The county has a commendable track record of saving for a rainy day. It has also earned a reputation for hoarding tax dollars even as crises like homelessness and mental illness grip our communities. Now, as we grapple with President Trump’s tariffs, economic chaos and haphazard cuts that will directly impact the county’s budget, it’s clear that this year is the time to reconcile responsible saving with responsible governing.
The recently released draft budget for San Diego County is a testament to responsible governance: balanced, prudent and focused on protecting vital services amid tightening financial pressures. But with the Trump istration working to slash Medicaid, housing assistance and public health, our budget could be thrown out of balance at any moment.
This is why we proposed more modernization and transparency in how the county saves for the future. While well-intentioned, the county’s current reserve policy is outdated and does not follow best financial practices.
Republicans in Congress are pushing a bill that includes the largest Medicaid and food assistance cuts in American history. The impacts of these proposed cuts would be devastating for San Diego County, putting up to 12,000 local families, older adults and veterans at risk of losing their housing vouchers. It could also slash a program that helps low-income San Diegans, including older adults, keep their lights and heat on.
According to the Government Finance Officers Association, reserves should be based on recurring operational costs — the day-to-day expenses required to keep government running. Our proposal adopts this standard, ensuring we save for what really matters: services like public safety payroll, behavioral health treatment and emergency response.
Under the current model, the county requires nearly $973 million in reserves. Using the Government Finance Officers Association standard, we could responsibly free up tens of millions of dollars that could be used for a period of economic and political uncertainty such as this.
The second technical flaw we want to fix is one that paints an incomplete picture of the county’s true resources. Imagine having $5,000 in an emergency fund and another $3,000 set aside for your child’s braces. Under the county’s logic, you can’t count the dental money as part of your savings — even though the orthodontist savings could be repurposed if needed.
The county currently does exactly this by only counting money in its “unassigned” fund balance — dollars not tied to any specific use — toward the reserve requirement. It currently excludes the “assigned” fund balance — money set aside for certain operational needs, like how you‘d budget for your kid’s dental work — even though it is still flexible and controlled by the board.
We’re proposing a smarter, more transparent standard — one that includes both types of savings while applying strict limits on how they can be used. These funds could only be tapped in the event of federal or state funding cuts, or during a declared economic recession. Even then, no more than 25% could be spent in a single year.
This is not a blank check. It’s a safeguard.
Sadly, the need for such a safeguard is already here. Federal cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have already eliminated $40 million for county infectious disease testing and emergency preparedness. Congressional Republicans have also proposed $880 billion in Medicaid cuts, putting health care at risk for 900,000 San Diego County residents and undermining behavioral health, maternal care, lifesaving treatment and the ability to see a doctor.
Despite these risks, the Board of Supervisors failed to our reserves proposal. Our Republican colleagues mischaracterized it as raiding our reserves, which it is not. It’s a responsible update rooted in national best practices and fiscal realism.
We hope the threatened federal cuts don’t materialize, and we never have to use our reserve funds. But if Washington withholds public funds from San Diego County’s taxpayers, this proposal means our region is ready to step in without chaos, without panic, and without delay.
If Washington doesn’t want to do its job, San Diego County has no choice but to find new ways to do ours.
Lawson-Remer is a Democrat and vice chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors representing District 3. She lives in Encinitas. Montgomery Steppe is a Democrat and a member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors representing District 4 and lives in San Diego.
