The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has voted 3-2 to change policies aimed at allowing the county to tap into its financial reserves to offset cuts.
The supervisors said that the plan will protect the county’s residents from the Trump administration slashing health care and food assistance programs by using its ample financial reserves.
However, not every member of the board was enthusiastic about the vote.
Today the Board voted to raid San Diego County’s reserves — a reckless step backward.San Diego is already drowning in debt, yet $40.8 million of taxpayer savings will now go to staff bonuses instead of public safety, infrastructure, or essential services. Dollars meant for…
— Supervisor Jim Desmond (@jim_desmond) August 26, 2025According to Lawson-Remer and Montgomery Steppe, nearly 400,000 San Diegans risk losing health care, and 100,000 could lose food assistance.
“We can’t let San Diego be dragged into a fiscal storm by Washington,” Lawson-Remer said. “This reform is our bridge – protecting health care, food and public safety now, while we work toward long-term solutions to keep San Diegans healthy, fed and safe.”
Defenders of the bill say it delivers conservative economic principles, tax cuts for families and businesses, enhances border security, and will boost economic growth.
The supervisors’ proposal makes two updates to the county’s reserve policy:
Modifying the reserve target calculation to two months of operating expenses only, reducing said target from $973 million to $945 million; and Recognizing all locally controlled reserves, not just “unassigned” funds.Both of these changes, which the supervisors say follow best practices, would open up around $380 million in “flexible, Board-controlled reserves that could help stabilize services in the face of federal or state cuts, or during an economic recession over the next four fiscal years,” they said.
“This is about smart fiscal governance,” Montgomery Steppe said. “We’re not touching long-term savings for frivolous expenses; we’re making sure that when families need us most, we have the tools to respond.”
Following a future presentation by the chief administrative officer, any proposal to spend the reserves will require approval by at least four supervisors.
Officials have said that Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which passed Congress earlier this year, is projected to cost the county more than $300 million each year in additional costs or lost revenue.
The move followed a previous, nearly-identical proposal in April to unlock some reserves, which failed by a vote of 2-1-1.
In a statement, Lawson-Remer said the previous vote “wasn’t just a procedural setback – it was a choice to tie our hands while Washington walks away from its responsibilities.”
“We offered a common-sense solution to safeguard San Diego’s most vulnerable communities,” she said. “Instead, our Republican colleagues chose polemics and posturing over preparedness.”
Lawson-Remer and Montgomery Steppe say no more than 25% of the newly available reserves would be available in a single fiscal year.
The renewed proposal also sets up guardrails for using the reserves, only allowing funds to be accessed in tough economic times and requiring an additional vote by the board.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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