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Supervisors advance deappropriation ordinance to remove wage increase funding and create safety‑net reserve
Summary
The Government Audit and Oversight Committee adopted an amendment of the whole bundling parts of Supervisor Peskin’s proposal with elements of the mayor’s package to deappropriate scheduled salary increases and create a San Francisco safety‑net stabilization reserve; the committee continued final action to a special meeting next Tuesday at 9 a.m.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin opened a special meeting of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee to consider amendments to the annual appropriation and salary ordinance that would deappropriate salary funding and shift midyear cuts into a broader package for Board consideration. Peskin said Section 3 ‘‘amends the annual appropriation ordinance by de appropriating salary funding representing the value of the employee wage increases scheduled for the rest of this fiscal year,’’ which the presentation estimated at about $35,000,000, of which $21,250,000 is general‑fund support and $13,750,000 is attributable to enterprise operations such as the airport and public utilities commission.
Peskin told colleagues he had integrated his earlier proposal with elements of the mayor’s plan and that Section 2 captured the net of items where the proposals did not overlap. He said the intent was to broaden the package today and narrow it on Tuesday. Peskin framed the moment in stark fiscal terms, noting the controller’s projection of a large shortfall and saying ‘‘this is going to be the first of many painful cuts’’ as the city seeks to balance revenue and spending.
The ordinance text before the committee included a subsection authorizing the controller to create a San Francisco safety‑net stabilization reserve intended to protect core services; other sections listed line‑item deappropriations and midyear reductions across departments. Controller Ben Rosenfield and the mayor’s budget director, Nani Coloretti, provided staff numbers and context showing the mayor’s package and midyear actions together reduced a larger projected shortfall by roughly $115 million but left a substantial remaining gap.
Procedurally the committee adopted the amendment of the whole for discussion and agreed to table Item 2 (the salary ordinance deletions) as moot while it considered the combined package for action next week. Supervisors also approved a technical amendment to roll certain OEWD subobjects into a single line to allow reprogramming within a capped dollar figure consistent with noticing rules. Peskin said the goal was to reach a package the Board could act on next Tuesday if the ordinance could be certified by the controller.
The committee recessed and reconvened in larger chambers to hear department presentations and extensive public comment. After hours of testimony from department heads and community members, the committee agreed to continue the amended ordinance to a special meeting next Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. for final adjustments and certification. The next procedural step is for the controller’s office to verify any late amendments so the ordinance can be placed on the full Board calendar if votes are secured.
