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Committee exempts Public Defender from $55,160 attrition cut tied to LEAP funding
Summary
After a sustained exchange, the committee accepted most Budget & Legislative Analyst recommendations but rejected a $55,160 reduction that the Public Defender said would jeopardize LEAP positions; the Board asked staff to preserve funding and report back.
The Budget & Finance Committee on Monday accepted the Budget & Legislative Analyst's recommendations for department budgets with one notable exception: the committee rejected a $55,160 attrition‑savings reduction that the Public Defender said would eliminate roughly a third of the mayoral funding intended to sustain LEAP program staff.
The Public Defender's office told the committee it had returned a surplus to the city in 2013–14 and that the mayor’s office had added $122,000 to the department’s attrition assumptions to sustain two LEAP positions (an attorney and a social worker). A department representative warned that converting attrition assumptions or cutting the $40,000 (plus $15,000 in fringes) would "essentially take a third of the funding that we received from the mayor's office for the LEAP program" and could disrupt services.
Budget & Legislative Analyst Mr. Rose disputed that the analyst recommendation would create a deficit. He read the analyst's calculations, saying the public defender would still show a projected surplus even after implementing the $55,160 reduction. Controller Ben Rosenfield explained the mechanics: the Board authorizes a number of positions and funds a subset, with the difference budgeted as attrition savings, which is not earmarked for individual positions and may be realized by delayed hiring or other fiscal adjustments.
Supervisor Scott Wiener moved to accept the Budget & Legislative Analyst recommendations but to reject the two items affecting the Public Defender (the $55,160 reduction). The motion was seconded and taken without objection. Committee members who supported the exception cited concern that mid‑year payroll realities could otherwise force service disruptions if attrition savings do not materialize as planned.
The committee’s action does not finalize the annual budget; it leaves the remainder of the analyst’s recommendations intact while protecting the Public Defender from the specified reduction. Staff (the Budget Analyst and Mayor's Budget Office) were asked to continue coordination and to provide any necessary technical follow‑up as the budget proceeds to the full Board.
