Budget and Appropriation Committee Hearing on Mayor's Proposed Budget - June 12, 2026

On June 12, 2026, the Budget and Appropriation Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, chaired by Supervisor Connie Chan, held a hearing to consider the mayor's proposed budget for fiscal years 2026-2027 and 2027-2028. The meeting featured presentations from multiple city departments, extensive discussion of a proposed transition of pretrial services from the Sheriff's Department to Adult Probation, and public testimony overwhelmingly in support of preserving the existing SF Pretrial program and increasing funding for the Public Defender's Office. The committee voted to continue the items to its June 18, 2026 meeting.

Technical Adjustments

• Director Sophia Kittler of the Mayor's Budget Office introduced a first round of technical adjustments to the mayor's proposed budget. These include correcting revenues and expenditures across several departments, shifting general fund reserves, and updating position codes. The adjustments reduce the proposed fiscal 2027 budget by $110,821 and the fiscal 2028 budget by $19,541,618, with a net general fund impact of $1.7 million in year one and a cost of $3.18 million in year two.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Overwhelming support for SF Pretrial: Many speakers, including clients, staff, board members, and community advocates, urged the committee to reject the proposal to transfer pretrial services to Adult Probation. They highlighted SF Pretrial's 50-year track record, its 96% court appearance rate, its cost-effectiveness ($7.5 million annually for approximately 2,000 clients), and the trust it builds with clients. Speakers argued that Adult Probation lacks the same community-based approach and would duplicate services at a higher cost ($12.7 million requested).
• Support for Public Defender's Office: Multiple speakers, including law students and union representatives, called for increased funding for the Public Defender's Office, citing constitutionally mandated representation, rising caseloads (68% increase in misdemeanor and 52% increase in felony active caseloads since 2019), and a staffing disparity with the District Attorney's Office.
• Opposition to police overtime spending: Some speakers criticized the police department's $73 million overtime budget, arguing that funds should be redirected to prevention and community-based programs.
• A speaker read a statement from a client who credited SF Pretrial with stabilizing his life after 27 years in prison.

Discussion Items

City Attorney's Office

• City Attorney David Chu presented a $132 million budget. He noted that 68% of revenue comes from work orders, and nearly 80% of expenditures are personnel costs. Key achievements include saving $120 million in an Airbnb tax settlement, recovering $4 million from tobacco retailers, $9 million in code enforcement settlements since 2025, and $28 million in stolen wages. The office has filed 16 lawsuits against the federal administration, winning over 90% of lower court cases, and is pursuing $440 million in FEMA reimbursements for pandemic costs.

Superior Court

• Court Executive Officer Brandon Riley requested $250,000 for the civil grand jury and $10.6 million for indigent defense (an 8% increase of $810,000). He stated the increase is likely insufficient due to a surge in misdemeanor cases from the Public Defender's Office declaring unavailability, and predicted a need for a supplemental appropriation early next year. He estimated an additional $1-2 million per year would be needed to true up expenditures.
• A heated exchange occurred between Chair Chan and Mr. Riley over the proposed shift of pretrial services to Adult Probation. Chair Chan questioned the rationale, citing a lack of cost savings according to the Budget and Legislative Analyst and differing opinions from the Sheriff and Public Defender. Mr. Riley defended the move, citing transparency and accountability issues with the current pretrial program.

Department of Emergency Management

• Executive Director Mary Ellen Carroll presented a two-year budget: $14 million in year one and $113 million in year two. She reported that the 911 dispatch center has met state answer time standards (90% of calls within 15 seconds) since October 2025, with zero mandatory overtime. The department faces a fiscal cliff due to the loss of federal grants (UASI) that had funded emergency services for 15 years. The budget deletes 14 positions over two years (12 in year one, 2 in year two), with seven positions transferred to the Department of Public Health for street response. Seven filled positions were laid off: three separated, three reassigned, one pending.
• On sirens, Chair Chan pressed for a redundant emergency alert system not reliant on Wi-Fi or battery, citing personal experience during a December 2024 PG&E blackout. Director Carroll noted the SIREN system has been offline since 2019, with restoration costs estimated at $8.5 million for 35 coastal sites plus $1 million annual maintenance, but emphasized existing redundancies (Alert SF, wireless alerts, NOAA radios) were tested successfully during the 2024 tsunami warning.

Juvenile Probation Department

• Director Miller presented a budget that reflects absorption of DJJ realignment mandates without commensurate state funding. The department receives $3.5 million from the state but spends an additional $7.4 million on realignment functions. Caseloads for probation officers have increased 47% due to a 48% reduction in officers over five years. The budget proposes additions: funding for expiring community programs, two new probation officers, a nutrition adjustment, and capital repairs. Four positions are proposed for elimination.

Adult Probation Department

• Chief Christelle Tulach presented a $72.6 million budget, including $7.4 million in year one and $8.5 million in year two for a new pretrial services program (35 FTE), and $2 million for a violence reduction program. The proposal is in response to a court directive to take over pretrial supervision from the Sheriff's contract. The program aims to modernize with an automated Public Safety Assessment (PSA) and a case management system, with a planned go-live date of January 2027.
• Committee members expressed significant concerns about the transition. Supervisor Walton questioned the feasibility of hiring 35 staff in six months, noting the department has never done so. Supervisor Sauter stated he is not convinced of a compelling reason to change and wants more details. Director Kittler (MBO) acknowledged a duplicative cost in year one to fund both the sheriff's contract for six months and the adult probation startup. Chair Chan suggested placing some funding on reserve to allow continued conversation.

