San Francisco Budget and Appropriations Committee Special Meeting - June 17, 2021

The Budget and Appropriations Committee met on June 17, 2021, from 6:00 PM to late evening to hear presentations from ten city departments on the proposed budget and appropriation ordinances for fiscal years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. The meeting included presentations from the Fire Department, Juvenile Probation, Adult Probation, Superior Court, Department of Emergency Management (DEM), Police Department (SFPD), Department of Police Accountability (DPA), Public Defender’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, and Sheriff’s Office. Public comment was taken at the end.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Multiple callers urged the committee to defund the police and sheriff and reallocate funds to community-based programs and alternative response teams. Many specifically requested a reduction of at least $24 million from the sheriff’s budget, reflecting the closure of County Jail 4.
• Several speakers called for fully funding the Budget Justice Coalition, the Compassionate Alternative Response Team (CART), and union-represented community safety teams for hospitals and clinics.
• One caller supported the fire department’s request for funding for additional hose tenders to enhance the emergency firefighting water system.
• A caller from the DSA urged using the sheriff’s department more broadly, including at the airport, to supplement police.

Discussion Items

• Fire Department: Chief Janine Nicholson and team presented on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, community paramedicine expansion (including street wellness and overdose response teams), and the need for additional ambulance staffing. They noted that call volume has increased 16% since 2015 while staffing has remained flat, leading to concerns about response times. The department requested $5.8 million for a new training facility and funding for a five-year fleet replacement plan.
• Juvenile Probation: Director Miller discussed racial equity efforts, reduced staffing (24% reduction in probation officers), and the closure of the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) leading to state revenue increases. She clarified that the log cabin ranch allocation ($5.3 million) is for security and positions that were transitioned years ago, and that the ranch is not operating. Overtime is high due to pandemic-related absences and training. The department has nine vacancies.
• Adult Probation: Chief Fletcher presented on a $6 million increase primarily from state realignment funds, not new positions. The department is launching a $3.6 million therapeutic residential community (TRC) for addiction recovery, contracted to a Black-led CBO. They also plan to transition from the COMPASS pretrial risk assessment tool due to bias concerns.
• Superior Court: CEO Mike Yuen presented on the civil grand jury and indigent defense administration (IDA) programs. The budget is largely flat, with a $50,000 increase to cover shortfalls. No reductions were made to IDA due to workload backlog.
• Department of Emergency Management (DEM): Director Mary Ellen Carroll highlighted COVID response, the closure of COVID Command by June 30, 2021, and the ongoing role of the Healthy Streets Operations Center (HSOC) in addressing encampments. She noted that police involvement in HSOC has diminished, with EMS6 and street crisis teams taking the lead. The department requested $7.9 million for continued COVID response and $12 million for a new computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system.
• Police Department: Chief Scott presented on staffing shortages, with 100 recruit hires needed to maintain current levels. He noted that overtime budget is proposed at $15.6 million, up from $12.4 million, but still below 2019 levels. The department requested $1.5 million for technology to complete 16 of 19 remaining California DOJ collaborative reform initiatives. There was extensive discussion on racial disparities in stops and searches, alternative responses (e.g., street crisis response teams), and the need for foot patrols. The overall police budget shows a decrease of $6.7 million from the current year, but an increase of $5.9 million compared to the previously adopted FY22 budget. Year two includes a larger increase due to technology and annualized academy costs.
• Department of Police Accountability (DPA): Director Henderson emphasized the department's transparency, independent investigations, and compliance with language access. DPA has handled over 29,000 pages of SB 1421 records. The budget is relatively flat, with a request to make 1421 positions permanent. Henderson stressed the need for technology that is compatible with SFPD’s systems to share data.
• Public Defender’s Office: Public Defender Raju highlighted the systemic underfunding of the office compared to law enforcement (police budget 15 times larger). He noted a 52% increase in cases and called for expanded pre-trial release, clean slate expungement, and data capabilities. The office has 57% attorneys of color. He urged the board to prioritize equity two days before Juneteenth.
• District Attorney’s Office: DA Boudin presented on the budget returning to pre-COVID levels, with almost all funding for staff and office space. He discussed a pilot restorative justice program for property crime victims in District 5 and the need for more Cantonese-speaking victim advocates. He also noted that the proposed fentanyl task force was not funded, and he advocated for a public health approach to drug use.
• Sheriff’s Office: Sheriff Miyamoto and CFO Crispin Holland presented on a 40% reduction in overtime over two years, but noted challenges from COVID leave and a hiring freeze. The budget increases by $25 million, mostly due to capital spending ($11 million for fire safety and security electronics) and salary COLAs. The closure of County Jail 4 saved 90 FTEs, but those were offset by transfers and other needs. The department is reducing sworn staff at DPH locations.

Key Outcomes

• The committee continued items 1 and 2 (Budget and Appropriation Ordinance and Annual Salary Ordinance) to the June 21, 2021 Budget and Appropriations Committee meeting for further consideration. No vote was taken on the budget proposals themselves.
• The committee received extensive public testimony and will consider the input as they deliberate on final budget decisions.