoing, probation department, you get silence. No answers, no accountability. They want you to forget and go away. You have probation along with SDPD doing traumatizing home raids, pointing guns at children's heads on the youth homes knowing they are in the pre-adjudication stage and not...

Thank you. I'll go ahead and call three additional speakers. Vanessa Asusena, David Aparici, Ron Sanchez. I'll call a couple more speakers while this individual is coming forward. Alejandro Martinez, Belen Hernandez, and Carol Stevenson. If I've called your name, please come forward.

Good evening, Board of Supervisors. And I'm just going to speak from the heart. Forget this. I want to thank Supervisor... Can you please state your name? Ron Sanchez with MidCityCAN. Yes, I first want to say thank you to Supervisor Aguirre for joining us in our press conference outside. We are demanding a $250,000 in the budget for a feasibility study to explore the creation of the Department of Youth Development. You know last month I was at the city budget hearings with our youth council and it's been an honor for me to work with our youth. Our youth raised secured 4.25 million from the city of San Diego budget which is so impressive. I'm just like so impressed with youth. I've seen incarcerated youth speak and they just need support you know like probation is very cruel and what we need is healing and this department of youth development is what thank you thank you thank you i'm a resident born and raised in d2 and i lived a long time in d4

$131 million in youth detention. They want to call it youth development. It's not. You can't rehabilitate young people when you're imprisoning them and incarcerating them. Love and abuse cannot coexist. Bell Hooks taught us that. Over 100 lawsuits. uh current investigations by the department of justice um as well as the juvenile justice ad hoc subcommittee this is our tax paying money that we're continuing to pay for for an agency that has been time and time and time and time again been giving the opportunity to And to date, we've seen no change. Three years since EGI has started, we still have 20 girls incarcerated. Over $1 million funded into this initiative. That number has not gone down. Racial disparities have gone up in incarceration. Research shows us that incarceration does not work. We need a $250,000 study to fund a Department of Youth Development. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hi, my name is Carol Stevenson. I'm a resident of District 3 and a member of Surge San Diego. We support the Community Budget Alliance's People's Budget. I've worked in immigrant rights and immigration legal services for many years, and I've seen firsthand the critical impact that the ILDP has provided and support the expansion of those funds. And our community needs more. We're witnessing the devastating results of cruel and nonsensical federal policies attacking immigrant communities. And it's not only rendered vast numbers of our neighbors arbitrarily out of status, it brutally tears families apart and means that growing numbers of immigrant families are suddenly struggling to get by. While every San Diegans are coming together to support our neighbors, It is the county that can best address this crisis. I urge you to establish an emergency relief fund for workers, families, and local businesses struggling to survive the devastating impact of ICE raids and the terror of the federal government is spreading in our communities.

Thank you. As the next speaker is coming forward, I'll invite additional speakers. Tamara Nessen, Natalie Raschke, and Emily Ortlieb. If I've called your name, please come forward.

Good evening, Supervisors. I am Belén Hernández, Policy with MidCityCAN, and I'm here to ask for your support on a $250,000 investment in a feasibility study for our Department of Youth Development. We believe this is a practical and responsible step to better serve young people in San Diego County. Youth and families benefit when services are coordinated, accessible and centered on prevention. DYD could be a centralized hub where parents, teachers or anyone could seek help for the youth they know need it. Supporting young people early can reduce deeper system involvement later on. A feasibility study is a prudent step to allow the county to study the landscape before committing to a new model. We appreciate your consideration and encourage you to invest in this study this month. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll call additional speakers. Nancy Bem, Patricia Mondragon, and Sike Calderon Vargas. Go ahead and call additional speakers. Kristen Garrett Montgomery, Stephanie Gioia, Rosanna Lozada. If I've called your name, come on down, thanks.

Hi, Natalie Raschke, thank you for hearing me today. I'm not sure, as I stand here today, if humans are as civilized as we lead ourselves to believe. It's concerning to me the type of expectations we put on people, especially unhoused, of what's required of them to get their SNAP benefits. Every day I think as we move about our day, what intentions do we put into everything that we do? We are being led on mental warfare. We have unhoused people. My children and I have an EHV. From my understanding, the county turned all their EHVs into Section 8 vouchers. In the next three months, I will become homeless again for the second time. Not because of something I did, by being led.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good evening, Supervisors. Patricia Monteragon with Alliance San Diego and the Community Budget Alliance. Thank you for including the funding necessary to keep the Immigrant Legal Defense Program fully operational. Access to legal representation should not depend on a person's income or circumstances. This program is a critical lifeline that helps ensure due process for immigrants facing deportation proceedings and reflects this county's commitment to fairness and justice. At the same time, as the Sheriff's Department receives additional funding and staffing, it is critical that those investments be accompanied by accountability and transparency. The Department continues to face concerns regarding its collaboration with ICE and in violation of state and local law. The public deserves clear information about how county resources are being used. We also urge to invest in preventing homelessness before it starts with a $3 million investment in a pilot eviction diversion program, which would help tenants and landlords resolve disputes before they result in eviction and keeping families housed. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good evening, supervisors. My name is . My pronouns are ella, she, her. I am a resident of District 1 and the Director of Latino Services at the San Diego LGBT Community Center. The center stands firmly behind fully funding the Immigrant Legal Defense Program because we know how much it matters. This program saves lives. It keeps our diverse families together. For LGBT immigrants, it can mean everything. Without it, some are deported to countries where being who they are like me is a crime where they are dragged behind cars or hanged. June is pride. Let us take pride in a program like the ILDP. Please fully fund it. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Nancy Beam. I live in District 4. I work in homeless services supporting our unhoused neighbors in D1, 2, 3, and 4. I'm here with Surge and San Diego Families for Justice to advocate for a people's budget. Budgets are a moral document, as you said, CAO. $3 billion for public safety and $600 million to keep people in inhuman cages doesn't align with my values. Instead, we should be funding rehabilitative environments and sufficient prevention efforts to address poverty and homelessness. Please invest in community care, youth and children, housing, shelters, food and healthcare access. Please invest in the creation of a Department of Youth Development that prioritizes care and support, not criminalization. Please also direct 30% of BHS funds to care for children and youth. And also, if I can ask to please fully fund eviction prevention efforts. The sunsetting of EHV vouchers are extremely concerning to us. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good evening. My name is Kristin Garrett Montgomery, and I represent the Strategic Behavioral Health Initiative, or the SBHI, a multi-sectoral coalition working to improve behavioral health outcomes for children and youth across San Diego County. The decisions before you present an opportunity to strengthen outcomes for children and youth and to align investments with the needs we see across our community. San Diego operates a $1.5 billion behavioral health system, one of the largest in San Diego. Yet children and youth who represent nearly 38% of everyone the system serves receive only 19% of its resources. That proportion is the lowest among California major counties, which averaged 30%, and the plan before you reduces it further. Several members of our coalition will share the data behind these findings. We're asking for three things, a commitment to direct 30% of BHA's expenditures to children, annual reporting of expenditures and outcomes by age, and maintain a partnership with the providers delivering this care. Thank you.

Thank you.

My name is Stephanie Joia Beckman, and I'm here speaking on behalf of the SBHI Coalition. Today, you will hear from our members who share a common concern. San Diego County is under investing in children's behavioral health. Despite significant growth in the behavioral health funding, the number of children ages 0 to 20 served by the specialty behavioral health system has declined 26%. in the past 10 years. At the same time, San Diego ranks at the bottom among the largest counties in California in the share of behavioral health funding dedicated to children. We asked for an increase of behavioral health funding of 30% of total expenditures to be in line with the average of the nine largest counties. We ask for data to be published to show expenditure by program and restoring a dialogue with stakeholders. Thank you.

Thank you. As the next speaker is coming forward, I'll invite three additional speakers. Cheryl Rode, Pradeep Gidwani, and Michelle Gordon. If I've called your name, please come forward.

Good evening. My name is Rosanna Lozada. I'm a CEO of Harmonium, and today I am representing Strategic Behavioral Health Initiative. Our request today is simple. Restore a structured forum for ongoing partnership between County Behavioral Health Services and community stakeholders focused on children, youth, and families. For more than 20 years, the Children, Youth, and Family System of Care Council brought together over 100 stakeholders each month including youth and families with lived experience to support coordinated planning and shared accountability. When the council was discontinued, an important form for collaboration was lost. As California advances major behavioral health reforms, the need for that collaboration has only grown. As California advances broad behavioral health transformation and along with AB 2083, cross-sector participation is not an option but essential and expected. We are not asking the county to create something new but to continue with a structure that had already continued in the past. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker please.

