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Mayor Breed says her office held outreach and six budget town halls after Supervisor Mar raised concerns
Summary
Supervisor Mar asked Mayor London Breed about public input into the FY2019–20 budget for departments without commissions; the mayor said the administration held six budget town halls, translated outreach and a website (sfmayor.org/2019budget), and offered to collaborate with supervisors on further meetings.
Supervisor Mar pressed Mayor London Breed at the April 2019 Board of Supervisors meeting for specifics about how the mayor's office followed up on earlier commitments to solicit meaningful public input for the fiscal year 2019–20 budget, especially for departments without commissions.
Supervisor Mar said her constituents were concerned that outreach had been “invitation only” and that district supervisors were not informed. She asked how many neighborhood meetings were held, whether they were publicly noticed, and which district supervisors were informed and invited. She also asked whether the mayor’s office of housing and community development (MOHCD), the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH), and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) solicited public feedback on their proposed budgets.
Mayor London Breed responded that her office held six budget town-hall meetings, said they reached out to community-based organizations and leaders in each district and translated materials into four languages, and identified the administration’s budget feedback portal (sfmayor.org/2019budget). She said the town-hall meetings were “held in the districts” and were “open to anyone to attend,” and that she had held one town hall in March with another planned for May. Breed told the Board the meetings were not “closed door invitation only” and that, where applicable, invited participants sometimes invited others to attend.
Breed told supervisors she and her staff have been hosting office hours and that members of the Board’s staff have had chances to join outreach. She said her office would “work with you to facilitate any meeting that you have interest in” and reiterated a focus on housing, homelessness, mental-health services and small-business support as priorities expressed during outreach.
Supervisor Mar said she looks forward to partnering with the mayor and asked for a follow-up: how many neighborhood meetings were held, whether they were publicly noticed, and which supervisors were invited. Breed repeated six town halls and clarified they were not publicly noticed in the same way Board meetings are because the mayor’s staff is not always subject to the same public-notice rules. Breed offered to coordinate with supervisors on additional outreach to ensure broader and more transparent participation.
No formal Board action was recorded on this exchange; it was part of the mayor’s two‑minute topic session.
