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Mayor’s June 1 budget: $6.06 billion plan emphasizes Muni, public safety, streets and homelessness; community groups urge restorations
Summary
The mayor submitted a $6.06 billion city budget highlighting Muni investments, public‑safety initiatives, pavement and homelessness funding; dozens of advocates urged the Board to restore cuts to health, homeless and HIV services during a lengthy public‑comment period.
The mayor’s June 1 general fund submission presented to the Budget and Finance Committee proposes a $6.06 billion total city budget (5.5% growth), with the general fund at approximately $2.9 billion and a $117 million rainy‑day reserve.
Key mayoral proposals highlighted by the mayor’s budget office included:
- Increased investment in Muni and transit operations, including continued service adjustments tied to the new T line and hybrid bus deliveries; the MTA presented an adjusted FY08 budget of about $686.5 million. - Public safety additions including funding for 250 police officers (five academy classes) and an additional $3.4 million for violence prevention services and comprehensive planning. - Streets and parks funding with $36 million proposed for paving and new play‑fields financing ($8.5 million) and 100 new ‘‘community corridor’’ cleaning blocks. - Homelessness and housing: a $5 million HOPE SF seed fund designed to leverage roughly $95 million, and a record $217.5 million proposed for housing investments in FY08; the budget also funds new homeless outreach and case‑management roles and plans to open supportive housing units.
During public comment more than three hours long, providers, advocacy groups and neighborhood representatives urged the board to restore cuts in the Department of Public Health and to protect homeless services and HIV/AIDS programs. Caduceus Outreach, a community mental‑health provider that serves a highly vulnerable population, warned that pending cuts could force it to close; Coalition on Homelessness and other speakers asked the board to prioritize reinstating a 24‑hour drop‑in center and to protect Ryan White care funds that are facing cuts at the federal level.
Supervisors asked the mayor’s office for additional program detail on the community justice center, Hope SF leveraging strategy and the makeup and compensation of new homeless outreach positions. The committee also requested detail on the relationship between capital project plans and available revenues and pressed for more granular plans for violence‑prevention spending, given rising gun violence despite larger prevention budgets over recent years.
The committee filed the mayor’s budget for further hearings; supervisors motioned to hold live hearings next week to consider amendments and possible restorations.
Quotes and program numbers above are taken from committee presentations and public testimony at the June 1 hearing.