Thank you, Supervisors. I'm Cheryl Rohde, President and CEO of San Diego Center for Children with SBHI. I share the following because I believe the Board needs to see exactly where San Diego stands and what is possible. San Diego manages a $1.58 billion behavioral health system with an 11% increase over the prior year. Yet children and youth who represent 38% of all individuals serve receive less than 20% of the care continuum spending. A new state report now allows a standardized comparison of BHS department budgets across California's largest... and for the first time, we can see where San Diego stands. The comparison reflects only discretionary services and program dollars. The eight largest California counties average investment in children at 30%, while San Diego is at 19%. In practical terms, San Diego County invests proportionally less in children's behavioral health than any other major county in California, despite facing the same youth mental health crisis. Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Good evening. My name is Pradeep Gidwani. I'm a pediatrician in San Diego, and I'm with the Strategic Behavioral Initiative. And I want to highlight the early part of our childhood, right? Early childhood, the relationships that are formed are critical for lifelong mental health. 90% of the brain develops before the age 5. Our earliest years are where the investments have the most lasting impact and where missed opportunities are the hardest to recover. San Diego County has approximately 104,000 children 0 to 5 in Medi-Cal. Out of the three behavioral health funded programs, a total of 525 children are being served in that age group. It's a very small number and The children are, the zero to five population is explicitly a priority under the BHSA statute. The county has both the authority and the obligation to fund meaningful early intervention services. And what makes this group so distinct is the family is the unit of treatment. Building parent capacity and serving families before the crisis happens. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. I'd like to invite forward three additional speakers. Jennifer Kennedy, Jeannie Wung-Sukit, and Lori Johnson. If I've called your name, please come forward.

Good afternoon, I'm also with the Strategic Behavioral Health Initiatives. We want to begin by acknowledging this board's genuine leadership on children's mental health, the youth optimal care pathway, the mobile crisis response team, crisis residential facilities, and how you have made meaningful commitments, and we are grateful. We raise what follows because the data show the need is outpacing the response. 94% of California youth ages 14 to 25 self-reported experiencing mental health challenges in an average month, up from 87% two years ago. These are young people telling us they are struggling, not clinical diagnoses, but a signal no less serious. Locally, suicide deaths rates among San Diego youth increased 6%. from 2016 to 2023, as well as ED encounters for self-harm and suicide attempts increased 12% between 2019 and 2023. And per the county's 2025 health report, thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good evening, supervisors. I'm Jennifer Kennedy, and I'm with the American Academy of Pediatrics, California Chapter 3, and SBHI. This board has made meaningful commitments to children's behavioral health, and we want to build on them. The Youth Optimal Care Pathway, or OCP, is a thoughtful blueprint. The mobile crisis response teams in schools show what's possible when the system is resourced. Over 200 referrals completed and a 70% rate of stabilization in place. That means our children were... kept out of the ERs and in their communities. We hope that this program can be expanded. Yet the OCP's vision and current investment levels are not yet aligned. The high fidelity wraparound program and OCP cornerstone plans for two teams, while the state estimates 15 are needed. The BHS expenditure plan for next year shows San Diego performs below state benchmarks on specialty mental health access, crisis residential, and care for youth in the justice and child welfare systems. Supervisors, in the OCP you approved an ambitious roadmap with a vision that moves us in the right direction. What we need now is a budget to match. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker please.

Hi, my name is Jeannie, once again with Policy and Innovation Center and the SBHI Coalition. We want to share what the proposed budget means for children's mental health services because we believe this board deserves the full picture. This year, at least $9 million in MHSA contracts serving children and families through the early intervention and prevention have already been eliminated. That alone is significant. The BHS budget is projected to grow, yet children's share of the growing budget is shrinking. According to the VHS plan, over the next two years, children's services are reduced by 18.5 million, including but not limited to mental health early intervention for children, which falls from 27.7 to 13.5 million. Primary prevention drops from 3.69 to 2.71 million. and housing services for youth decreases from 13 to 11.2 million. What also concerns us is the lack of transparency around these reductions. We respectfully ask this board to request a full line item accounting of expenditures and program changes across all funding streams. We ask that BHS publish year over year data on children's behavioral health spending and outcomes. Thank you.

Thank you. I'd like to invite three additional speakers. Mike Reed, Ana Ramos, and Lydia Morales. If I've called your name, please come forward.

My name is Lori Johnson. I live in District 3. I volunteer as a clinic greeter for Planned Parenthood, and I'm a fierce advocate for immigrant rights along with ACLU. First, the experiences I've had with patients at the Planned Parenthood Clinic have been eye-opening and gratifying. Every day, people walk through those doors needing health care, dignity, and compassion. The relief on patients' faces as they leave the clinic is an extraordinary sight to see. I'm such a wimp. Planned Parenthood is a lifeline for these patients who have nowhere else to turn. Please support Planned Parenthood in this budget cycle. It's a wise investment. Secondly, I have witnessed too many immigrants being brutally kidnapped, their rights being ignored, their treatment horribly inhumane, and being jailed without due process. I urge you to agree with CAO to continue and expand ILDPP. Finally, also, do not increase the budget for the sheriff until the Sheriff Kelly stops helping ICE, please. Thank you for your continued leadership and amazing compassion. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker please.

Good evening, Board of Supervisors. My name is Ana Ramos. I'm a resident of District 1. I'm also a community organizer with ACE, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. And we're part of the Community Budget Alliance as well. Our organization has been known for organizing working class communities around housing justice. Our members have been champions of legislation like the 2019 Tenant Protection Act which established for the first time the California annual rent cap of 10 percent. So this has been a growing grassroots movement of people who fundamentally believe that housing is a human right and so along with our coalition we are fighting for a vision of a just world where no one is left without a place to call home. So that's why we urge the county to allocate $3 million to create an eviction diversion program so we can keep people housed instead of letting them fall into homelessness. This program would offer rental assistance for back rent and mediation outside of the court systems for tenants. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hi, good evening. Thank you, Board of Supervisors, for your attention. My name is Lidia Morales. I've been living in San Ysidro for more than two decades. I'm also an ACE member and I want to respectfully ask for funds for the pollution that the Juana River is causing to San Ysidro, Imperial Beach, La Vista, Coronado, Coronado Beach and most of the beaches in San Diego. We need an emergency environmental crisis declaration so we can get a solution for this terrible matter. Thousands of families are suffering. because of this pollution, the all types of allergies and long-term damage to our vital organs, we deserve environmental justice. Also funding the police is now helping the most vulnerable, sorry, the most vulnerable. This broken system is criminalizing mental ill citizens.

Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hello, my name is Mike Reed, county employee for 18 years. I'm here supporting the additional positions that are being added to TTC, but I ask that overall the entire employment situation for many of the rank and file employees within the County of San Diego be looked at as rising costs throughout the San Diego County are increasing for housing, rent, gas, food, services. Every person living in San Diego County is going to have a harder time being able to afford everything. And the county employees should not be taking resources needed by others within our communities. Thank you.

Thank you. As the next speaker is coming forward, I'll invite three additional speakers. Barbara Pinto, Michelle Krug, and Maureen Sweeney.

Good evening, Board of Supervisors. First of all, I would like to thank you for listening to me, and I would like to thank Paloma Aguirre for joining us in our press conference earlier. My name is Angela Ortiz, and I am here on behalf of the Youth Justice Momentum Team with MidCityCAN. Right now, our county spends $131 million on youth detention, and we're still not seeing the results that we would like to see. I'm asking that the county invest $250,000 on a feasibility study for the DYD, the Department of Youth Development. A DYD would offer an alternative to incarceration, a place that is secure where youth could heal, grow, and thrive. People want safe communities, and for me, that doesn't mean locking kids up. It means that safety is preventing harm by finding the root cause of what a young person's behavior, like what causes the behavior. This is what a DYD would do. Invest in a young person's future for we are the future. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please. Barbara Pinto, Michelle Krug, Maureen Sweeney. I'll call three additional speakers. Brianna, Maximiliano Juan, and Jessie L. If I've called your name, please come forward.

Hi, I'm Maureen Sweeney, and I'm from District 3. Thanks for having us. I'm here as a representative and advocate of a lot of things in our communities. So I'm at the ICE detention down in Otay, which is so very sad. I'm also involved in going to the rallies at the ICE federal building downtown. I'm involved with Community Heights as well in Planned Parenthood. So this is what we do with our time because this is the world we're living in. It's really important to choose care over criminalization, and you guys have been really good on a lot of counts in their way and it's great to see the budget break out in it and the priorities so I appreciate that invest in the services and opportunities as our County and our it's our communities that need to thrive in this world today. So please be mindful to all the people that are suffering whether their residents are not and we need representation for those people in a in a budget that helps them thank you.

