San Francisco residents and officials are protesting spending cuts to housing, child care, and other areas in Mayor London Breed’s record-high city and county budget.
Last month, Breed released the proposed $14.6 billion budget for the next two fiscal years, sparking pushback from city operating officials whose services will be affected and vulnerable residents who may be affected by the cuts.
BIDEN TRIES TO SHAKE LOW MARKS ON ECONOMY WITH ‘BIDENOMICS’ PUSH
The Rent Arbitration Board’s budget is projected to decrease to less than $15 million in the upcoming fiscal year after seeing increases over the previous years. The budget includes a proposal to reduce commercial rent tax, a decision approved by San Francisco's voters in 2018 to fund child care and early education. The move hopes to push businesses to occupy office spaces.
Breed defended the decision to reduce commercial rent tax, saying it “is meant to revitalize downtown in hopes of ensuring the long-term health of this revenue source that ultimately benefits San Francisco’s youngest children and early educators.”
The Budget Justice Coalition, made up of advocates of residents, rallied at city hall on Monday, calling on Breed to prioritize social services and attacking the budget for failing to invest in affordable housing.
The Department of Early Childhood is also facing a significant budget decline, expected to lose around $50 million, which is 8% lower than the current operating costs.
Last Thursday, the Budget Justice Coalition protested at city hall, calling Breed to prioritize working families.
Breed has defended the cuts, saying early education and child care programming are still expanding and that there will be no reductions due to a large surplus of funds from commercial rent tax funds in past years.
Breed claimed the surplus came from a lawsuit when the commercial rent tax was passed in 2018, which meant that the city collected the taxes but couldn’t spend it. Breed also said “having to build out infrastructure once we were able to spend it” resulted in “a significant reserve of hundreds of millions of dollars built up over time.”
The Ethics Commission is slated to decrease by 5%, resulting in a 40% cut to staff over two years.
In a statement following the budget release, Ethics Commission Chairwoman Yvonne Lee said the cuts are “unusually severe” when compared to the rest of the plan and would have a “drastic impact” on the city agency and those who operate the commission.
Despite cuts to multiple areas, the fiscal plan also includes substantial increases from last year for several divisions, including a 9% increase to the police department and an 8% increase to the Department of Public Health.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
A Probolsky Research poll released last Friday showed 66% of voters disapprove of the mayor's job performance. The poll reveals if the mayoral election was held presently, Breed's opponent, San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safai, is favored to win by 3 points in a head-to-head matchup.
Breed’s budget proposal hopes to curb the projected $780 million two-year deficit. The plan was due on June 1 and must be signed by the Board of Supervisors by Aug. 1, with the new fiscal year beginning on July 1.