San Francisco Mayor London Breed introduced a budget proposal on Thursday that makes good on a campaign promise to increase police staffing despite facing a nearly $800 million two-year budget deficit.
Breed, who is facing a tough reelection in November, has pitched a $46.7 million increase to the police department’s budget, bringing it to an all-time record high of $821.6 million. Her plan requires the approval of the Board of Supervisors, which won’t be easy since some of the more progressive members have voted against increases for police spending in the past.
The San Francisco Police Department is about 500 officers short of the level recommended by an independent staffing analysis.
Breed wants to fund four police academy classes of 50 recruits each over the next year, doubling the 25-person classes of the past. She’s pledged to spend even more if SFPD recruitment exceeds those levels. Her police-friendly budget also includes $3.7 million in new technology for the department.
“We have made real progress on public safety in San Francisco,” Breed said in a statement outlining her proposal. “One of the core responsibilities of city government is to keep our residents, businesses, workers, and visitors safe, and my budget will deliver on that commitment. What we are doing is working, and we will build on that.”
Breed’s announcement comes one day before she’s scheduled to unveil her plan to close the massive shortfall the city is facing in the next two years, a balancing act that she’s already gone on record as saying would require “difficult choices and cuts” to other programs.
Six months ago, Breed instructed departments to be ready to slash 10% of their spending, with another 5% “contingency reduction,” following an extremely sluggish recovery from the pandemic.
Breed’s political rivals have blasted her efforts to rein in crime but have also pledged to boost law enforcement staffing. They have also pointed out San Francisco’s economic downfall, which includes a hollowing out of the downtown area as major businesses like Macy’s close up shop.
Homelessness, drugs, and retail theft are also problems plaguing the city.
“Do San Franciscans believe they have gotten $2.5 billion worth of extra spending given the conditions on our streets?” former Supervisor Mark Farrell, one of Breed’s moderate opponents, referring to the city’s homelessness spending, said. “I think not.”
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Another mayoral challenger, Daniel Lurie, accused Breed of wasting “a decade of boom years,” the San Francisco Standard reported.
“That’s what happens when budgets are designed around political allegiances rather than achieving outcomes for San Franciscans,” he said.