Next speaker.

Good afternoon. I am a student and live in District 1. I'm a youth leader with the San Diego Organizing Project and here to advocate for the Immigration Legal Defense Program because- Can you please, sorry, can you please state your name? Brianna Rangel.

Thank you.

As a resident of District 1, I believe that every human being should know their rights and have a right to an attorney. I urge you to stand with immigrant communities in the proof of the CAO's purpose budget for the immigrant immigrant legal defense program in the county's budget and fully fund the program. ICE agent actions create fear and instability. ILDP provides essential legal services and ensures people understand their rights and have a fair chance to defend themselves. No human should be scared when walking outside not knowing their rights. No one in our community should face detention or deportation alone simply because they cannot afford an attorney. Funding ILDP is about fairness, due process, and protecting families. I ask you to invest in this critical program and ensure it continues without interruption. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good afternoon, County Board of Supervisors. My name is Maximiliano Juan. I am a student and constituent of District 1. We are youth leaders with the San Diego Project and here today to advocate for housing. Because a constituent of District 1, I believe the housing is the foundation... of stability, yet so many people are one rent increase or one emergency away from losing it. We want to begin by thanking you for fully funding the tenant legal service contract. This is a people's first investment that helps people stay housed. From my parents' experience, they struggled to be able to pay the rent because the prices for renting care Renting are too high. Some small apartments cost an estimate of $2,000 or more. My opinion, that's a little high, especially for me, someone that comes from a low-income family. When people have the legal representation, they are far more likely to avoid eviction and remain housed. This prevention works that keeps families together and reduces long-term harm. We urge you to protect and strengthen eviction prevention services to provide our communities with the housing security they need. Thank you.

Thank you. Before the next speaker begins, I'll invite three additional speakers. David, Ian Montano, and Brandon. If I've called your name, please come forward.

Good afternoon, council members. I am a student and constituent of District 1. We are youth leaders with San Diego organization project. We are here today to advocate for the full funding of the continued legal defense program because as a constituent of District 1, I believe that with the constant growth of ICE presence in our neighborhood, there is a greater need for the immigrant legal defense program, which provides legal services. representing people and their rights within this country for a fair trial and to defend themselves. No one in our community should face the intention or deportation along simply because they can't afford an attorney funding for the immigration legal defense. Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Good evening, county board supervisors. I'm David. I'm a student and constituent of District 1. We are youth leaders with the San Diego Organizing Project and here today to advocate for the access of health care and food stamps because as a constituent of District 1, I believe that these resources should be supported more and created to be and continue to be accessible to everyone. Due to federal government cuts to Medi-Cal and CalFresh, Families, especially children, are at risk of losing access to healthcare and fresh food. I know many families, including my own, that need access to Medi-Cal and CalFresh, where it's a resource available to everyone and help them out throughout their lives, especially for low-income families like myself. Therefore, I request that the county support more funds to pursue local solutions that help families avoid losing access to essential resources.

Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker.

Good evening. My name is in Montana and I would like start out by saying that it is an honor to come here speak to the County Board of Supervisors and I am a student and resident of district one and I'm with the San Diego organizing program. And the reason I came here is to say that you guys should really, you know, support the immigration legal defense program because of ISIS rampant disregard for civil rights. They usually just end up in unlawful arrest, even if they aren't actual immigrants. It's just sometimes based off of the profile they get from looking at you. And these poor immigrants are not. They're just, they get screwed over. And I believe that the help would really benefit help them out and it would at least give them a chance and it's not American to just put someone against the odds in the court system. Thank you.

Thank you. As the next speaker is coming forward, I'll invite three additional speakers. Patricia Serrano, Nao Kabashima, and Jermaine Rocacorba. If I've called your name, please come forward.

Good evening, County Board of Supervisors. I, Brandon, a student and constituent of District 1. We are youth leaders with the San Diego Organizing Project and are here today to advocate for the legal representation for children and people in detention centers. As someone who lives in District 1, I believe that people deserve that right to have an attorney that represents them in their case. That is why I am here to advocate for the full funding of the immigration legal defense program so it can get 13 million in county funding. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening Board of Supervisors. My name is Patricia Serrano and I'm a resident of District 5. I work with PANA. And I'm asking the San Diego County Board to fully fund the important program that is ELDP. The need of legal representation continues increasing in our county. We should make sure no one faces deportation without representation. People with representation have 80% more chances to win the case. Immigration law is very complicated and our community members deserve representation. Please stop giving money for the sheriff until they comply with the law. They are collaborating with ICE and making sure for our community members just for being who they are. The pressure profiling keeps going in our communities, and our family members and community members are being affected very highly, especially in North County. So please stop giving more money to the sheriff until he stops collaborating with ICE. Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Hi, good evening Board of Supervisors. My name is Nao Kabashima. I'm Executive Director of the Karen Organization of San Diego and representing Global Village Partners and supporting the Community Budget Alliance tonight. First of all, thank you so much for your transformational investment this year in the Global Village Refugee and Immigrant Culture Hub and its deeply affordable housing campus in Mid-City, Central San Diego County, And this project will help keep our San Diego family stable and rooted in the supportive community. We also celebrate the critical funds won by the Community Budget Alliance partners for family eviction prevention and youth services. And to protect these wins, we urge you to fully fund our shared priority in the main budget, including who defund the Department of Youth Development and Youth Development Centers and protect that location to shield medical, car profession, and car works from cuts. People, please pass a budget that leaves no neighbor behind. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. I'd like to call three additional speakers. Neil Ortiguera, Corema Capuzano, and Chris Roberts. If I've called your name, please come forward.

Hello, I'm Chris Roberts. I live in D3 and I volunteer for Planned Parenthood. I urge the county to live up to its values as a champion of reproductive freedom and support access to the essential health care that Planned Parenthood provides to communities who disproportionately face barriers to care. people with low incomes, immigrants, uninsured individuals, LGBTQ plus communities and more. In light of the recent federal cuts to Planned Parenthood via Medi-Cal reimbursements, I ask you to support Planned Parenthood health centers in our region so they can continue providing care to everyone, regardless of income, insurance or immigration status. Thank you.

Thank you. I'd like to invite three additional speakers, Flower Alvarez-Lopez, Ines Delgado, and Jerry Hall.

My name is Corayma Campuzano. I am a mother born and raised in San Diego here alongside the Strategic Behavioral Health Initiative. And I believe many problems we see in San Diego can be reduced if we address them at the root during childhood and within families. While it is important to support those struggling with drug abuse and homelessness, we also need to invest in prevention. Positive parenting classes are one of the programs that have been cut, and their classes gave parents like myself tools to create healthier and more supportive homes and help shape a stronger future for our children and community. In my youth, I experienced many of the hardships often discussed in our communities, some of which I believe could have been prevented with more parental education. And now as an adult, I know firsthand how challenging it can be to find positive support and guidance needed while raising children. Positive parenting classes help parents build healthier, more nurturing environments. We often spend millions of dollars responding to crises after they happen. Imagine what could happen if we invested in families before those crises begin. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good evening. My name is Neil Ortegar. I'm the Senior Director of Public Affairs at the Local Planned Parenthood. For many communities, especially in underserved areas, Planned Parenthood is one of the only accessible providers of reproductive health care. Eight in ten patients seen at Planned Parenthood are seen through the through the Medi-Cal program and unfortunately because of HR1 many more folks are going to be losing access to care. Without Planned Parenthood, thousands of patients in San Diego will have nowhere else to go, increasing pressure on already overburdened providers. We urge you to include funding for Planned Parenthood in the upcoming budget cycle and help fill the gap due to the loss of federal funding. Thank you.

Good evening, my name is Ines Delgado, a District 4 resident and immigration advocate at the North County LGBTQ Resource Center. Our center's immigration services strongly urges you to approve fully funding the ILDB program. Every day I am working on the ground with impacted families in North County and the first resource we have to offer when a family member is abducted is the ILDP. The program has been instrumental in providing meritless legal representation to vulnerable immigrants, has helped us reunite parents with their children after a month of separation, and ensures due process is not determined by income. I would also like to note that the Sheriff's Department is receiving additional funding despite their active violations of SB 54. I hope that this is accompanied by increased transparency and accountability for blatantly violating county policy and state law. Nonetheless, we will continue to advocate for funding to be redirected to our vulnerable community, not to policing, surveillance, and detention. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

For the record, my name is Flower Alvarez-Lopez with Universidad Popular. I'm taking a break from conducting vote center observation, which I have been engaging in since Saturday to provide public comment on the budget. Universidad Popular is a community-based organization in D5. We work closely with working class families throughout the region because we're deeply embedded and trusted within the community. We understand the serious budget challenges the county is facing, especially as HR1 and federal funding cuts threaten to deeply impact San Diego County and the families that are already facing the greatest barriers to stability and opportunity. We can invest in accountability and harm reduction, violence, interruption, and prevention outside of the traditional law enforcement responses. For those reasons, we call on this body to ensure ICE transfers and notification practices in this county, and we register our strong support for the ILDP program. Thank you.

