Statement on Budget Negotiations

Last week, the Budget and Appropriations Committee approved a budget that improves the Mayor’s budget, especially in the areas of tenant outreach, housing for families and transitional age youth, early education, domestic violence services, reparations, trans initiatives, homelessness, overdose prevention, and living wages for workers. 

I’m proud of many of the wins secured for District 5 and vulnerable San Franciscans, especially in a deficit year. I want to thank all the community members who participated in the process, the Budget and Appropriations Committee, chaired by Supervisor Connie Chan, for their hard work, and my staff for all of their budget advocacy. 

I continue to have serious concerns about a budget that added over $60 million to police– for a total of $776.8 million– while cutting funding for food security and raiding social housing funds. But last week, the Board of Supervisors reversed some of the Mayor’s cuts and found ways to fund many of the things that San Franciscans need. 

My team worked hard to push for a city budget that was a representation of our values and prioritized our most urgent needs. We appreciate the partnership of Budget Chair Chan and her staff, along with other Budget Committee members, in achieving these important improvements to the Mayor’s proposed budget. Here are some highlights below:

• The Budget and Appropriations Committee saved crucial funding for affordable housing for families & TAY youth and added shelter capacity to help meet the needs of unhoused neighbors in a resounding $60 million victory. The Board rejected the Mayor’s raid on voter-approved Prop. C funds. 

• The Committee also rejected the Mayor’s raid on taxpayer-approved funds for childcare and early education programs (“Baby C”). We were proud to stand with families, educators, and childcare providers to defend crucial investments in kids and families.

• We stood strong for workers, securing cost of living adjustments for the people that work with vulnerable San Franciscans every day, and funding outreach and legal services for Chinese, Latinx, Filipino, indigenous Mayan, and unhoused workers on crucial labor protections. 

• We prioritized funding for code enforcement outreach to low-income tenants to ensure our neighbors know their rights and can get repairs. The CEOP/SRO programs are especially important in the Tenderloin. The Mayor’s $4.8m cut to eliminate the programs was reversed, fully funding the programs. 

• The Board also added funding for safety and quality of life improvements in permanent supportive housing sites, many of which are located in District 5. 

• The Board added $2.5 million for rent subsidies for low-income seniors. These funds will cover $1500/month for eligible households, helping to stabilize housing for low-income seniors.

• The Board restored funds for immigrant civic participation and youth civic engagement through the Immigrant Parent Voting Collaborative. 

• We took a major step closer to making reparations a reality in San Francisco. Under the leadership of Supervisor Walton, co-sponsored by my office and Supervisor Ronen, the committee included funds to create an office of reparations, building on the work of the African American Reparations Advisory Committee.

• I’m thrilled to report that we secured funding for a top budget priority in the Tenderloin: a new Urban Rest & Sleep Center. This new site will help give homeless people a place to get off the streets and into a safe environment where they can connect with support, care, and referrals. 

• The budget includes funding for wellness hubs and overdose prevention. Last year, our office worked with the Department of Public Health to develop the City’s first-ever overdose prevention plan, and we have continued working with the department to push forward the implementation of this crucial plan. Part of the plan includes opening up a Wellness Hub in the Tenderloin. 

• The budget includes funding for an innovative peer-led overdose response pilot program in Supportive Housing in multiple sites in the Tenderloin that we championed. 

• As part of our food security advocacy, the committee kept much-needed funding for the Food Safety Net Program Budget Priorities, which includes food programs supported by the Human Services Agency (HSA) and supports majority low-income, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities in every district in San Francisco.

• We also championed a Halal food voucher program at the request of the Middle Eastern community. This helps low-income families buy much-needed groceries and also supports the local grocery stores that carry halal products.

• We preserved community ambassadors in District 5, including our OCEIA (City) D5 ambassador teams. Non-police ambassadors are an important part of promoting public safety, and assisting residents (housed & unhoused), small businesses, and visitors. 

• The Committee reversed the Mayor’s cuts to the Ethics Commission, which would have undermined the commission’s ability to conduct investigations and interfere with the public and press’ ability to track campaign finance activity during the 2024 election period.

• After the Mayor cut the gender‐based violence direct‐services funding from Commission on the Status of Women, upending decades of domestic violence services, the Budget committee added funding to DPH so that these crucial services can continue. 

• The Budget includes significant violence prevention efforts in the Fillmore/Western Addition and the Tenderloin, growing out of recommendations from the community. DPH is funding a new proactive trauma response protocol following gun violence that we partnered on with community members, as well as add-backs for new investments in programming for youth in the Fillmore.

• The Committee stepped up with funding for small business and anti‐hate services and art and culture programming in JapatownJapantown. We are proud to champion investments in the oldest Japantown in the nation, even in the face of budget deficits. Thank you to Budget Chair Chan’s continued partnership to support Japantown.

• The Committee added back funding for the Public Defender, crucial investments not just to make sure people have representation, but to also ensure the office can continue to proactively work with individuals and their families to end the cycle of crime and promote public safety. 

• We also partnered with Budget Chair Chan to ensure that the budget included staffing at the Local Agency Formation Commission to ensure continuing progress toward a public bank, self-determination at Midtown Park Apartments, and Clean Power.   

These are just some of the hard-fought wins in this week’s budget negotiations. Thanks to community organizing, progressive revenue measures passed at the ballot by voters, and progressive leadership on the board, the proposed budget was dramatically improved this week, and that is worth celebrating. 

The budget will now move to the full Board of Supervisors and be presented to the Mayor for signature by August 1.