San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom today announced his 2008-09 budget
which includes 450 layoffs to help reconcile a $338 million budget shortfall.
By Jesse Dungan
June 2, 2008
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom released his proposed fiscal year 2008-09 budget today, which aims to close this year’s projected $338 million shortfall through hundreds of layoffs, reductions to department budgets and overtime, and savings from labor contracts.
The $6.5 billion budget also aims to preserve funding for health care, police officers, combating homelessness, education and housing, according to the mayor’s office.
“This year we faced some tough choices,” Newsom said in a statement. “This budget makes careful, balanced decisions to invest in our city’s basic needs and infrastructure while supporting our residents with vital services and housing.”
The proposed budget will eliminate 1,085 positions, causing about 450 layoffs, said Joe Arellano, a spokesman for Newsom.
In addition, most city departments will have their budgets reduced, while a handful of departments will have increased budgets.
The loss of local, state and federal revenues as well as mandated spending and an increased cost of services contributed to the city’s projected shortfall, Arellano said.
However, the proposed budget invests $37 million in Healthy San Francisco, which aims to make health care services accessible to uninsured city residents, a $14.5 million increase over last year.
The budget also provides $38.7 million for street repaving, a $2.3 million bump over last year.
More than $30 million will be put toward developing senior affordable housing, $28.6 million will be allocated for construction of rental housing for families and $28.6 million will support home ownership programs such as down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, the mayor’s office reported.
Nearly $5 million will be invested for three more academy classes to make sure the San Francisco Police Department meets full mandated staffing levels, according to the mayor’s office.
The budget will allocate $48 million for education, including $14.8 million for wellness centers, anti-truancy programs and new service-learning initiatives, the mayor’s office reported.
In addition, $196 million will be allocated for services for the homeless and to place homeless clients into permanent supportive housing, according to the mayor’s office.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is expected to hold meetings and vote on the budget by the end of July, when the budget is expected to be signed into law, Arellano said.
The proposed $6.5 billion budget is a 7.3 percent increase over $6 billion budget for fiscal year 2007-08.
The Hunger Site
June 3, 2008 at 6:08 am
Why is that every year must the people at the low end of the economic spectrum carry the heaviest part of the budget cut burden? Year after year I feel like a mongrel dog begging for some table scraps from the alley way door.
June 3, 2008 at 5:14 am
The city budget delivered in a concrete bunker before an invited audience under heavy police guard. What a wimp.