Council adopts FY27 appropriation ordinance and related tax items, establishes Gann limit and maintains zoo maintenance levy

San Diego City Council on Tuesday completed several finance and budget procedural steps for fiscal year 2027, approving an appropriation ordinance to codify the adopted budget, establishing the tax-appropriations (Gann) limit for FY27 and approving the annual tax levy for maintenance of zoological exhibits in Balboa Park.

Finance Director Ben Battaglia and staff summarized three requested modifications to the appropriation ordinance intended to improve administrative efficiency: authority for the chief financial officer to reallocate certain Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) balances for nonprofit facility projects (subject to council oversight), authority to accept and expend grants awarded to the city clerk, and a technical removal of a now-obsolete special revenue fund related to automated refused containers. The council voted to adopt the ordinance as part of the meeting's final items.

Staff also presented the Gann tax appropriations limit calculation for FY27, applying an adjustment factor of 1.1168 and arriving at a limit of $7.03 billion; staff and the IBA noted that the actual tax revenues subject to the limit are estimated around $1.71 billion, underscoring a long-term gap between current revenues and historical purchasing power. Finally, the council approved the tax rate ordinance levying a half-cent per $100 of assessed value to support zoological exhibits in Balboa Park, a long-standing charter-authorized levy.

Council discussion recognized the procedural nature of these steps; the IBA provided context about the broader gap between current tax receipts and the adjusted Gann limit and urged attention to structural revenue constraints as the council implements its fiscal program.