Board approves $86 million in supplemental appropriations to cover police and sheriff overtime after months of debate

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9–2 on May 6 to approve an ordinance (Item 25) that reallocates roughly $86 million to cover overtime expenses in the current fiscal year for the Police and Sheriff’s departments.

The ordinance directs about $61 million to police overtime and about $30 million to sheriff overtime, funded in part by an appropriation of approximately $5.4 million from the city’s general reserve and $311,000 in boarding-of-prisoners revenue; it also deappropriates roughly $86.3 million from salary and capital lines and shifts those funds to overtime. Supervisor Walton and Supervisor Fielder voted no; nine supervisors voted in favor.

Why it matters: Board members said the choice was stark: approve the supplemental to pay for hours already worked and preserve public-safety operations, or refuse and force the controller to restrict spending, which could freeze budgets and delay payments. Several supervisors and staff described structural problems — chronic understaffing, long-running recruitment shortfalls, and…