Thank you. Good evening. My name is Jerry Hall with District 1. Although we keep investing hundreds of millions in programs and services to divert people into programs and services instead of jail, we are currently flying blind. We do not adequately understand our ATI ecosystem nor the financial and social return on our investments. Although we know many negative impacts on our communities of color, both youth and adult, we cannot address the source and impact of that disparity in a timely and transparent manner. This proposal that I provide you states how the county could reduce crime, lower recidivism, and save literally tens of millions of dollars. I urge you to visit bit.ly.com or bit.ly ATI 2026 to review the ask and refocus our ATI initiative to developing the tools and information you need to better understand and lead our ATI efforts. Thank you.

Thank you. I'd like to invite four or three additional speakers. David Barber Dunham. Amber Lee Carrasco and Christy Byers. I've called your name. Please come forward.

I'm David Barber Dunham, a private contractor for the U.S. Navy, retired. And I work with the Childhood Obesity Initiative. And I'm here to ask you to continue funding for Moss Fresco Plus. We believe in food as medicine. Because of poor diet, I was in the emergency every three months with life-threatening issues. I couldn't afford the food the nutritionist prescribed on my Social Security income, so Mas Fresco Plus helped me. And I lost 65 pounds in three months. Got my cholesterol, triglycerides, and thyroid under control. And it saved my life. So I want to help others to have it too. Food is medicine. Mas Fresco Plus. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Amberley Carrasco. I live in District 3, and I'm showing up for Racial Justice San Diego. I care about immigrants and believe due process should rely on an income level. My friends and neighbors are immigrants. Please support workers, families, and microbusinesses impacted by ICE raids. Create a fund to support those who've lost income due to ICE raids. Guarantee fairness, due process, and legal representation of people navigating the immigration system by funding the Immigrant Legal Defense Program. Thank you.

As the next speaker is coming forward, I'll invite three additional speakers. Donna Junior Lopez, Clint Carney, and Joseph Crawford.

Good evening, supervisors. My name is Christy Byers. I live in District 1 and I am a member of Surge San Diego. I am here to advocate for a people's budget because I care about my immigrant neighbors, constitutional rights, and food security. Please ensure that San Diegans can enroll in and access CalFresh without delays or barriers by increasing staffing and support to combat the effects of HR1. I also ask that you increase funding for the immigrant legal defense program to guarantee fairness, due process and legal representation for our neighbors who are navigating the immigration system. Immigrants make so many positive contributions to San Diego. Please support and protect them. And thank you for your service.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good evening, supervisors. My name is Donna Lopez Landers and I am in District 1. I'm a part of ACE and a part of the Community Budget Alliance. My vision for San Diego County is a community where everyone has the resources they need to live with stability. I want change. I want the community to, I want the county to invest and keep strengthening the benefits that keep people fed, housed, and supported, especially since many Residents continue to face rising costs and economic uncertainty. These investments towards housing or community development help people build better futures. I urge you to continue prioritizing care, opportunity, and stability in the budget. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Next speaker.

Good evening, everybody, and welcome to another day in America. It's budget time, and no finance, no romance, and no money, no honey, no nada. My name is Joseph Crawford, and I am chair, elected chair for Ace National City. I urge the committee supervisors that it's time to crush ice raised in our neighborhoods is causing chaos and stressing our community out. It's time to crush the denial of equal opportunity. Crush the illegal evictions. Crush the ongoing tenant landlord hustle. So I thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I'll see you next year, same time, same bat station.

Thank you. I'd like to invite four or three additional speakers.

Before you come up, just a quick reminder. I know that was great, but we are trying to support our community residents without a lot of noise. So thank you so much.

Thank you. Before the next speaker begins, I'll invite three additional speakers. Henry Nelson, Eliana Mendoza, and Jamie Esteler.

Hello, supervisors. My name is Clint Carney. I'm with Survivors of Torture International and the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium. I'm a resident of District 3. Thank you very much for supporting the Immigrant Legal Defense Program. More than 40% of refugees and asylum seekers are survivors of torture from all over the world. And with more than 1,400 people in the Otay Mesa Detention Center, there are literally hundreds and hundreds of torture survivors in OMDC. Many of them experienced torture in a prison or jail at the hands of police or military in their home country, and now they are detained again. So thank you very much for supporting this important program. Thank you for supporting due process, and thank you for treating people with dignity.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Okay. Good morning, Council. My name is Henry Nelson. I'm a member of ICE District 1. My topic is to changing the Civic Center into a transition center. A transition center is to take and get majority of the people off the streets to prevent homelessness, to prevent eviction by having a place where people can go to voice their opinion and to find support. for that because you know, most people who are renting don't have a voice. They don't have anything. They just give in to what the management says. So we should have that to have a place where people can go and people know that they have to support for their house and for their families. Thank you.

As the next speaker is coming forward, I'll invite three additional speakers. Ashley Leyva, Jacob Medina Bataya, and allegedly Audra.

Good evening, Board of Supervisors. My name is Jamie Estella, and I'm a part of ACE, or the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. Housing is the... foundation of stability. Yet so many people are one rent increase or one emergency away from losing it. Thank you for funding the tenant legal services contract. The legal representation is a people first investment to keep people housed, families together, and values long-term harm reduction. We urge you to protect and strengthen eviction prevention services to provide our communities with the housing security they need. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good evening, Board of Supervisors. My name is Ashley Leyva and I live in District 1. I am a member of ACE and part of the Community Budget Alliance. I am here as a concerned community member for the violence from the federal government towards my immigrant friends and neighbors. In my community, I have seen firsthand how the federal government's cruel and unconstitutional policies have teared families apart. The immigrant legal defense program provides essential legal services that ensures people understand their rights and have a fair chance to defend themselves and protect families. I urge you to continue funding the Legal Aid Fund and create an emergency fund for workers, families, and businesses impacted by ICE rates to ensure the well-being of our communities. I would also like to share my support for programs and initiatives that will enrich our communities, such as Strategic Behavioral Health Initiative, Planned Parenthood, Department of Youth, and Eviction Diversion Program.

Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please.

My name is Jacob Medina Batalla, and I am a 10th grader at Castle Park High School, Chula Vista. I am the child of an immigrant father who worked construction labor all his life in this land and paid more taxes than some of the richest, who was kidnapped by armed men and thrown into a detention center. Today, I study all I can. I am enrolled in SDSU, SWC, and I hope to become a lawyer working for justice. I worry every day that this will not be possible without change. I speak today for the many US citizens, my classmates, who hope to work and pay tax to this great land, who are being overpoliced, misguided, underfed, and made victims of the juvenile policing system. These children need help. They need education, housing, welfare, and love. Today there is a chance to make an advancement for these children, for San Diego, and for all of America. We need the allocation of $250,000 to Department of Youth Development, which is far less than has been given to the punishment hungry sheriffs and detention centers who abuse and exploit and harm our economy, the workers.

As the next speaker is coming forward, I'll invite three additional speakers. Camille Richburg, Bob Case, and Isadora Magali.

Love and abuse should not exist, but in San Diego, anything goes as it is inverted. And I want to say congratulations. You guys terminated Malayaka and Zaya's family. How cool is that? All those millions of dollars. And there's other families on the chopping block. And it's interesting how you talk about investment. Because when you invest in something, that means you're going to get some kind of revenue or generate some kind of income, which is what you guys do off of the backs of people. And then also calling it an enterprise that generates millions of dollars. So no wonder why you do that. And it's interesting that we have the illegal immigrant... Defense Fund is what we should call it. And it's getting more money than Public Defender, which has more people that it's supposed to serve. And it should be concerning for Kelly Martinez because we have a district attorney that is making criminals out of victims, putting them in your jail and using Prop 36 to put them into diversion programs. How many people are doing the psych or competency evaluations that are being put in there? Because you know what? If somebody is suffering and needs to eat, they're going to steal watermelons and become a felon.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hello, my name is Issa. I live in District 1 and I am a tenant organizer with ACE. ACE is a member organization of the Community Budget Alliance. Many ACE members rely on the services provided by Legal Aid Society. Thank you for fully funding the tenant legal services contract. In addition to funding programs that help people once they are already in a dire situation, we also need tenant protections that prevent things from getting to the point where you need to go to legal aid. This means rent control, a junk fee ban, strength and just cause eviction, and anti-harassment protections, policies that target corporate landlords and proactive enforcement. Corporate landlords are actively deciding to raise prices, keep housing empty, evict families and more, just to increase their power and profits. They are responsible for the growing need for these programs. I cannot stress enough that we need full funding for tenant legal resources, rent relief, shelters, eviction, diversion, and self-sufficiency programs. But I feel it's important to state that this need will only grow if we don't also regulate prices and hold corporations accountable. Thank you.

