San Diego faces a new $17M budget hole, largely due to backing off Balboa Park paid parking

San Diego faces a new, nearly $17 million budget hole that will likely prompt city officials to more quickly implement service cuts that weren’t supposed to take effect until summer, a 73-page analysis says.

The key drivers of the new deficit for the ongoing fiscal year include lower hotel tax projections of $7.5 million, along with delays and changes to implementing paid parking in Balboa Park that are now projected to cost the city nearly $9 million.

The analysis, called a mid-year budget report, does not specify which emergency cuts are likely to be immediate. Those cuts may be discussed Wednesday when the analysis is presented to the City Council’s budget committee.

The new $16.8 million budget hole is separate from a roughly $110 million projected deficit the city faces in the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1. Making cuts quickly could help shrink both projected gaps.

The new hole comes with the city in arguably its worst position to deal with such a deficit in more than a decade. The city, which has a $2.2 billion annual budget, has no excess cash on hand, and its reserves are at a relatively low $207.1 million.

Mayor Todd Gloria and the council have canceled a...