Mayor Breed seeks supplemental funding for two elections and 50 paramedics

At the Nov. 9 San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting, Mayor London Breed told the board she would introduce two supplemental appropriations: one to cover the expected cost of two upcoming elections and another to add funding for 50 paramedics to the Fire Department.

On elections, Breed said the city expects a February election (including an assessor‑recorder race, an Assembly District 17 special election and a possible school board recall) and an April election (a possible runoff for Assembly District 17). She said the elections were not anticipated in the adopted budget and that the supplemental would cover the costs. Supervisor Aaron Peskin and Supervisor Mandelmann later identified a proposed supplemental of nearly $12 million in the meeting — sources noted by Mandelmann included $6.9 million from the general fund reserve and $5.1 million reallocated from funds previously budgeted for the gubernatorial recall and reimbursed to the city — and praised the inclusion of $3.2 million that otherwise would have been charged to the San Francisco Unified School District for administering a recall election.

Breed’s second supplemental aims to fund 50 new paramedic positions. She said the budget originally added 50 EMS responder positions as a stopgap while the Controller conducted a staffing analysis; with the Controller’s study now complete, the administration and Supervisor Safaie sought to convert and fund 50 paramedic positions to meet response goals. Breed said the goal is maintaining response rates of 80–90% for ambulance calls and highlighted the need to staff for strokes, heart attacks and other emergencies.

Breed framed both supplements as responses to unanticipated operational needs: an unforeseen election schedule and a completed staffing study that clarified front‑line medical staffing requirements. She asked for the board's support as the proposals work through the legislative process.

What passed at the meeting: Supervisor Mandelmann later announced that he and the mayor had introduced a supplemental appropriation to provide nearly $12 million to the Department of Elections to cover two additional elections; he said the funding sources include the general fund reserve and reallocated previously budgeted funds. The board did not take a final vote on the mayor’s EMS supplemental during the mayoral appearance; subsequent hearings and the regular legislative process were referenced.