San Francisco Mayor Lurie unveils $15.9B budget, proposes job cuts

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said Friday he is proposing job cuts to balance the city's budget.

It comes after Lurie released a $15.9 billion budget proposal and said the city needs to stop spending money. The mayor is attempting to close a roughly $800 million deficit.

"The era of soaring city budgets and worsening city budgets is over," Lurie said.

The budget puts the city's spending more in line with its revenue, while aiming to close the deficit, Lurie said.

"The plan is to set us up for long-term economic success," he said. "Recovery is on the way here in San Francisco, we are going to focus on core services, clean and safe streets, and I believe by doing that, it's going to help us grow all boats grow our economy."

Lurie said the proposal prioritizes core services and public safety. It keeps funding levels for police, fire, the district attorney's office, and public defender's office, and street cleaning.

"I want to be clear, this is a painful budget, but I am hopeful and I am optimistic about our economic future here because we are prioritizing clean and safe streets," the mayor said.

Proposed cuts include eliminating more than 1,400 positions. The Mayor's Office said the majority are vacant, but about 100 are filled, and some are temporary jobs or people expecting to retire.

The proposal also reduced nonprofit grants and contracts.

However, not everyone is convinced his proposal is a real fix for the city's long-term problems.

"He is doubling down on the same failed solutions to bring corporations downtown, the same unaccountability for public safety systems, the same overspending we have seen year after year," said Anya Worley-Zeigmann of the People’s Budget Coalition.

Some city unions point to Airbnb suing the city over taxes they believe they overpaid, arguing that the city's deficit could be far smaller if the Mayor were tougher on tech companies.

"If we can protect revenue, we do not need to cut services or lay off city workers," said Bianca Polovina, president of IFPTE Local 21.

The proposal comes as San Francisco's downtown core is till trying to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic and attract more business.

The proposal also asks the city to set aside $400 million to prepare for federal and state budget uncertainties.

The final budget will require approval from the Board of Supervisors.

"This budget takes a great first step in getting our financial house in order and allowing us to grow," Lurie said.