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Police finance chief warns of academy pause and possible layoffs as SFPD trims budget
Summary
Interim SFPD CFO Deborah Landis told the Police Commission Feb. 16 that the department has identified roughly $8.5 million toward an initial 10% reduction but lacks a clear plan for a second 10% contingency; she and the chief warned that if required the department would not refill retirements and could lay off about 185 officers for FY2011–12.
At a Feb. 16 meeting of the San Francisco Police Commission, Deborah Landis, the interim chief financial officer for the police department, said the department’s proposed 2011–12 budget includes about $2.5 million in expected grants and a series of midyear reductions but still faces a gap if the mayor’s office requires a second, contingency 10% cut.
"We have taken over permitting for garages from the fire department and it looks like we're gonna get a million dollars from it," Landis told commissioners, and she said the department has identified roughly $8.5 million toward the initial 10% target but would need about $11.3 million to meet a full 20% reduction including contingency. She warned that the bulk of deeper cuts would come from not refilling retirements and other positions.
The chief of police confirmed the practical consequences on staffing if deeper cuts are required. "If we have to give back another additional 10%, we will lay off officers," the chief said during the discussion, adding that the department is exploring options such as consolidating districts, realigning boundaries and cutting administrative posts to preserve investigatory and patrol functions.
Commissioners pressed for detail on training and equipment funding. Landis said there is training funding included in the document — she estimated approximately $500,000 for travel and training in the current budget — but that it is not itemized in the same way as some line items. She also said there is no specific budget line for tasers or taser training in the proposed budget.
Commissioners also asked about the likely scale of layoffs if the full contingency is required. Landis said the department’s estimate is "about a 185 officers" for the $11.3 million shortfall, a figure commissioners repeated as a planning assumption while also seeking additional detail on which units and functions would be affected.
Members of the public and commissioners urged the department to provide clearer, line‑by‑line backup and to return with more detailed answers on language‑access spending, training categories (including mental‑health and crisis‑intervention training), and the impact of not filling academy classes. Landis said she would return with more detailed figures and that departments usually know whether they must meet a contingency cut before the start of the fiscal year on July 1.
What happens next: Landis said the department must submit its budget to the mayor’s office the following Tuesday and that the mayor’s office will work with departments and the Board of Supervisors over subsequent months. Commissioners asked the department to return for a line‑by‑line review in a few weeks and to provide written clarifications on training and language access.