Public Defender's Office

• Public Defender Noa Raju presented a $58 million budget, noting the office serves over 20,000 indigent clients annually and represents 84% of all indigent defendants. He highlighted a workload crisis driven by increased arrests and filings, fewer settlements, and the new California Supreme Court Kowalchik decision. Active misdemeanor caseloads have risen 68% and felony caseloads 52% since 2019. He noted a stark funding disparity: the Public Defender's budget is 4.3% of the combined budgets of police, sheriff, DA, probation, and superior court.
• On pretrial transition, Raju expressed support for the current SF Pretrial model, citing trust and community-based approach, and urged reinvestment in improving the existing system rather than transferring to Adult Probation.

Fire Department

• Chief Dean Crispin presented a budget with nine deleted positions (six civilian, three uniform) with no layoffs. The department has reduced overtime by 28% over five years. Notable investments include $8 million per year over 10 years for apparatus replacement (to replace engines and trucks over 20 years old and ambulances over 10 years old), funding for PFAS-free turnout gear to comply with a 2024 ordinance, and $500,000 for advanced cancer screenings for firefighters. Call volume continues to increase, projected to exceed 180,000 incidents in the current fiscal year.
• Chair Chan asked about autonomous vehicle incidents; Chief Crispin noted they create delays and resource drains, and she expressed interest in creating fee legislation for emergency response to AV malfunctions.

Sheriff's Department

• Sheriff Paul Miyamoto presented a budget with increased general fund support of $24 million for personnel (due to attrition adjustments and CalPERS increases) and $6.7 million for non-personnel services (primarily the Reset Center). The department has improved sworn staffing by 39% over two years, reducing the gap from 230 to 140 vacancies. It aims to hire 75 deputies next year. The Reset Center, which provides a therapeutic alternative to jail for public intoxication, has had 643 arrivals, with 28% connected to care upon release.
• On pretrial, the Sheriff expressed concern about the transition timeline, stating six months is unrealistic and that the current contract is only funded for the first six months of the fiscal year. He noted a need for collaboration and a detailed plan before any change. The contract with SF Pretrial currently funds approximately 65 FTE positions; the Adult Probation proposal funds 35 FTE.

Department of Police Accountability (DPA)

• Executive Director Paul Henderson presented a budget with a modest increase of $779,000 for two new investigators to meet charter mandates as the police department expands. DPA remains 15.8 positions below its 2021 baseline despite growing caseload (899 independent investigations opened last year, a 22% increase). The agency processes cases in an average of 94 days, the highest efficiency in its history.

Office of Sheriff's Inspector General (OSIG)

• Paul Henderson also presented for OSIG, noting the Inspector General position is vacant and DPA is running both agencies. The office was created by Prop D in 2020. Two temporary exempt investigator positions were filled in March, but the office cannot yet operate independently. Supervisor Walton expressed frustration that the voter mandate remains underfunded and asked the City Attorney about legality; Deputy City Attorney Rossi stated funding is subject to the budgetary process.

District Attorney's Office

• District Attorney Brooke Jenkins presented a $99.1 million proposed budget (2.6% increase) and $101 million for fiscal 2028 (2.2% increase). She warned that future reductions of over $1 million in attrition savings will impact operations, citing a desperate need for more paralegals to handle discovery obligations (1.5 million pages reviewed, 77,000 body-worn camera videos, 35 terabytes of media in 2025). She also requested $1.3 million for general operations including a shuttle for attorneys (due to relocation from Hall of Justice) and $217,000 for the Be the Jury program to increase juror pay. Caseloads are at a high point since the pre-pandemic era.

Police Department

• Chief Derek Lou presented a budget with $765.3 million in general fund expenditures (over 90% for personnel). The department has a deficit of approximately 639 sworn officers (1,618 full-duty officers against a recommended 2,257). Recruitment is improving, with over 3,800 applications received as of June 1, on track for 10,000 by year end. The budget includes $73 million for overtime, though projected spending is $96 million for the current year. The overtime budget was increased from ~$35 million in previous years. The department will eliminate 33 FTE positions (primarily IT and admin) with four civilian layoffs.
• Vice Chair Dorsey questioned the cycle of under-budgeting overtime. Chair Chan urged Chief Lou to incorporate technology (e.g., drones, license plate readers) into the next staffing study (due March 2027) and to provide quarterly overtime reports. She requested a draft staffing report before the study's completion.

Key Outcomes

• Motion to Continue: The committee unanimously (5-0) voted to continue Items 1-3 (the budget hearing, appropriation ordinance, and salary ordinance) to the June 18, 2026 meeting.
• Pretrial Transition: Chair Chan indicated she is inclined to place portions of both the Sheriff's pretrial contract funding and the Adult Probation budget on reserve to allow further discussion and accountability. She also called for exploring state reimbursement for the court-directed transition.
• Oversight and Reporting: The committee reiterated expectations for quarterly police overtime reports and urged the Police Department to produce a draft staffing study that incorporates technological advancements.