Thank you. I'd like to invite forward three additional speakers. Judy Vaz, Ramla Sahid, and Rama Abdi.

Still writing my talking points. Good evening, supervisors. My name is Ramla Saeed. I'm the executive director of PENA, the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans. PENA is a community-based organization dedicated to advancing the full economic, social, and civic inclusion of refugees. I'm standing here with members of the community that are here to show strong support for the CAO recommended operational plan, in particular the recommended use of unlocked reserves for the global village project. We appreciate the county leadership in listening to the community and prioritizing these one-time investments based on historically unfunded needs in housing, health and emergency services. It is a legacy you will leave behind as the Board of Supervisors and as we come together to build a village supportive of our elders, our children. We welcome each of you to come visit with us. Thank you to the CAO for recommending this item and to Chairwoman Lawson-Riemer, Vice Chair Montgomery Steppen, Chair Pro Tem Aguirre, your heartfelt support, courage, and true partnership is felt. Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Good evening. My name is Judy Vaz. I'm a part of the Community Budget Alliance and the Public Affairs Manager for Planned Parenthood Action Fund of Pacific Southwest. This year, our coalition is asking for some of the following. $250,000 for a feasibility study for the Department of Youth Development, adding two investigators to Olsay, and an emergency fund for communities impacted by ICE raids. Lastly, for Planned Parenthood, our affiliate has been working tirelessly around the clock without receiving federal reimbursement. And we are asking for you to stand with us and support us as we navigate this difficult transition. Planned Parenthood is a lifeline. It's a lifeline for my community. It was a lifeline for me when I was a college student. And we're asking that this work continues to get funding so that we can be a part of public health and preventing diseases from being spread, from getting people the care they need, the compassionate care they need and deserve. We're asking for you to invest in health care, invest in our youth, fund health care, not punitive programs. Crime prevention starts with funding our youth and centering our youth in this budget. Thank you.

Thank you. As the next speaker is coming forward, I'll invite the remaining speakers in person. Frances Yasmine Motiwala and Brandon Stepp.

Good evening, my name is Rahmah Abdi, Director of Organizing Campaign with PANA. I'm also a member of Budget Alliance. Thank you for supporting Global Village and ILDP. This project means a lot to refugee and immigrant families like mine. San Diego is a border region that faced fire, flood, and public health emergencies. When disasters happen, families who do not speak English are often left behind. Many times, important information are not available in English. Make it difficult for families who does not speak English to get more information. Global Village will be a place where families can find information, support, resources, and throughout the year. This will provide, the center will provide information in different language and about emergencies and preparedness, fire safety, and public health emergencies. Global Village will do help during the emergency and it will help families to stay informed and prepared and continue to support every day. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hello. Frances Yasmin Motiwala here. Hopefully everyone who lives in the 52nd District knows that they can write me in for Congress in the 52nd District. Well, first I want to actually say I have never heard about a librarian beating up a resident and us having to pay out a lawsuit for that. I have never heard about a social worker neglecting someone so disgustingly that they died in their custody. I have however heard of that happening in the Sheriff's Department from prison guards. So I think you hope you will think twice before continuing to put more money into law enforcement when and and really think about the the criminalization of the unhoused. I have friends who are every night sleeping on the street, and as we try to get resources to folks, there's not enough. So please, more.

Next speaker, please.

Good morning, Chair and Supervisors. I'm Brandon Stepp, the founder and executive director of the David's Harp Foundation. There's an African proverb that says, the child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel the warmth of the flame. At Transformation House, the county's first least restrictive program, young people are walking home from incarceration with community. Last week, I walked through the house around 5 AM. For youth coming home, sleeping with the light on is normal. In East Mesa, lights stay on, room checks happen throughout the night, wounds that take intentionality to heal. But last week, our young man's light was finally off. That may sound small, but I assure you it's a sign of public safety and a young man healing. Philanthropy cannot be the long-term funding source for public safety infrastructure. I'm asking the board to use the county's alternative to incarceration structure to create a dedicated public safety funding pathway for CBOs providing youth reentry, credible messenger mentorship, and community-based alternatives. We're asking for you to fund the people who are the bridge to public safety, not just the bed. Thank you.

Thank you. Before we begin to hear from those that requested to speak by phone, I'd like to recall individuals I previously called but did not speak. So if you hear your name, please come forward. Lynn Booth, Desiree Barboza, Tamara Nessen, Leila Ramos, David Aparici, Barbara Pinto, Carol Bess, Juliana Gonzalez, Eliana Mendoza, Vanessa Azucena, Eddie Barboza, Ruben Alarcon, Bob Case, Michelle Krug, Emily Ortlieb, Camille Richburg, Alexis Ortega, and Jermaine Rocacorba. If I've called your name, please come forward. Not seeing any movement in the chamber, we'll now hear from those that requested to speak by phone. When it is your turn to speak, you will be unmuted and you will hear a recording that will tell you to begin your comments. We will start with our first caller.

Follow the bold. A growth in the economy. Left line right. I'm glad public safety has a good increase of $97 million to 33% of the budget. Public safety has many challenges. Police training, following the law, not detaining people like Andrew Ebbing without bail for misdemeanors. Fire, addressing the dangers of EVs and deaths is important. Boosting fire resources with up-to-date equipment. Behavioral health doesn't deserve the biggest increase there, 140.7 million. And they have its new services like expensive new hospitals are geared to serving San Diego and West County and not East County, ignoring East County and its share of psychos, pedos and addicts. For transparency, I'm not here.

We can hear from the next caller.

Hey, Consuelo here. So I just kind of wanted to remind It's nice to see a lot of people there that come for only these kinds of meetings who pay attention, unfortunately, only when they're told to. But I want to remind my fellow San Diegans that we also have to take responsibility for where we find ourselves. And we trusted blindly. We have accepted explanations without asking questions. We've been far too willing to hand over authority and then look the other way. So a reminder... a government that is never questioned eventually stops questioning itself okay so tonight i'm going to ask you guys to start paying attention read the budgets follow the money attend these meetings especially when you're not asked to ask those difficult questions stop assuming that someone else is going to be paying attention for you become engaged demand transparency demand accountability and remember that every dollar spent by this county belongs to the people first And yeah.

You're from the next caller.

Good evening. My name is Monica Alencarica. I'm a resident of District 4 and the Deputy Legal Director at the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. I urge you to approve the CIO's proposed budget and fully fund the Immigrant Legal Defense Program. As an attorney and daughter of immigrants who settled in San Diego, I've always known how incredibly important it is for immigrants to be able to access attorneys to avail themselves of the rights and processes that the laws and the Constitution afford them. That's even more true now as ICE continues to terrorize communities, including here in San Diego, and trap people in its detention and duplication machine. More than ever, lawyers are basic, necessary safeguards to protect human tactics. We hope you'll continue to fund the ILDP lifeline to ensure everybody in our beautiful border community has access to fairness and due process. Thank you.

Thank you. We'll hear from the next caller.

Hello, my name is Janine Rivera, and I live in District 2. I'm a member of Surge San Diego. I work for the San Diego Library, and I care about all San Diego residents. I care deeply about immigrants and constitutional rights. Immigrants are my neighbors and friends, and they deserve safety. Please support our neighbors who are workers, families, and microbusinesses impacted by ICE raids by creating a fund to support those who've lost income. and guaranteeing fairness, due process, and legal representation for people navigating the immigration system by increasing funding for the Immigrant Legal Defense Program instead of the proposed $3 billion going towards quote-unquote public safety, of which $1 billion goes to the Sheriff's Department, and of that $400 million to the detention services, of which most goes to salaries and benefits. How is this keeping us safe? We need to put our taxpayer dollars towards funding the ILDP and invest in supportive services such as the Department of Youth Development. Our youth need access to.

We'll hear from the next caller.

