5 days ago
Lurie rolls out sweeping cuts in proposed $15.9 billion budget
Mayor Daniel Lurie plans on making steep cuts in order to close a massive deficit after unveiling the city's budget proposal on Friday.
Why it matters: San Francisco has faced severe fiscal challenges since its pandemic-driven downturn.
The big picture: Lurie's spending plan totals $15.9 billion in the 2025-2026 fiscal year and $16.3 billion in 2026-2027.
State of play: His proposal prioritizes public safety at the expense of some city jobs and nonprofit funding, a move he said was needed to preserve core services that "drive the economy" and "provide clean and safe streets."
Lurie's plan calls for downsizing the city's workforce by 1,400 jobs — of which 100 are currently filled — and cutting $100 million meant for nonprofits to stave off an $817.5 million two-year shortfall.
What they're saying:"Here's the bottom line: we have to stop spending more than we can afford," the mayor said in a statement. "Unfortunately, in a crisis like this, there are no easy fixes. We are facing some incredibly difficult decisions."
Between the lines: The proposal avoids any cuts to public safety personnel, such as police officers, firefighters and first responders. It also sets aside $400 million in reserves, including for potential litigation as the city navigates federal and state funding cuts.
$75 million would go towards maintenance projects such as fire station repairs and pothole or curb ramp fixes, and $50 million would be invested in 22 technology projects, including a citywide data management system.
Other priorities include maintaining street cleaning funding and a $90 million commitment over three years for homelessness services and interim housing.
Lurie has also made an ongoing effort to tap into the private sector to help pay for some mental health and homelessness services, amid other initiatives, to reduce the burden on the budget.
The other side: Labor groups and nonprofits lambasted Lurie for initiating layoffs and gutting community-based services for homelessness, food access and legal support, which could now face "total elimination," said Anya Worley-Ziegmann, a coordinator at the People's Budget Coalition, which is made up of 150 local nonprofits and public sector unions.
"Difficult choices have to be made in unprecedented times, but the mayor is taking familiar routes: balancing the budget on the backs of working-class San Franciscans while protecting the wealthy and powerful," she told Axios in a statement.
"It is unconscionable to ask frontline workers ... to pay for a budget shortfall they did not create," added Kim Tavaglione, executive director of the San Francisco Labor Council.
The intrigue:
