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Planning Department budget approved as staff seeks cuts and creates community equity division
Summary
The San Francisco Planning Commission on Feb. 4 approved the department's proposed FY2021–23 budget that includes a 7.5% general fund reduction (~$500,000), a $2 million fee reduction and the creation of a community equity division; commissioners praised staff for managing reductions while preserving program priorities.
San Francisco Planning Commission President Koppel and commissioners voted unanimously Feb. 4 to approve the Planning Department's proposed budget for fiscal years 2021–23, endorsing staff plans to absorb a roughly $500,000 general-fund reduction and a projected $2 million decline in fee revenue.
Director Hillis outlined the department's approach: limit hires by focusing cuts on vacant positions (leaving roughly 20 vacancies), use a newly adopted budget equity assessment tool and establish a community equity division to guide racial and social equity work across planning programs. "We've been able to meet those reductions through reductions in our expenditures that are mostly focused on vacant positions," Hillis said during the presentation.
Deputy presenter Deborah summarized revenue-side changes, principally a decline in impact-fee receipts driven by fewer transfers to regional partners (for example, BART or TJPA) in the coming two fiscal years, and cautioned that some numbers could change after the mayor's review. She noted that salaries and fringe remain the largest cost, and that the controller's overhead allocation will be set later in the budget process.
Commissioners commended staff for the report and for finding ways to protect department priorities. Commissioner Imperial moved to approve; the motion passed on a unanimous roll-call vote. Several commissioners expressed support for the department's emphasis on equity and collection of programmatic priorities despite a challenging fiscal outlook.
The approved recommendation sends the Planning Department's request to the mayor's office for inclusion in the citywide budget schedule. The mayor is scheduled to publish her budget on June 1; the Board of Supervisors will review budget proposals in July.
