SF budget deal won’t end fight
July 3, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO — A deal was struck for The City’s budget, but the political fight will continue.
The proposed $6.6 billion spending plan comes before the Board of Supervisors in two weeks, when changes could still be made.
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi said he’s still considering making a proposal then that would hold hostage city revenue for some of Mayor Gavin Newsom’s prized initiatives and staffers.
The board’s finance committee finished its review of Newsom’s budget proposal Wednesday after cutting nearly $44 million from it and using the money to restore funds for social services. They also used the money to kill proposals that would have contracted out city services such as janitors and security guards.
But with looming state cuts and a projected budget deficit of $300 million for upcoming fiscal years, supervisors worried Newsom would only cut what was restored — and without consulting them.
Mirkarimi, who sits on the Budget and Finance Committee, had proposed to put on reserve funds that are for the Newsom-backed budget items as leverage to convince the mayor not to touch the restored cuts. Newsom would have to obtain permission from the Board of Supervisors to spend the money on reserve.
Mirkarimi’s proposal was not supported by other committee members, but he said Thursday that he’s still considering reviving it with the full board.
Mirkarimi requested to put on reserve about $1.3 million for 50 percent of The City’s public information officers, $2 million for the 311 call center and $900,000 for the Community Justice Center. In addition, he requested setting aside funding for the salaries, each in excess of $100,000, of high-ranking mayoral staffers, including Kevin Ryan, the Mayor’s director of criminal justice; Wade Crowfoot, director of climate protection initiatives; Hydra Mendoza, director of education; and Astrid Haryati, director of greening.
“I think the majority of the committee was interested in getting the long day over with, coupled with the fact that they wanted to celebrate more than do work,” Mirkarimi said. “But I don’t think the work is done. I think it is still open. Whether [the reserve funding proposal] prevails or not is another question.”
Mirkarimi said the proposal goes beyond just a bargaining tool with Newsom.
“We need to talk about greater efficiencies in government and that means thinning out places where we don’t need certain staffing,” he said.
Newsom spokesman Nathan Ballard said Mirkarimi’s proposal was “just grandstanding,” was “not based on any sound policy” and did not think any of the supervisor’s colleagues would support such “shenanigans.”
jsabatini@sfexaminer.com
