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Mayor's budget adds behavioral-health dollars for Mental Health SF; DPH outlines proposed priorities
Summary
The mayor's June 1 budget as presented to the Health Commission includes added Proposition C funding and one-time site-acquisition dollars for Mental Health SF, while DPH's proposed FY21-22 budget totals about $2.8 billion with COVID and behavioral-health allocations highlighted.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health briefed commissioners June 1 on the mayor's proposed FY21-22 budget, which DPH staff described as generally aligned with the department's strategic priorities and containing new investments in behavioral health and COVID response.
Greg Wagner, presenting for absent CFO Jen Louie, summarized the department's proposed $2.8 billion annual budget and said the year-over-year change is roughly $45.6 million, driven largely by one-time COVID appropriations and carryforwards from the current year. Wagner said the mayor's proposal includes additional funding for community-based COVID recovery programs and for behavioral-health initiatives developed during the spring.
Key behavioral-health numbers cited at the hearing: the mayor's budget adds about $42.2 million in ongoing Proposition C behavioral-health funding (bringing proposed annual behavioral-health spending to about $93.1 million) and identifies roughly $122 million in one-time Proposition C funds intended primarily for site acquisition to house Mental Health SF programs. DPH also described a proposed overdose-response investment of about $13.8 million as part of the Mental Health SF package.
Wagner said DPH's COVID-specific budget includes approximately $124 million proposed in the first year with additional amounts in later years; federal grants, existing COVID fund balances and general-fund support were listed as sources. He described a citywide COVID spending package of about $384 million proposed over two years to support vaccination sites, food security and economic relief programs, funded largely through FEMA and recent federal stimulus appropriations.
Director Grant Colfax praised the integration of the Epic electronic health record system across DPH outpatient services and the planned future go-lives for clinics and jail health services, saying the system will help clinicians coordinate care.
Commissioners thanked staff for the briefing and asked for the presentation slides and follow-up details; DPH agreed to share documents and to return with more detailed materials as available.
Next steps: the mayor's budget will proceed through the city budget process and review by the Board of Supervisors; commissioners asked DPH to provide slides and additional details so the commission can assess program-level impacts.