Thank you for listening. My name is Linda Gibbons Croft. I'm a resident of District 4 and a California social worker member of SURGE. I care about all the residents of San Diego, including immigrants and also constitutional rights. Immigrants deserve safety, fairness, due process, and legal representation to navigate the system, especially children. Act pro-justice, yes, to support full funding of the Immigrant Legal Defense Program. Also oppose the plan for exorbitant sheriff's budget that includes $600 million for detention. Put some of those funds to enliven and support community. Please choose to meet San Diego County's needs for sustained public safety by taking care of the pro-social, pro-living, and pro-community needs of the people. Thank you so much.

Thank you. We'll hear from the next caller.

A communist's truth, the budget's blown to $9 million, which means the fraud is growing. So defund the Public Special Events Trust Fund, which has been fraudulently used to fund the private campaigns of Joel Manuela Plumagire and Tara. There was also a turkey giveaway under Manuela's name that was illegally off-limits to the public, just like Tara stated the county speech was. Defund the Office of Ethics and Compliance, who refused to investigate California code violations committed by Manuela. And since Manuela has misused her staff as lackeys for retaliation against public speakers, defund all supervisor offices and spend that instead on an independent auditor to bring transparency to the fraud this progressive board has committed since 2020. spend money on an independent public records controller since the county's public records unit refuses to release records as evidenced in PRA number 26-2874. The county has violated government code section 7922.535 and repeatedly lied to protect Mimola, claiming records don't exist when I already have them. So I'm going to test the DA's office on whether or not they actually do their job with several reports coming soon. Hashtag no county queen. How do you guys keep lying? We'll hear from the next caller.

Good evening. My name is Felicia Gomez, and I work at the California Immigrant Policy Center. I'm also a lifelong resident of District 5. I urge you to stand with the immigrant communities and approve the CAO's proposed budget for the Immigrant Legal Defense Program, ILDP, in the county's fiscal year 26-27 budget, and fully fund the program. All people deserve due process, regardless of who they are, where they were born, or what they have experienced. San Diego County is experiencing family separation in unprecedented ways, with more than 16,000 people apprehended by ICE between January 2025 and April 2026. This is 16,000 families in our county who are missing a loved one from their home permanently, who are missing a parent, a sibling, a neighbor, etc. This impact is especially prevalent in District 5, where I live, where we have seen the largest number of ICE arrests in cities like Escondido and Vista. This grief and impact of this traumatic separation does not go away. It shows up for generations to come and makes all of our communities less healthy, financially unstable, and unsafe. The ILVP ensures that families who have a loved one detained do not have to navigate.

We'll hear from the next caller.

Good afternoon. My name is Dr. Hillary Bowers. I'm a board-certified pediatrician, senior director of behavioral and mental health services at Children's Primary Care Medical Group, and today I'm speaking as a SBHI advisory board member. Evidence-based early interventions return up to $15 for every $1 invested. Estimated lifetime public cost of serious mental illness diagnosed by age 25 years is $1.85 million per person. Emergency rooms, jails, homeless services, and disability programs. the same system this board also funds. Early intervention is dramatically less expensive than treating a child or adult whose untreated illness has already derailed their education, relationships, and future. Every year we fail to reach a child, the eventual cost grows. An estimated 80,000 San Diego youth are affected by reductions made to prevention and early intervention this year alone. The full impact of additional cuts to this plan are not yet known, but the consequences will compound. We are not asking the board to choose between children and adults. Investing in children's mental health.

Thank you. We'll now hear from the next caller.

Hi, this is John Brady with Lived Experience Advisors. I wanted to call in to support the requests of the Community Budget Alliance. I'd also like to encourage the review of disability accommodations among our service providers as well as county departments to ensure that we are providing accessibility to all citizens of our county. Thank you.

Thank you. We'll hear from the next caller.

Good evening. My name is Margaret Dooley-Famuli. I'm a resident of District 3 and a member of Showing Up for Racial Justice San Diego. I love my immigrant neighbors. Please ensure fairness and due process for individuals navigating the immigration system by fully funding the Immigrant Legal Defense Program and preserving it as a universal, merits-blind program that provides access to legal representation regardless of a person's circumstances. Thank you for your leadership and for standing with our immigrant neighbors.

Thank you. We'll hear from the next caller.

Good evening, Supervisors. My name is Gianna Giacalone, she, her, and I'm a resident at District 4. I'm calling today to advocate for a people's budget, something that ensures everyone has what they need to thrive. That means making urgent people-first investments. I strongly support funding for critical county programs that are facing cuts and growing demand, including health care, housing, and nutrition services our communities rely on. One of our top priorities must also be strong support for the Immigrant Legal Defense Program. More than 16,000 people were apprehended by ICE in the San Diego region between January 2025 and April 2026, highlighting how essential legal representation and due process protections are. I urge the Board of Supervisors to approve the CAO's proposed budget for ILDP and maintain it as a universal, merits-blind program so all immigrants in detention have access to due process. And I ask you to continue investing and staging at programs that keep families stable and communities strong. Thank you.

Thank you. We'll hear from the next caller.

Good evening, supervisors. My name is Becky Rapp. And as you review this year's budget, I'm requesting a comprehensive cost analysis of the proposed marijuana social equity program. For more than five years, the county has devoted staff time, taxpayer dollars, consultant contracts, outreach efforts, legal review, environmental analysis, administrative resources towards developing and preparing this program. But the public has not been provided with a clear accounting of the total cost incurred during that process. Before any additional funding is approved, I urge the county to publicly disclose all expenditures related to the social equity program since work began back in 2021, including staff costs, consultant expenses, and legal fees. Taxpayers deserve transparency regarding how much has already been invested in this effort and what future costs are anticipated. A full accounting of expenditures will allow the public and policymakers to make informed decisions. Accountability begins with... We'll hear from the next caller.

Howdy, supervisors, and happy Pride Month. My name is Esme Quintero, and I'm a resident and renter of District 4 and the community organizer for San Diego Pride. I wanted to start off by thanking Supervisor Montgomery-Sepp for meeting with the LGBTQIA plus roundtable and the board support of the emergency housing contracts approved earlier this year. Pride, as a member of the Community Budget Alliance, supports the full fleet of asks to build a community-centered county budget. I want to particularly highlight the ask to fund the feasibility study into the development of the Department of Youth Development and a fully funded ILBP. I work with many trans migrants across the county, and particularly for our migrant trans women, they face increased risk for deportation, often forced to migrate later in life. Many arrive later after the age of 55 and are relying on sex work for their livelihood, putting them at risk. Please invest in ILBP and ensure that they have access to due process.

Thank you. We'll hear from the next caller.

Good evening. Peggy Walker. Too much funding has been spent on marijuana expansion, something residents have expressed strongly they do not want, putting yet another special interest group ahead of constituents. Funding to support marijuana expansion should not be included in any future budget. Scientific studies overwhelmingly show pot use presents physical and mental health problems, contributes to costly ER visits, hospitalizations, and demands widespread county public health, mental health, housing, and homeless services. It contributes to psychosis, lung disease, cancers, heart attack, stroke, child poisoning, and inhibits youth and young adult brain development. When scientific studies show strong negative health and mental outcomes, the county should not be putting funding into expanding an industry that causes them. Thank you.

Thank you. We'll hear from the next caller.

hello this is christianne hoffman frank i am speaking because i am a volunteer for la jolla playhouse i am a resident in tara lawson reamer's district and i want to encourage the county board of supervisors to support the investment in arts and culture especially to help combat the unfortunate and very nearsighted cuts that the mayor of San Diego is proposing in the city budget. Arts and culture drive millions in our local economy, both in the city and across the county, and reach out to so many underserved communities through work that is done and cannot just be funded by ticket sales and philanthropic donors. So I'm asking the County Board of Supervisors to please keep funding for arts and culture in your budget. Thank you so very much. Have a good evening.

Thank you, we'll hear from the next caller.

Okay, did you go ahead and display my email? Yeah, no, before I talk, hello?

Please go ahead with your comments.

Do you have the email displayed? We don't have it prepared for you to display. Yes or no?

We do not have it prepared for you to display. I asked you to prepare it for me. We'll include it in the public record. Please go.

Okay, so... Time is continuing at this point. Thank you. Okay, no problem.

Okay, no problem. So here's the deal. You guys haven't done preemptive checks to make sure that the immigrants are not voting. The second you do that, it's going to trigger basically deportation. No excuses. Or a $100,000 fine. As long as you don't want to go ahead and do your reasonable effort in our elections, this is what we get. We get selected officials. People that don't know their ass from a hole in the ground. I personally don't like it. What I'm going to find entertaining is the second that those reports are done, immediate deportation. So you might want to go ahead and throw in a bunch more money. to go ahead and try to prevent that, which was already written in law. If you vote and you're not a citizen.

