Jul 2, 2009 4:14 pm US/Pacific
Newsom, SF Supes Agree To Budget Deal
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ―
San Francisco supervisors and Mayor Gavin Newsom agreed Wednesday on a budget deal to preserve some social programs while preventing further cuts to police and firefighters.
The Board of Supervisors budget committee unanimously passed the budget late Wednesday, which included $43.7 million in changes to the $6.6 billion budget, according to board president David Chiu's office and the mayor's office.
Some of the supervisors, including Chiu and Budget Committee Chair John Avalos, had complained cuts in the budget Newsom presented on June 1 -- aimed at closing an estimated $575.6 million deficit for the coming fiscal year—unfairly targeted services provided by the Department of Public Health and the Human Services Agency.
They claimed the cuts should be spread out more evenly among the departments, including to the police, fire and sheriff's departments.
The board then proposed $82.9 million in cuts to those departments, which public safety officials condemned, warning they could result in layoffs of hundreds of police officers and closures of several fire stations.
Wednesday's agreement will prevent any police layoffs or station closures, according to Chiu's office, while also preventing the closures of recreation centers and restoring some mental and behavioral health services, substance abuse treatment, violence prevention, and after-school and other youth programs.
It also will prevent the closure of the Community Justice Center, a combined court and social service center that Newsom supports.
"Supervisor Avalos drove a hard bargain and was a tough negotiator, but now we can move on to other challenges," Newsom spokesman Nathan Ballard said Thursday.
According to Chiu's office and the mayor's office, money was procured from cuts to some city projects, and delays to others not deemed immediately necessary, such as a planned e-mail system upgrade. Another project, a plan to install parking meters in half of Golden Gate Park, was added for further city revenue.
And instead of setting aside $25 million for possible future state cuts, as legislators grapple with California's $26.3 billion deficit, the city will now put only $18 million on reserve.
The budget will first appear before the full Board of Supervisors for a vote on July 14, though the vote could be delayed until later in the month.
Following the vote, Newsom will have 10 days to sign the budget into law, though he still has the ability to veto line items, which would send them back to the Board for a veto override vote, also within 10 days.
"We made a deal and we'll stick to the deal," Ballard said.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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