Public Works says $13.8M in cuts trim staff by 46 positions; mayor restores street-cleaning funding

San Francisco Public Works told the commission on Thursday that the mayor's proposed FY25-26 budget would require a 15% reduction to the department's general fund baseline, a cut the department said originally equated to about $13.8 million and led to the planned elimination of 46 positions.

Director Carla Short said the department met an initial 15% reduction target and later was asked to absorb further adjustments. "Reducing 46 positions was a very, very difficult decision to make," Short said, adding that 44 of the positions were vacant and two were filled management positions that would result in layoffs. She said employees facing layoffs were notified before the budget was publicly released and that staff had been provided a packet about rights and re-assignment possibilities.

The nut graf: The cuts would affect both back-office (analysts, accountants, IT and survey positions) and some trade roles, while the mayor's budget partially restored funding for visible street-cleaning services. How the city balances those priorities will affect permitting, contract processing and frontline services.

Short told the commission the amended budget package included specific reductions and restorations: a $4.5 million reduction in general administration and other non-labor services, a $2.5 million reduction in positions, and the elimination of the 46 positions described above. The mayor's proposed budget returned roughly $7,000,000 to Public Works for expanded street cleaning: the addition of 10 full-time equivalents plus restoration of 8 FTEs for a neighborhood street-team initiative, $1,300,000 for equipment, and funding for temporary staff, pressure washing and block sweeping by nonprofits. Short noted the budget is not final; the Board of Supervisors and the board's budget analyst will review and may recommend adjustments.

Commissioners pressed the department on likely operational effects. Deputy Director and Chief Financial Officer Bruce Robertson warned that cuts to "back of the house" staff ' analysts, accountants and IT ' could ripple across city functions by slowing invoice processing and contract administration for many city departments. "If we were to lose a lot of our analyst positions...the impact would be profound, not just for Public Works, but for the Comptroller's Office, the city administrator, public health," Robertson said.

Several commissioners emphasized the visibility and public perception implications of quick cleanup after demonstrations. Short described the department's role in recent protest responses: Public Works crews supported the City's emergency operations center, triaged cleanup requests and performed graffiti abatement and street cleaning overnight. She singled out staff by name: Khaleed Shahaithe (graffiti team lead), Daryl Dilworth (swing shift supervisor) and Nat Mansker (night crew supervisor), and praised new emergency manager Nick Holzapel for coordinating staff during recent events.

Short also addressed longer-running operational issues raised by commissioners. On urban forestry permit response times, she said some permit turnaround appears long because tree-planting permits are often applied for at a project's start but executed at the end; Public Works has recently hired two urban forestry inspectors, aims to fill two additional positions and said inspectors split their time between permits and field inspections. Short said the department is tracking mandated deadlines and expects improved recent performance.

Commissioner Gerald Turner asked whether the department has plans to stage heavy equipment and mutual-aid staging areas for large events or disasters. Short said the department has identified some potential staging and debris-storage sites and will bring mutual-aid route planning back to a task force convened to prioritize emergency routes.

On workforce morale and planning, Public Works said it is trying to be transparent with staff and to preserve some project-funded positions that can be filled quickly if capital funding arrives. Short said some capital programs are funded at a mid-level in the current plan, which preserves paving and curb-ramp work, but the second year is modeled at a low level pending the city's broader fiscal outlook.

Ending: Commissioners requested performance tracking and impact reports if cuts are finalized, and the department said it will monitor and report operational consequences midyear. The commission will revisit staffing and service impacts as the Board of Supervisors continues its budget work.

Votes at a glance: The commission approved the consent calendar (routine minutes, one contract modification and two grant awards) by unanimous voice vote. The commission also voted earlier to postpone item 6 (the Public Works emergency management presentation) to a later meeting; the motion carried by voice vote.