SFFD warns of tighter budgets; behested-payments waiver could allow private funding for apparatus

Chief of Department Dean Crispin told the San Francisco Fire Commission on April 23 that the department is negotiating with the mayor’s office after new budget instructions flagged a potential multi-year shortfall and that officials are pursuing alternative funding options for apparatus.

The department’s immediate priorities remain staffing, apparatus and facilities, Crispin said. “We are internally discussing where we can become more efficient, and those conversations will continue,” he said. He added that the department has been given “new instructions that show a potential” budget shortfall in the coming two years; the figure cited in the meeting materials and remarks was unclear in the transcript.

Why it matters: apparatus and staffing are central to the department’s ability to respond to fires and medical emergencies across San Francisco. Commissioners asked whether the department could be…