San Francisco Mayor’s Budget Slashes Homelessness Funding

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has released a $16 billion budget proposal that cuts funding for homelessness and supportive housing services.

In total, 21 departments would get funding decreases, the San Francisco Standard reported.

The Homelessness and Supportive Housing department is slated to lose nearly $104 million. The Office of Economic and Workforce Development could see a $57 million drop. The Department of Public Works, which plans, designs, builds and maintains infrastructure, is facing a $26 million cut. The Ethics Commission, Human Rights Commission and Arts Commission would also see funding slashed.

The budget would either increase funding or maintain current levels for safety-focused services like the San Francisco Police Department, the public defender’s office, and the district attorney’s office. Lurie is proposing a total budget of $15.9 billion in fiscal 2026 and $16.3 billion in fiscal 2027. His predecessor London Breed proposed a $15.9 billion budget for fiscal 2024 and $15.5 billion for fiscal 2025.

Most city departments would see a budget increase under the new proposal. The Department of Emergency Management, which houses the 911 dispatch center, will get the largest increase of the city’s enterprise agencies, or those that are largely self-sufficient with independent budget processes,with a total budget of approximately $161.2 million. The Juvenile Probation Department, City Treasurer, Tax Collector and the Board of Supervisors would also see a 10 percent funding bump.

Of the non-enterprise agencies, the Department of Human Services would get the biggest increase overall of $81 million. The police, fire, and sheriff’s department would each get at least a $22 million increase.

The proposal would cut more than 1,400 jobs from city agencies, the bulk of which would stem from elimination of vacant positions. Lurie also proposed cuts to nonprofit contracts of about $185 million over the next two years, similar to nonprofit reductions proposed by Breed.

Lurie defended the budget on May 30 as necessary in order to tamp down a ballooning deficit in the city that has only worsened over the past decade with the tech boom and the pandemic. The goal is to shave down the city’s $782 million deficit over the next two years.

“Here’s the bottom line: We have to stop spending more than we can afford,” Lurie said. “The era of soaring city budgets and deteriorating street conditions is over.”

Lurie acknowledged his balanced budget proposal would need more time than two years to take an estimated $300 million out of the deficit. The mayor is hoping that the cuts, combined with higher-than-expected estimates for tax revenue in coming years, will help close the gap.

— Chris Malone Méndez