Budget Department seeks 44 new staff, major procurement overhaul and $300,000 transit mitigation allocation

The Department of Budget and Fiscal Services on Thursday presented a package of staffing and systems requests aimed at speeding procurement and reducing backlogs citywide.

Director Kawano told the Council the department is proposing a reorganization that would add 44 full‑time positions across divisions, including 10 new staff in the purchasing section, six hires in Treasury for real property tax work and one additional procurement officer. "We're looking at adding the section that will require, that will require, 7 FTEs," Director Kawano said, describing the new purchasing subsection intended to reduce each buyer's caseload.

The requests are part of an effort to reduce procurement bottlenecks that the department says arise from high per‑buyer workloads, unclear specifications from agencies and outdated systems. Purchasing buyers currently average about 80 procurement actions a year; BFS wants to lower that to about 60 by adding staff, an executive assistant for strategic initiatives, a procurement clerk and training resources. The request includes roughly $57,000 for furniture and computer upgrades and $19,500 for a recurring training program with the National Institute of Government Purchasing.

Kawano also proposed an end‑to‑end procurement process study by an outside consultant to assess whether the City's CGI ERP purchasing module should be upgraded or replaced. The department cited peer city initiatives and said the study would inform whether new software and multi‑year work are needed to modernize workflows.

Separately, BFS asked the Council to appropriate $300,000 to the transit construction mitigation fund created by ordinance to help residents affected by rail construction. The department also reiterated a standing capital commitment: a $10 million annual contribution under the City's full funding grant agreement for rail construction.

The budget presentation highlighted several cost pressures: increases in salaries and current expenses, vacancies that BFS expects to reduce from 59 toward 44 filled positions this year, and heavy overtime in real property assessment and accounting functions. Kawano said grant‑funding uncertainty and rising workloads for grant reporting and Section 8 obligations are drivers of overtime and hiring needs.

Councilmembers raised retention and recruitment questions, including proposals for hiring above minimum pay and short‑term incentives funded from vacancy savings. Kawano said the department is piloting hiring‑above‑minimum and considering targeted incentives primarily for procurement and other hard‑to‑fill roles.

The department did not secure immediate Council approval during the briefing; the items were presented as formal budget asks for Council consideration during the FY‑26 appropriation process.