Planning department presents cautious FY2017-19 budget as revenues plateau

The San Francisco Planning Department told the Historic Preservation Commission on Feb. 1 that it plans a smaller, more cautious budget for the next two fiscal years after a recent flattening of revenues.

"We are projecting to be about $3,200,000 short in revenue for the current year," Deborah Landis, the department's finance manager, said during the commission's budget briefing. Department staff said they expect to reduce expenditures by a similar amount to keep the current-year budget balanced and to base next year budget on projections from the current year.

The department's proposal would set total resources at about $47.9 million for the coming cycle, down from the current year's approximately $51.3 million. Staff attributed much of the change to one-time, impact-fee-funded projects that were included in the current year and will not recur, and to lower-than-expected grant receipts: the department budgeted roughly $990,000 in grants but received approximately $680,000 this year.

Personnel costs remain the largest share of spending, the presentation said, comprising roughly 72% of the total. Under city budget guidance, departments were instructed not to add new positions and to reduce general fund support by about 3% per year; the Planning Department said it will reassign two existing vacant positions and rely on hiring freezes and attrition rather than a net increase in FTEs.

Tim Frey, preservation staff, outlined preservation-specific work included in the proposal: continued pursuit of a citywide historic resources survey (to be supported in part by the Getty Foundation), a proposed preservation planner presence at the Planning Information Center, continued work on design guidelines and CEQA-related review for anticipated bond-funded projects, and funding requests for consultant CEQA support on priority public-affairs projects. The department said it would reapply for an African American civil rights grant from the National Park Service that it did not receive this year.

Commissioners asked for more detail on contract cuts and vacant positions; staff offered to provide a slide with line-item detail at the next presentation in two weeks and said the department will finalize its submission to the mayor on Feb. 21. The commission did not take a formal vote on the budget at the Feb. 1 hearing; staff said the budget will return for further review as the mayor's office and Board of Supervisors consider the proposal.

The department also emphasized that a new citywide financial system is being implemented and will affect the format of future budget materials.