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SFPD presents FY26–27 budget priorities amid mayor’s 15% general-fund reduction target
Summary
SFPD said its base budget is roughly $840.7 million across funds, with a general-fund operating budget of about $723 million; the department described staffing shortages, overtime reliance and requests for vehicles in the upcoming budget amid mayoral direction for a 15% general-fund reduction.
San Francisco Police Department Chief Scott and Chief Financial Officer Kimmy Wu presented the department’s fiscal-year 2026–27 budget priorities to the Police Commission, saying the department is responding to mayoral guidance to propose ongoing general-fund reductions of 15% for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
"We should propose ongoing permanent reductions of adjusted general fund support of 15% in fiscal year 26 and fiscal year 27," Kimmy Wu said, summarizing mayoral instructions. She said the department’s base budget across all funds is about $840.7 million, with a general-fund operating total of approximately $723 million.
Wu outlined the department’s budget posture: personnel costs make up the largest share, and the department is being asked to review contracts, non-personnel expenses and vacant positions. The department will submit its formal proposal on Feb. 21 and will continue discussions with the mayor’s budget office through the May budget phases; the mayor publishes a proposed budget on June 1 and the Board of Supervisors adopts a final adjusted budget by July 31.
Wu and Chief Scott described an ongoing staffing shortage: as of Dec. 31 the department reported approximately 1,475 full-duty sworn officers (plus 115 at the airport) and 56 recruits in the pipeline, with a funded FTE count around 3,032.1 across sworn and civilian positions; the department said it remains about 500 officers short of recommended baseline staffing and is relying on overtime backfill.
"We are experiencing an unprecedented staffing shortage," Wu said. She and the chief said overtime backfill — funded in part by salary savings from vacancies — has been the department’s primary tool to maintain minimum deployments; commissioners questioned whether overtime would rise or fall under cost-control measures and cited recent audit findings on overtime controls.
Commissioners pressed the department on several points: expected effects of the mayor’s 15% instruction, the rationale for planned sworn staffing levels, the projected increase in overtime in later years and the condition of agency vehicles. Wu said the department will request additional vehicles in the coming budget cycle after years of limited vehicle allocations. "We will be requesting for vehicles this upcoming budget submission," she said, noting higher maintenance costs due to aging vehicles.
On homeless-related responses and new non-police crisis teams, the department said some calls have shifted to other city teams, such as DEM’s HEART team and fire department Street Crisis Response Teams, but officers still support multi-agency operations and public-works cleanups that require police security.
Chief Scott reiterated the department’s intent to work with the City Attorney and other departments on guidance for officers when federal agents are present, and commissioners asked that written materials for the Board of Supervisors hearing on an auditor’s overtime report be shared with the commission once scheduled.
Ending: The commission did not take formal action on the presentation; commissioners and SFPD staff scheduled follow-up conversations and a more detailed budget presentation for the following week.
