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Budget panel agrees to cut most police academy classes and phases overtime reductions
Summary
After hours of debate, the Budget Committee agreed to cut three of four planned SFPD academy classes (chief to retain one), implement a phased overtime reduction (25% this fiscal year, 50% next fiscal year), and to place some second‑year savings in reserve while exploring civilianization and transition of homelessness duties off police.
The Budget and Appropriations Committee reached a series of compromises aimed at reducing sworn staffing growth and large discretionary overtime spending in the police department while protecting near‑term operations.
In a negotiated package, supervisors agreed to eliminate three of four academy classes that were in the proposed budget and to allow Chief of Police to retain a single class (the chief indicated preference for keeping the fall class and shifting it to January). The committee also agreed to phased overtime reductions so as not to abruptly eliminate mandatory overtime needs: a 25% cut to this fiscal year’s overtime budget (recognizing the year is already under way) and a 50% reduction for the following fiscal year.
Chief Scott, who presented the department’s staffing and reform outcomes, emphasized that the department remains short several hundred officers for core response capacity and that reforms (training, crisis intervention) depend on preserving some staffing. "We are in favor of re‑envisioning policing," the chief said, "but we have a lot of work to be done and we need to maintain sufficient staffing to respond to calls for service."
Supervisors also negotiated targeted reductions to police units that respond to homelessness and related crisis calls. Supervisor Ronan originally proposed more aggressive cuts to HSOC (Healthy Streets Operation Center), the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) and the mounted unit; she revised that to a phased approach: 25% reduction in year one (about $3.5M) and an additional 25% in year two (cumulative ~50%, about $7M) with the year‑two amount placed in reserve while the city builds alternate response capacity. The committee explicitly sought to avoid immediate layoffs and left operational deployment decisions to the chief.
President Nerman Yee and others pressed for redirecting some savings to civilianization — converting sworn positions to civilian roles — and the committee agreed to restore about $3 million toward civilianization over the two‑year budget (timing to be split across years per the Controller).
What happens next: The Controller’s Office will reflect the committee’s intentions as reductions in the draft two‑year budget; supervisors directed follow‑ups on civilianization costs and a quick return if technical amendments are required. The chief will be allowed to select which academy class to retain and to propose adjustments consistent with the committee’s cuts.
