Santa Monica has balanced its General Fund ahead of schedule and is pouring nearly $110 million into capital projects across the city, Mayor Caroline Torosis announced in her State of the City address on Friday, July 24.

In September 2025, the city declared fiscal distress after paying $229 million in legal settlements. The budget for fiscal year 2025-26 projected a roughly $10.8 million deficit, according to Los Angeles Times reporting at the time. Torosis told the crowd gathered on Main Street, outside the Ocean Park Branch Library, that the turnaround now frees the city to spend.

"A balanced budget is the difference between making promises and keeping them," Torosis said.

The $110 million covers Memorial Park, a replacement field at Airport Park, improvements to Virginia Avenue Park, restoration of the Camera Obscura, renewal of the Main Library, and infrastructure repairs citywide. The mayor's address did not break out costs by project.

Housing

The city approved nearly 1,800 new homes this year, including more than 450 permanently affordable units. Torosis noted that nearly 70 percent of Santa Monica residents are renters and announced two new programs: Santa Monica Renter Aid, a $6 million assistance fund launched the week of July 24, and Right to Counsel, which provides legal representation to tenants facing eviction.

Airport redevelopment

Santa Monica Airport is scheduled to close at the end of 2028. Its 192 acres will then begin a transformation into what Torosis described as a public park with fields, trails, gathering spaces, and natural areas.

"This land will return to Santa Monica, and Santa Monicans are helping to shape what it becomes," Torosis said.

Planning is already underway. On Tuesday, June 9, the City Council accepted a $10 million Proposition 4 grant from California State Parks for the Airport Conversion Project and a separate $499,149 planning and design grant from the Regional Parks and Open Space District, according to council minutes.

Public safety and services

The Santa Monica Police Department reached full sworn staffing for the first time in more than 20 years, and serious crime dropped 12.5 percent, according to the address. Big Blue Bus carried 10 million riders for the second consecutive year.

City crews removed 502 tons of debris in the six months before the address, more than 97 percent above the same period a year earlier, according to Torosis. First-round plan checks are now completed on time more than 90 percent of the time, a 40-point improvement in four months.

All five city library branches are open for full service for the first time since the pandemic. The Ocean Park Branch Library returned to full librarian staffing in January and expanded to four full-service days in July.

What's next

The City Council called a General Municipal Election for Tuesday, November 3. Residents can track city performance metrics at santamonica.gov. No public comment deadline for the airport redevelopment planning process has been announced.