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Fishing expeditions like this man's at San Vicente Reservoir will continue uninterrupted after fears of budget cuts within the city of San Diego that would have cut hours and days at a group of lakes and reservoirs were quelled. Photo by Karen Pearlman
By Karen Pearlman
June 25, 2025 (San Diego) --Anglers and outdoor enthusiasts are celebrating after the San Diego City Council voted Monday to keep the city's lakes and reservoirs open, overriding some of Mayor Todd Gloria’s budget vetoes.
The council voted 6-3 to adopt a $6 billion budget for fiscal year 2025-26, partially rejecting Gloria’s proposed cuts aimed at closing a $350 million deficit — one of the largest in city history.
Among the restorations: funding for recreation programs at city reservoirs, partial support for wildfire prevention, nearly $1 million in community grant funds for councilmembers and $450,000 for racial equity initiatives.
Some cuts remained, however. The council did not fully restore funding for arts, culture, and community festival grants and accepted partial reductions to stormwater and fire rescue budgets.
The lakes — including Lake Murray, Lake Miramar, Barrett Lake, and others — had been targeted for reduced hours or weekday closures, a move expected to save about $200,000. Those closures are now off the table.
The budget battle centered on differing revenue projections. The council chose not to rely on $3 million in anticipated digital billboard revenue and declined to reinstate a chief operating officer position Gloria eliminated in February.
El Cajon resident Rob Magargal, an avid fisherman and member of Friends of the San Diego Lakes, advocated throughout the process.
“It was quite the ordeal,” he said. “We believe only two councilmembers understood the scope of the lakes program at first. By the end, seven were on board. We’ve won this round, but the fight’s not over.”
Magargal called for a long-term funding policy for the lakes.
“Something doesn’t add up. We need a plan so we’re not doing this again next year,”he said
Gloria warned that the council’s overrides could endanger the city’s financial stability.
“They added tens of millions in new spending without a credible plan to pay for it,” Gloria said in a prepared statement. “I used my veto to restore balance, accepting what we can afford and rejecting what we can’t.”
He added: “If their assumptions don’t hold, they’ll be responsible for the fallout — midyear cuts, layoffs, brownouts, and broken promises.”
Gloria previously vetoed several items from the council’s June 10 budget, but had accepted restored hours for libraries, recreation centers, and popular lakes.
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