City budget office outlines $190M in COVID costs and FEMA reimbursement plan

San Francisco officials told the Board of Supervisors Budget & Finance Committee on April 29 that the city has recorded roughly $190 million in COVID‑19-related costs and is aggressively pursuing federal and state reimbursements to reduce the local share.

Kelly Kirkpatrick of the Mayor’s Budget Office outlined city expenditures that she said total about $60 million disbursed to date — roughly half for personnel and benefits — and roughly $15 million for health‑related staffing and supplies. Mark Dela Rosa, acting director of audits for the Controller’s Office and the city’s cost‑recovery lead, detailed how the city is pursuing FEMA Public Assistance and tracking other funding sources.

Dela Rosa said FEMA public assistance, which is triggered by the Stafford Act and a presidential emergency declaration, generally reimburses 75% of eligible costs; California’s Office of Emergency Services covers 18.75%, leaving an estimated 6.25% local share. He described ten FEMA‑eligible cost buckets the city is submitting — including EOC operations, medical sheltering and non‑congregate sheltering, PPE and alternate care site costs — and said documentation will be essential to maximize recoveries. The city has submitted three expedited funding requests (April 6, April 13, and a third request) that FEMA has obligated to date and routed to Cal OES, Dela Rosa said, and Cal OES is expected to disburse funds to the city.

Officials also briefed supervisors on other funding flows. The presentation showed a first CARES Act allocation line item of about $153.8 million and a Give2SF community fund that has raised about $9.5 million, with more than $5 million disbursed for small‑business, worker support, food security and housing assistance. Dela Rosa said the city will use donated resources to offset the local 6.25% share when eligible and urged departments to document labor and donations carefully.

Supervisors pressed staff on several points: whether CARES Act and FEMA reimbursements can be stacked (staff emphasized FEMA will not reimburse costs already covered by CARES), which costs are ineligible for FEMA, and how soon a more complete projection will be available. Controller Ben Rosenfield and Budget Analyst staff said a more comprehensive projection — including encumbrances and expected additional obligations through June 30 — is expected in the city’s May projection report.

The committee closed public comment on the budget update and continued the agenda item to the call of the chair so staff could provide follow‑up details.

What’s next: City staff said they will submit biweekly actuals to Cal OES and FEMA, continue to collect department documentation, and present an updated May projection that will map projected expenditures through the fiscal year end and the expected mix of reimbursements and remaining local costs.