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Mayor declines to commit to wage and tenant-defense funding as San Francisco budget season begins
Summary
Mayor Mark Farrell told the Board of Supervisors he would not commit yet to funding proposed minimum compensation increases or half the cost of universal tenant legal representation, citing a pending budget shortfall and multi-year fiscal pressures.
Mayor Mark Farrell told the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on March 13 that he would not make firm funding commitments for proposed wage increases or expanded tenant legal defense in his upcoming budget proposal.
During the supervisors' question period, Board President London Breed asked whether the mayor would commit to funding at least a $0.50 hourly increase for workers covered by the city's Minimum Compensation Ordinance and to cover at least half of the estimated cost of providing full-scope legal representation to tenants facing eviction. Farrell said he understood the urgency but declined to commit, citing a still-unsettled budget process and multi-year structural shortfalls.
Farrell told the board that departmental budget submissions arrived recently and that the city is facing a projected two-year deficit of "$200,000,000 plus" and a five-year shortfall projected at more than $700,000,000. He said those projections made it premature and “reckless” to promise specific funding levels now, and pledged to work with supervisors during the budget process.
The mayor described San Francisco's fiscal history and recent improvements, crediting prior administrations and voter-approved reforms for stronger reserves and citing a recent Moody's bond-rating upgrade. He said the administration will reconcile shortfalls before setting firm spending priorities.
Board President Breed framed the question by noting two pieces of legislation moving through the board: amendments to the Minimum Compensation Ordinance and an ordinance introduced by Supervisors Sheehy and Cohen to provide full-scope legal representation for tenants. Breed asked Farrell to fund at least $0.50 of the wage increase effective July 1, 2018, and at least half of the revised controller estimate for tenant legal representation, which she said ranged between $3.1 million and $3.8 million.
Farrell said his office is finalizing the budget and emphasized fiscal restraint given uncertain federal policy and revenue risks. He said he was prepared to work with the board on priorities after the city reconciles its shortfall. He concluded, briefly, “So the answer is no,” when asked for the commitment.
No formal action was taken during the exchange; the item served as a public acknowledgment of competing budget pressures and the administration's current stance on near-term funding commitments.
