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Police Commission approves $71M-plus departmental budget after questions on process and training
Summary
The Police Commission approved the San Francisco Police Departmentproposed FY2007-2008 budget, which includes roughly $71 million in general-fund increases driven by salary/fringe, 59 proposed civilian positions, expanded IT/RMS spending and a $9.5 million overtime increase. Commissioners emphasized the need for clearer cultural-competency spending and earlier public access to budget materials.
The Police Commission voted to approve the San Francisco Police Departmentproposed FY2007-2008 budget after a detailed presentation by Ken Bukowski, the department's chief financial officer, and extended questioning by commissioners. The motion passed on a roll-call vote with a 6-1 margin.
Bukowski told the commission the current proposal shows an approximate $71 million general-fund increase largely driven by salary and fringe costs as federally grant-funded officers transition to general-fund status. The proposal includes a request for 59 new civilian positions (many to support RMS, records management and forensics), reinstatement of 14 police cadets, and an equipment and capital package (including in-car cameras and fleet replacement) totaling roughly $9 million. The budget also proposes an approximate $9.5 million increase in overtime funding to support targeted violence-reduction efforts and district-level community initiatives.
Commissioners pressed for more lead time and public access to the detailed materials. Commissioner Campos said the commission should receive budget documents earlier in the process so members and the public can vet them before submission to the mayor's office and controller. Commissioners also sought a clearer breakout of cultural-competency investments, recruitment spending (multilingual outreach, cadet program), and how technology changes will improve investigators' ability to clear cases.
Captain Richard Curry and others outlined training proposals to strengthen cultural competency, including an 8-hour standalone course developed with City College for broad staff rollout and a 2-hour module within advanced officer training.
Chief representatives stressed the operational drivers for the request: increased responsibilities (airport, Treasure Island, new development), backlog and forensics needs, and the need to civilianize administrative tasks so sworn officers can be redeployed to patrol and investigations.
The commission approved the budget with an understanding it would continue to engage with the department and mayor's office throughout the next two months as final figures are negotiated.
