Advocates warn almost-finalized SF budget sets up drastic future cuts

A coalition of dozens of nonprofit, labor and community groups organizing to push back against a range of proposed cuts to San Francisco’s budget are warning the soon-to-be-finalized two-year plan sets the stage for even more drastic slashing down the line.

A key budget committee of San Francisco supervisors signed off on a $15.9 billion budget late last month that restored tens of millions of dollars worth of cuts from Mayor London Breed’s proposal, which was released at the end of May.

Advocates organizing under the banner of the People’s Budget Coalition, however, say that the money that has been clawed back still makes up only a small fraction of the estimated $100 million in cuts that remain, a figure they describe as “devastating.”

Furthermore, they argue that the plan — which somewhat increases overall spending — fails to address The City’s long-term deficit, setting the stage for further cuts that fall most heavily on city programs serving low-income residents.

“We’re absolutely more fearful that those hard times are coming and that communities are going to be the first people cut,” said Anya Worley-Ziegmann, a staff member with the coalition.

The mayor’s budget seeks to balance a $780 million deficit over the next two years, a funding shortfall that has developed as post-pandemic economic shocks batter once-reliable funding sources for The City.

In drawing up her budget proposal, Breed’s office maintained that planners took pains to avoid cuts that reduced staffing for direct city services, instead looking for savings in programs that focus primarily on advocacy and outreach.

But now that the budget is nearly finalized, critics say the mayor’s decision to shift tens of millions of dollars towards police staffing and downtown revitalization — both key issues in Breed’s campaign for reelection — has come at the expense of programs for vulnerable residents, running the gamut from employment opportunities for the homeless to domestic-violence survivors.

“It’s the mayor’s budget, and she has chosen to disinvest in community in all areas,” said Worley-Ziegmann.

When all was said and done, the proposal released from the final day of budget-committee deliberations June 26 reversed roughly $33 million in cuts for the upcoming year. Such funding restorations are a routine part of the annual budgeting process.

This year, the so-called “add backs” returned funding support for things like oral health for children, violence-prevention programs, food support, and the Dream Keeper Initiative , a fund set aside for investments in the Black community.

“We do want to acknowledge that everything that we did win is really important as well and will help a lot of communities keep fighting,” said Worley-Ziegmann.

She cautioned, however, that those savings are just a drop in the bucket when compared to the massive program cuts that have not been reversed.

The People’s Budget Coalition estimated those cuts total roughly $100 million, a figure that the group said it painstakingly compiled using publicly available information as well as correspondence with city agencies.

Among the cuts that the coalition has identified, it is warning that the reductions will lead to a downsizing of The City’s homeless-outreach program responsible for connecting unhoused residents with shelter and medical support; a $23 million drop in funding for city-backed programs serving young people; and a 50% reduction in funding for a program that offers free tuition for City College of San Francisco courses .

Responding to the criticism, the mayor’s office said that some of the identified cuts reflect drawdowns of one-time funding from pandemic-related sources.

In addition, The City has attempted to primarily cut toward historically underperforming programs or those that have not been using their full budget allotments, said Breed spokesperson Parisa Safarzadeh. She pointed out that programs to rehouse homeless families and support early childhood education will actually expand.

Even after this year’s cuts, Safarzadeh added, investments in human welfare and neighborhood programs in this year’s budget will still total $3 billion, a figure that dwarfs expenditures on public safety and criminal justice, which together add up to $2.1 billion.

Still, People’s Budget Coalition organizer argue that far more budget savings could have been found. For example, they have demanded that the mayor do more to reign in the salaries of high-earning city employees.

They also take issue with the 6% increase in the San Francisco Police Department’s budget , and the millions going toward the mayor’s plan to spur downtown business activity, highlighting in particular a $3 million proposed expenditure to fund a free parking program.

In contrast, nonprofit leaders say funding for their programs has been neglected, exacerbating a hiring and retention crisis facing the sector.

“Our workers are falling behind,” said Debbi Lerman, who directs the San Francisco Human Services Network, “and at some point, you’re going to see services failing and even entire organizations failing. It’s been basically setting us up for failure.”

And with San Francisco’s fiscal outlook only expected to worsen, critics of the mayor’s budget see no light at the end of the tunnel.

Those critics include Supervisor Connie Chan, who chairs the board’s Budget and Appropriations Committee, which passed the revised budget proposal. Afterwards, Chan warned that unless The City takes more action to reduce its looming deficit challenges, it could soon face a “fiscal cliff.”

“If we are unwilling to do what is necessary, it will be done for us in six months,” Chan warned.

A report from San Francisco’s Controller’s Office released last month also found that the budget’s heavy reliance on one-time spending will exacerbate The City’s structural deficit , which is expected to balloon to nearly a billion dollars in just two years.

In turn, the report warned, this will make “future budget gaps more difficult to close.”

The proposed two-year budget will go before the full Board of Supervisors in the coming weeks, and is widely expected to gain approval without further amendments before heading to the mayor’s desk for a signature by the end of the month.

“The ball is rolling now for this year,” said Worley-Ziegmann, adding, “we can only fight again next year.”