Councilmember Bry hosts virtual budget town hall on May 2

San Diego City Councilmember Barbara Bry will host a virtual District 1 Budget Town Hall on Saturday, May 2 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. on Zoom. The city’s independent budget analyst will be on the call to shed light on the budget process, and the community is welcome to share input on their budget priorities directly with the councilmember. Registration for the Zoom call is required here: bit.ly/35de4gR

Bry made an appearance at the Carmel Valley Community Planning Board’s April 23 virtual board meeting as city budget hearings begin this week.

“It’s a very difficult time for us financially,” Bry said, noting that according to the latest projection, the city is seeing a revenue shortfall of $300 million between the end of this fiscal year June 30 and next fiscal year that ends June 30, 2021. About $100 million of it is in the current fiscal year.

According to Bry, the city is getting about $200 million in federal stimulus money but they are limited in what they could use it for.

“One of my priorities is not to reduce library hours and not to reduce park and rec center hours,” Bry said.

Bry said Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s initial budget does call for a reduction in both, particularly closing libraries on Mondays and Tuesdays and reducing park and recreation center hours from 60 to 45 hours per week.