Fiscal Analysis of the City of San Diego

The San Diego County Taxpayers Association periodically conducts reviews of municipal agencies in San Diego County to provide taxpayers and the general public with some basic information about their local governments. This report series intends to go beyond providing summary information of basic facts and instead begin to identify and explore some of the major trends found within the data.

The following analysis of the of the City of San Diego presents a comprehensive review of the city's fiscal trajectory from 2011 to the present. We analyze historical budget data to determine some of the factors that have contributed to the state of the the city’s current finances including financial forecasting practices, trends in personnel expenditures and population growth, as well as infrastructure needs and deferred maintenance. We also evaluate a sample of the city’s Key Performance Indicator’s to determine the relationship between expenditures and programming, and outcomes for the taxpayer. This report is intended to call attention to persistent issues in municipal budgeting that generate inefficiencies, identify changes that can be made, and highlight good governance whenever applicable.