San Francisco Sun

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed released her proposed City budget for Fiscal Years (FY) 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 today. The annual $15.9 billion for FY 2024-25 and $15.5 billion for FY 2025-26 aims to prioritize investments for San Francisco’s residents, workers, and visitors while addressing a significant deficit. Despite an overall increase due to large enterprise departments and their capital projects, the City’s general fund remains flat.

Mayor Breed emphasized the progress made in delivering a clean and safe city, moving people off the streets into shelter and housing, advancing economic revitalization efforts, supporting workers and families, and enhancing San Francisco's status as a global destination. The proposed budget seeks to build on this progress while making necessary decisions to balance a $789 million two-year deficit.

Key priorities funded in the proposal include expanding law enforcement staffing, investing in economic revitalization efforts downtown and in neighborhoods, addressing family homelessness, delivering addiction treatment options, expanding early education policies, maintaining rainy day reserves, and increasing government accountability.

“San Francisco is making real progress to improve our city and this budget will help us to build on that momentum,” said Mayor London Breed. “San Francisco is cleaner, safer, and more energetic than at any time since the pandemic started.”

Key takeaways from the budget:

**Public Safety:**

The proposal expands investments in public safety by increasing law enforcement staffing and deploying new technologies. It also maintains multi-agency drug market enforcement efforts and alternatives to traditional policing.

**Economic Revitalization:**

The budget invests in strategies outlined in the Roadmap to San Francisco’s Future. This includes programs like First Year Free for new businesses and Public Works cleaning crews. Downtown revitalization efforts include initiatives like bringing 30,000 residents downtown by 2030.

**Homelessness:**

The budget proposes maintaining funding for expanded shelter beds and housing slots under the Home by the Bay plan while addressing rising family homelessness through initiatives like Safer Families.

**Addiction Treatment:**

Despite high overdose rates near record highs set last year, the budget continues funding substance use programs focused on treatment and recovery with $45 million from opioid settlements allocated towards high-impact services.

**Early Care & Education:**

Building on existing childcare initiatives financed by the Commercial Rent Tax approved in June 2018, the budget proposes expanding eligibility for early learning childcare vouchers to more middle-income families.

**City Workforce:**

The largest investment is directed towards over 30 newly negotiated Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with various unions representing city employees which include wage increases of at least 13% over three years.

**Rainy Day Reserves:**

Over $860 million is maintained in reserves despite tough decisions made to close the deficit.

**Government Operations Reform:**

Continuing previous efforts under Government Operations Recovery initiative has led to increased efficiency in hiring processes with a significant decrease in vacancy rates across city positions.

The proposed budget closes its deficit by reducing expenses across non-critical areas while utilizing alternative revenue sources. The Board of Supervisors will review it before forwarding it for final approval by August 1st deadline.

For further details on Mayor Breed’s proposed two-year budget visit this page for Budget Executive Summary.