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Controller: San Francisco faces $1.1B–$1.7B multi‑year shortfall; budget process delayed
Summary
Comptroller Ben Rosenfield told the Budget & Appropriations Committee the city faces a multi‑year revenue shortfall now estimated at $1.1 billion to $1.7 billion under two economic scenarios. The mayor nd budget office will delay the budget calendar, issue interim budget instructions, and seek federal and state reimbursement and philanthropic support.
Comptroller Ben Rosenfield told the Budget & Appropriations Committee that the economic shock from the COVID‑19 pandemic has produced sharp near‑term revenue losses and left the city facing a substantial multi‑year budget gap.
Rosenfield summarized a joint report by the Controller, Mayor nd the Budget & Legislative Analyst offices: about 14,000 San Francisco businesses—employing roughly 166,000 people—are fully or partially affected by shelter‑in‑place orders. The offices modeled two scenarios and now estimate a cumulative shortfall of roughly $1.1 billion in an optimistic scenario up to $1.7 billion in a more pessimistic scenario over the coming years. Rosenfield said current‑year general‑fund losses could be almost $300 million in a more optimistic path or more than $450 million in a more pessimistic one, with a near‑term problem after baseline offsets of roughly $167 million up to $287 million.
Kelly Kirkpatrick of the Mayor's Budget Office described federal and state relief (including the CARES Act) but noted allocation uncertainties for local jurisdictions. Kirkpatrick said the mayor has instructed departments to pause nonessential hiring and spending and that the city will delay the budget process by about two months; an interim budget is planned for introduction on June 1 to carry the city through the first quarter while the mayor and Board develop a balanced budget for August and September.
Supervisors pressed for more precise dollar estimates, reporting on philanthropic Give2SF receipts and expenditures, and details on hotel placements and sheltering plans for vulnerable residents. Officials described current actions—deferred tax payments, fee suspensions, hotlines in multiple languages and partnerships with neighborhood lenders—and committed to an April update that will refine projections and provide a current‑year rebalancing plan.
Public commenters urged prioritizing frontline services and nonprofit continuity. Debbie Lerman of the San Francisco Human Services Network asked that the nonprofit sector not be destabilized by cuts, noting organizations are incurring COVID‑related costs and losing fundraising revenue.
Next steps: the Controller, Mayor's Budget Office and BLA will issue an April update to projections, present a rebalancing plan for the current year, and bring an interim budget on June 1 while preparing a final budget for Board review in August and September.
