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Mayor Lee outlines budget shortfalls and discusses expanding Park Patrol, cites $2.7 million estimate to double force
Summary
At the April 15, 2014 Board of Supervisors meeting Mayor Lee said the city faces multi‑year budget shortfalls and that doubling Recreation and Park Department Park Patrol would cost about $2.7 million; he described a staffing reallocation that would raise neighborhood patrols by 25 percent when Candlestick positions are reassigned.
Mayor Lee told the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on April 15 that the city faces a projected two‑year budget shortfall and that increasing uniformed park enforcement would be part of budget planning.
The mayor said the city is projecting a $66 million shortfall in year one and $133 million in year two and is negotiating with 27 labor unions as it prepares a two‑year balanced budget. "We will craft a balanced budget that keeps our city affordable, invests in housing and transportation, and protects our social safety net services for our most vulnerable families," he said.
Supervisor Scott Wiener, who led the question, said San Francisco has "approximately 220 park properties, and almost no park patrol officers" and that the current level — sometimes as few as two rangers on duty to cover the entire park system — is inadequate. "I will be proposing in the upcoming budget process that we double the size of the park patrol," Wiener said.
Mayor Lee replied that Park Patrol is the Recreation and Park Department's "uniformed, round the clock presence" and described the department's current staffing and a short‑term staffing shift that will increase neighborhood coverage. He said the unit currently includes one chief and 24 full‑time equivalent park rangers, supervisors and dispatchers operating across three shifts, and that absences and vacancies can leave as few as two rangers on duty for the system.
The mayor said six park rangers are currently assigned to Candlestick Park and that after the stadium site transfers to Lennar Urban on Jan. 1, 2015, the six positions will be reassigned to neighborhood parks. "By simply revising the current staffing model, the department will be able to increase neighborhood park patrol by 25 percent," he said.
Lee said an initial Recreation and Park estimate put the cost to double Park Patrol at $2,700,000, not including additional vehicles. "Over the next two months, I'll work with Recreation and Park General Manager Phil Ginsberg on an effective and sustainable park patrol staffing model as part of my two year budget proposal," the mayor said. He added he looked forward to working with Board President Chiu, Budget Chair Mark Farrell and other supervisors on the proposal.
The mayor also reiterated his support for a consensus process on raising the minimum wage, noting a city working group had just begun meeting. He said such policy work should include city officials, businesses, labor and community groups.
What happens next: the mayor said his budget proposal later this year will include Park Patrol staffing options and that he will coordinate with Recreation and Park General Manager Phil Ginsberg and the Board during the two‑year budget process.