We'll hear from the next caller.

hello good evening my name is ian ceruelo a resident of district 2. i represent the asia pacific american labor alliance and also i am the chair of the san diego immigrant rights consortium or sdirc first thank you for fully funding the budget for the immigrant legal defense program in the county's 2026 2027 budget We need to continue to fund ILDP as ICE enforcement actions continue to illegally detain members of our communities and as the federal government continues to chip away due process. I am practicing immigration attorney, doing removal defense work, and I am keenly aware of the importance of legal representation. The need for legal representation in immigration proceedings has never been greater. I also urge you to stop pouring money into criminalization and jail capacity, but instead invest in our workers by adding two investigators to the Office of the Labor Standards and Enforcement and expand the Workplace Justice Fund.

Thank you. We'll hear from the next caller.

Hello, my name is Madison. One important way we can really support children and youth is to make sure that taxpayer dollars are not used to facilitate the expansion of marijuana commercialization through additional storefronts, cultivation sites, or related infrastructure. As a mother of three young children, I am concerned that the continued normalization of marijuana in our communities is adding highly visible marijuana businesses and making this drug seem ordinary and harmless to young people. Research continues to show risks associated with youth marijuana use, including impacts on mental health, learning, and development. Every dollar spent supporting the expansion of this industry is a dollar that could instead be invested in parks, behavioral health services, youth programs, and other priorities that strengthen families and communities. I respectfully ask the boards to prioritize youth well-being in this budget and not promote marijuana expansion in San Diego County. Thank you.

Thank you. We'll hear from the next caller.

Hello, Chair and County Board of Supervisors, for the record, Alondra Alvarez, and I'm a community educator at Universidad Popular, and I'm calling in from North County, San Diego. I work directly with community members that are impacted by immigration enforcement, and I'm here speaking in support of the funding for the Immigrant Legal Defense Program And I wanted to take this moment to talk about some of the very real impacts that we've seen in the community because of this program. I witnessed how the access to legal representation has reunited families. In one instance, it brought a father home to witness his daughter, his first daughter, be born in one of our San Diego hospitals. Fathers come home to witness their children graduate from our San Diego schools. We live in a city built on the backs of immigrant labor. These families impacted by immigration enforcement are deeply integrated into our communities. The truth is, breadwinners of entire family units are being detained at alarming rates. Once the breadwinner is detained and cannot financially support their family, the access to legal representation is impossible. The ILDP program addresses this innately unjust reality, and I'm strongly in

Thank you. We'll hear from the next caller.

Good evening, Board of Supervisors. My name is Terri Ann Skelly. Thank you for considering for the budget those items that mean a great deal to the planning groups in the unincorporated areas, especially the comprehensive enforcement of the County Tobacco Retailers Licensure Program Ordinance. As a parent, I applaud your efforts to reduce tobacco product sales to those under the age of 21. Please do the same for marijuana products that young adults find so attractive and available. This county knows that smoking and vaping are leading causes of preventable disease, death, and disability worldwide. Both marijuana and tobacco delivery Thank you for your continued funding of enforcement actions that affirm our county's commitment to healthy and safe young adults.

Thank you. We'll hear from the next caller.

Hello, this is Nancy Yamagata. I'm a member of SURGE and I live in District 1. One-third of our county budget is allotted to public safety. Half of that goes to the Sheriff's Department, which currently has the title of being the most deadly jail in the system in the state of California. This notoriety is worsened by the fact that there's little to no oversight of this department, whose mission is to serve and protect me and my neighbors. Our community deserves services that keep people from committing crimes as opposed to share to only respond to crimes. Criminalizing any and all issues that arise in our community is a waste of resources. The cost of incarceration in prison, maintenance is money down the drain. Early intervention for criminal behavior, family support services that address childhood trauma, and offering creative opportunities for marginalized youth will address the needs of our community members before a crime is committed. C-LURB must have unfettered access to personal records of any police officer that's under investigation. Officers must undergo specific de-escalation, empathy, and restorative practices training prior to returning to work and should...

Thank you. We'll hear from the next caller.

Joaquin here. No money to plan parenthood. Mexico is offering free health care to all now. Send them down to Mexico to get their free health care. Especially all the illegals. They've got to go down there. No more free health care. A message to the sheriff. He's doing a great job. And next time there's a mass shooting, only have about 20 guys show up. And then instead of like 500 cop cars, then the other cops to the other places, like five cops to every school and church and in the around community. So there was way too many cops showing up at that shooting. And then the NGOs, we have to investigate all those guys, especially the Somali guys. They've ripped off our country for billions of dollars. Put a scope on the Somalis guys, see what they got going on with the federal government. And then I'm for mass rapid deportation. Thank you.

We'll hear from the next caller.

Good evening, honorable supervisors. My name is Courtney Baltiski with the YMCA of San Diego County, a leader with Children First Collective and a partner with the Strategic Behavioral Health Initiative. The data on access to behavioral health services for youth tells an important story, one with understanding as you consider how to direct resources. In fiscal year 22 to 23, San Diego Specialty Mental Health System served 11,863 children and youth out of 398,763 enrolled in Medi-Cal, a penetration rate of only 3%. The gap represents thousands of children who are eligible, identifiable, and not being reached. The number of children enrolled in Medi-Cal has steadily increased, but over the last 10 years, the number of youth actually served has decreased by 26%. The county's own Youth Optimal Care Pathways acknowledges this gap, but sets no fiscal resource to close the gap. We're asking the board to allocate at least 30% of VHS expenditures to children in need.

Thank you. We'll hear from the next caller.

Hello, this is Catherine Rhodes. And first I want to say that for the city clerk, if you could put the operational plan, the PDF document that should be about 700 pages online, all we have is some websites that have This plan, page by page, you can't read it. I can't read it. It's literally useless. So if you could put the actual 700-plus page report online and also the presentation that was made today. Then I was wanting to talk about the Nail Good Day Center. The county has $30 million that comes in from the 1992 Agreement for Cooperation that could be used for homelessness. It could be used to expand Liberty Station parking area. So it could be 24-7 and we could have tiny homes. But mainly what it could do is it could prevent another hepatitis A outbreak because 50% of the bathrooms are going to be closed in downtown San Diego due to the city budget, which is going to defund the Neil Goodman.

Thank you. We'll hear from the final caller.

Good evening, Board of Supervisors. My name is Maria Miller. I was born and raised in District 1, and I'm a member of ACE. I am a single mother of three girls and have lived in my apartment community for eight years. Recently, my family has experienced ongoing housing instability tied to the student rent balances, rejected rent payments, and the fear of eviction. Despite my efforts, to continue paying my rent. The stress this creates by family and my children is overwhelming, and many families across San Diego are facing a similar situation. Homelessness continues to rise in our region. We urge the county to allocate $3 million to create a pilot eviction diversion program that would help in mediation and rent services, help tenants and landlords resolve issues before eviction occurs. This program could save families from homelessness. We're also saving landlords and the county time and money. Thank you.

Thank you. And Vice Chair Montgomery-Stepp, this concludes oral public testimony on the budget. Written testimony may still be submitted by visiting www.sandiegocounty.gov slash budget. Written comments must be received no later than the close of budget hearings on Thursday, June 11th, 2026 at 5 p.m. All submitted materials will be provided to the board, the chief administrative officer, the Office of Financial Planning, and included in the public record. Change letters from board members and the chief administrative officer are also due to the clerk of the board by the same deadline, Thursday, June 11, 2026, at 5 p.m. By law, change letters cannot be accepted after that time. All change letters received will be distributed to the board, the chief administrative officer, the Office of Financial Planning shortly after that 5 p.m. deadline. Budget deliberations and adoption are scheduled for Thursday, June 25, 2026. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Clark. And just really quick, can you address the budget documents availability online briefly?

Thank you, Vice Chair Montgomery. Yes, we had a comment from one of our speakers about the availability of the budget documents. The proposed recommended operational plan is available online at the website that I indicated at www.sandagocounty.gov slash budget. All the materials are available as well as an opportunity to export a PDF of the budget document. Thank you.

