Mayor Breed announces SF budget for next 2 years, revealing key city priorities

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The Mayor of San Francisco announced the city’s budget for the next two years, $14.6 billion each year. London Breed highlighted her priorities which will receive the biggest amount of funding including homelessness and delivering a clean and safe city.

“Ooh wee! Everybody is happy today, cause it’s money day,” that’s how Mayor London Breed began her speech as she introduced her budget.

But the reality is that there’s less of it coming in, forcing the mayor and city departments to balance a budget by cutting $780 million in expenses.

As expected, the funding to try to get people off the streets and into shelters and supportive housing will, in fact, increase by 3%.

“Of course, not everyone is going to be happy about the decision that I made to take away resources that are not being used and spend them on people that we know need help and support now and I don’t really care,” expressed Breed.

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The budget will also try to build back police staffing, funding 220 new police officers over the next two years.

Police Chief William Scott said staffing is a “huge mountain to climb.”

“We’re almost 600 officers below where we should be,” revealed Chief Scott.

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“Don’t talk about it, be about it. Join the San Francisco Police Department. Be the change you want to see,” the mayor urging people to enroll in a police academy.

As part of the public safety package, the mayor underlined that the efforts to shutdown the open air fentanyl market have already started.

In addition, programs to bring people into care and rehabilitation will be expanded, but a warning to those programs that don’t deliver results.

“We’re doing a deeper dive and if you are delivering, you get funds and then some. If you are not delivering, we’re taking away dollars,” she added.

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Part of the efforts to restore downtown will be contingent on how safe people feel. Another factor is to bring new businesses in by delivering tax incentives.

“I know some of these decisions are not going to be popular but again, I don’t care. I didn’t become mayor to be afraid to do this job the way it needs to be done,” said a defiant Mayor Breed.

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