Boosters of the 55-mile San Dieguito River Park said an April 6 meeting with San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders might be an opportunity to reverse a crucial funding cut that has threatened the park's future.

Sanders, who decided in December that San Diego's budget crisis made it nearly impossible to continue covering $255,000 of the park's $1.4 million annual budget, agreed to the meeting this week after repeatedly declining to discuss the decision with the park's board of directors this winter.

Supporters, who include county Supervisor Pam Slater-Price and the mayors of Escondido and Del Mar, said the meeting will be an opportunity to explain the importance of continued funding for the nature park, which would crawl along the river from Del Mar to Julian when complete.

The park, which is roughly 65 percent complete, has been described as the Yosemite of Southern California. Supporters say an amenity allowing people to hike, bike or ride horses from the coast to the mountains would benefit the region economically.

But San Diego city officials have decided to pull out of a 1989 agreement that requires joint funding of the park with the county, Escondido, Poway, Solana Beach and Del Mar.

They have suggested the park could trim its budget, which includes $944,000 for employee compensation, by reducing pension benefits for its 11 employees and forging new corporate partnerships to cover some expenses.

Park officials have already instituted employee furloughs and slashed by 14 percent the annual contributions from the park's partners. And the park's board of directors discussed possible pension reductions Friday morning.

Other possible remedies include a new "quality of life" tax the county's regional planning agency might place on the 2012 ballot, persuading San Diego to use Water Department money to cover its share of park funding and asking for money from cities near the park, such as San Marcos, Encinitas and Carlsbad.

But it's unclear whether any of these changes would persuade cash-strapped San Diego to reinstate all or part of its annual contribution, which dates back to when the river park authority was founded in 1989.

"I would caution that the city's financial situation is still grim," said Councilman Carl DeMaio, whose district includes the quarter of the 80,000-acre park that lies within San Diego. "If they cut their budget and find other funding sources, that would show the city of San Diego that they're doing business differently."

A spokesman for Mayor Sanders declined to comment Friday.

Searching for compromise

Slater-Price has previously called San Diego officials irresponsible and mean-spirited for reneging on their promise to fund the park along with the county and other cities that it travels through.

But the supervisor said this week that she was optimistic that proposed pension changes, which might replace the county pensions now given to employees with 401(k) accounts, would help forge some sort of compromise.

"I hope we're able to show Mayor Sanders the value of the park and the importance of not breaking this agreement after 21 years," Slater-Price said. "Ironically, this is just when the river park is showing great progress."

Dick Bobertz, executive director of the river park authority, said losing San Diego's contribution could prompt the closure of some parts of the park, including a special bridge across Lake Hodges that opened last May. Layoffs would eliminate supervision required to keep those parts open.

But more crucially, the shortfall would probably require laying off administrators who coordinate the grant applications and property acquisition that have helped the park expand dramatically in recent years.

Several segments of the park are finished, including a 2-mile stretch in Del Mar, an 8-mile stretch near Julian, and about 15 miles spanning from Lake Hodges to where Bandy Canyon Road intersects Highway 78.

But two 10-mile gaps still exist because the land hasn't been bought. One stretches from Bandy Canyon to Julian, and the other spans from the Crosby Estates to El Camino Real near Del Mar.

"These cuts would basically put us in subsistence mode," said Bobertz, explaining that funding cuts would eliminate any ability to plan expansions of the park. "Any increment from San Diego would be very helpful."

Bobertz said planning for the park could resume if San Diego officials restore funding when their budget problems clear up, but he said park officials are worried San Diego might decide never to reinstate its contribution.

Del Mar Mayor Richard Earnest said he was hopeful the April 6 meeting would "bear some fruit," especially when Mayor Sanders sees all the budget trimming that has taken place.

But he also conceded that the river park funding agreement has always been voluntary.

"I think all the cities feel obligated because the river park won't survive without the contributions, but the agreement doesn't mandate it," Earnest said.

Escondido Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler said the meeting will be an opportunity to "twist the mayor's arm."

She said Escondido, which is facing a budget crisis similar to San Diego's, has decided the river park is too high a priority to withdraw its annual contribution of $92,000.

"We consider it an economic investment to give people a beautiful place to hike and bike," said Pfeiler. "People want to live in places with those kinds of amenities."

For details on the park, go to sdrp.org.

Call staff writer David Garrick at 760-740-5468.