Thank you so much for that clarification. Let me extend my sincerest appreciation to our CAO, Ebony Shelton, Assistant CAO and Chief Financial Officer, Joan Brockie, and the entire county team for your tremendous work in developing the recommended operational plan for the next two fiscal years. This plan reflects thousands of hours of analysis, coordination, and public service commitment. Your efforts have produced a recommended budget that is balanced both technically and legally, fully consistent with the requirements of California law and the county standards for fiscal responsibility. I want to address this because as we go through budget conversations for the last couple of years, some of the terms have been used. I think in a way that has not been accurate. And so I want to be very clear that terms such as projected gap, use of fund balance, or structural pressures do not mean the county is running a deficit. engaging in deficit spending, or operating with a current year shortfall. These terms are commonly used to highlight emerging challenges, guide proactive mitigation, and support long-term fiscal sustainability, not to indicate that the county is operating in the red or failing to meet balanced budget requirements. I want to intentionally dispel any narrative suggesting that the county is operating at a deficit. That narrative is inaccurate and does not reflect the facts. The facts show that the county's finance team is doing an excellent job managing complex demands, navigating a changing fiscal landscape, and upholding the board's priorities with professionalism and expertise. As we discuss the changing fiscal landscape, it is also important to acknowledge the significant challenges that counties across the nation are facing following the enactment of H.R. 1. This major federal overhaul of national social service programs is already reshaping how states and counties administer core safety net services. For our county, the impacts are substantial. HR1 is negatively affecting Medi-Cal, CalFresh, and other county-administered programs that serve as essential lifelines for families and individuals in need. These impacts fall disproportionately on low-income households, immigrants, and communities of color, people who are often the most vulnerable and least able to absorb sudden changes in eligibility, benefits, or administrative requirements. Because of this reality, I am especially supportive of the county's $44.7 million allocation for safety net services in the recommended operational plan on top of those allocations that go into the programming themselves. This allocation reflects a responsible and compassionate approach to budgeting. It ensures that even as federal rules tighten and workloads increase, our community's most vulnerable residents are not left behind. It preserves, it helps preserve access to critical services for individuals who may fall into the temporary gaps created by HR1's new federal mandates. Gaps not driven by local policy choices, but by shifting national requirements and increased administrative and financial pressures on counties. I also support the $5 million allocation for the Global Village, a project of the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans. The Global Village is more than a building. It is a lifeline for San Diego's refugee and immigrant communities during wildfires, floods, extreme heat, public health emergencies, and even acts of violence that we just experienced in San Diego. the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Through a partnership with PANA and the County of San Diego and with support from state funding, the Global Village will become the region's first culturally responsive resilience hub. It will be a place equipped for crisis, staffed with multilingual teams, and built to reach communities traditionally left out of the emergency systems. Constructed with fire resistant materials and powered by solar energy with full backup systems, the global village will remain open when the grid goes down, serving as a reliable cooling zone and emergency shelter. It's not just for emergencies. It is a promise of safety, dignity, and community strength. every single day. And lastly, I want to address Prop 36. I do recognize it is one of the largest drivers of rising costs and staffing needs across the public safety group departments. I do understand why it represents a significant shift in how counties must respond to repeat theft in drug-related offenses. Most of you all know I did not support it for the very reasons that we're seeing right now, but be that as it may, it is here. And I want to flag that I will continue to advocate for strong and sustained funding for alternatives to incarceration, programs that expand treatment, prevention, housing stability, behavioral health support, and community-based interventions. These strategies not only reduce recidivism and improve long-term outcomes, but also align with our broader vision of a justice system that reimagines public safety and prioritizes rehabilitation and community wellbeing alongside accountability. Briefly, too, within the public safety group, I want to acknowledge the work of the team to getting our public defender's office to have parity with our district attorney's office. I think that for years, on top of years, we've seen an underfunding. And so we're trying to cure and correct that one fiscal year at a time. So I do appreciate that additional $6 million and ongoing and the one-time cost. that are associated with getting our public defender's office where they need to be. Lastly, supportive of the $1 million allocation to the Office of Inspector General, it is a key investment in strengthening accountability and transparency within the Sheriff's Department. But by providing impartial oversight of operations, jail conditions, use of force reviews, and misconduct investigations, the OIG will help strengthen public trust and promote safer, fairer, and more equitable public safety services for all residents. Again, thank you to the county staff. It really is a budget that is balanced, but at the same time thoughtful, responsible, and community focused. I also have to thank community members who joined us. We heard from at least 80 people, I think, today. It's about 93. 93, okay. I know it's 116 that signed up, so 93 of you spoke. Thank you for your graciousness in providing your comments within the 60 seconds. We got a lot of information. I was taking notes on all of it. We really do craft this budget for you, and we do our very best to represent you. Your engagement is essential in adopting a budget that reflects our shared values, meets the needs of our diverse communities, as you can see, and advances the well-being of every single resident in San Diego County. And at this time, I'll ask any of the three of us that are here, the additional two that are left, if you have anything to say, Chair Pro Tem. Turn it over to you.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and well said. I also want to take the opportunity to thank our CAO and all of our department heads for all the work that went into this. I know it was comprehensive and very well thought, so I appreciate all of your work. I also want to thank everybody who came and spoke. I know taking time away from your families is difficult, so I just want to appreciate everybody who spoke out and shared with us your priorities. And I just want to remind everybody that tonight is not the final word. It's your chance to be heard and shape our county. The budget isn't finished, so we want to continue hearing from you before we vote. And as you heard, there's going to be many opportunities to do that. I'm here to listen first, but here's what I've seen so far. This budget shows we fought hard. We delivered more wins for South County than ever before, but our work is far from finished first. Clean air and water. If you live near the Tijuana River, you know the smell. Too many mornings our families wake up to the stench of raw sewage and our kids are forced to stay inside. After years of being ignored, that's unacceptable. So we're taking it on. In this budget, we've put $2.5 million towards the Saturn Boulevard hotspot, one of the worst sources of this pollution. We're also creating a pollution crisis chief to lead the response, and we will now test the water at every South County beach every day. But this crisis is far from solved. The permanent fix means rebuilding the broken sewage system on both sides of the border. I heard from my constituents from Lincoln Acres saying that, and I agree. We need to address the issue on both sides of the border. That means more funding from us and also the support from Sacramento and Washington to treat this like the emergency it is. We're also focused on the cost of living. Across District 1, families are doing everything right while too often falling behind. Just one unexpected bill can put families into a dark financial hole or even lose their home. We protected the essentials. We put more than $10 million into helping families keep CalFresh and Medi-Cal, which means even as the Trump administration slashes these programs, people can get the help they need. And let's be quite clear. These cuts weren't necessary. They were a choice. The Trump administration along with his majority congress is ripping food and health care away from working families to hand billionaires to another a tax break. Trump is harming our community so we need to step up and protect our own and that is exactly what this county is doing. Senior meals were about to be cut by a quarter from two million to one and a half million. We stopped that cut and kept all two million dollars. We're also allocating $5 million towards affordable homes and vital supports for immigrant and refugee communities with our local partnership for the advancement of the new Americas. And we're also focused on good jobs close to home so our kids don't have to leave. And our small businesses, many of which are family-owned and Latino-owned, get a fair chance to succeed. This budget is also putting $18 million into our Elevate Workforce Development program, providing tuition help and zero interest loans, helping residents obtain a job in the mental health field. We also launched the BEST program, which helps local small businesses win county contracts. And wage theft steals millions from working people. More than $29 million owed to San Diego workers is still unpaid. So we're adding investigators to get workers' pay back into their pockets. Again, this budget is not final. I'm encouraged by it, but we won't take our final vote until June 25th. Until then, I am asking all District 1 residents and everybody from the county to keep coming to our meetings, call our office, and tell us what your family needs. Your voice can still shape this, and I hope you'll be a part of it. Thank you very much again for being here tonight and to our staff for all of your work.

Okay, thank you so much for those comments and that additional context and perspective.

Chair Lawson-Reamer.

Hi, thank you. First of all, I just want to thank both of you for your eloquent comments because you've said so much, and I just want to echo that and agree and uplift the importance of these budget hearings. I really appreciate everyone who came out tonight to share your views on a document that is – meant to not only guide the expenditures in our county, but really reflect the values and the priorities of our county. I think it is in many ways rather historic, this budget. I think it is a real right sizing of a lot of investments and really does reflect The values that I know so many people across San Diego County share to invest in tackling this Tijuana sewage crisis and making sure that we can expand access to affordable and accessible health care, invest in children, invest in families, invest in public safety, make sure we're safe from wildfires, keep our infrastructure functioning. and effective for all of our constituents and residents. So I'm very grateful for the entire process and all the input over the last year and very grateful for the incredible work of our county team and taking that input seriously. And I think that this CAO's budget draft is something that we should all be very proud of as a reflection of the progress that we're making as a community in trying to do our best to protect our region from the worst kinds of decisions coming from Washington and instead make sure that we continue investing in a San Diego that works for everyone. So thank you. To the whole team, thank you for everyone who came out to testify and who participated. And thank you both to the vice chair and the chair pro tem for all of your leadership.

Thank you, chair, for being with us this evening. That's a huge deal so that we could make quorum to actually hear from the public. So we appreciate you so much. And with that, I think we're done. This meeting is adjourned. Thank you, everyone.