Hundreds of protesters gathered at San Francisco City Hall today in opposition to Mayor Daniel Lurie’s proposed budget cuts, highlighting the impact on essential services such as food banks, language access programs, legal aid, and housing initiatives.
The mayor’s budget includes a significant reduction of $200 million in nonprofit funding over two years, while continuing to allocate funds to the police, sheriff, and probation departments, including support for a jail annex in San Bruno that was meant to be temporary.
Additionally, Lurie’s proposal entails cutting 1,400 city jobs, with only 470 expected to generate immediate savings, as per reports from Mission Local.
This budget plan has faced persistent backlash in San Francisco, evidenced by a recent protest on the steps of City Hall where around a thousand people voiced their concerns about the cuts.
Mayor Lurie has a deadline to finalize the budget by the end of next week, as San Francisco confronts an $800 million deficit.
The Board of Supervisors’ Budget and Appropriations Committee is set to meet this Wednesday for further deliberations with the mayor, intensifying discussions as the deadline of June 30 approaches.
Organizers from affected nonprofits are working tirelessly to influence the mayor’s decisions before the budget’s conclusion.
Approximately 300 demonstrators filled the hallways of City Hall, standing behind a velvet rope in anticipation of public comment, which extended to over three and a half hours by 1:45 p.m.
Members of the Board of Supervisors, including Connie Chan, Chyanne Chen, Matt Dorsey, Joel Engardio, Rafael Mandelman, and Shamann Walton, listened to constituents, taking brief breaks as they were inundated with comments.
“Today, you see all the lines of people here demanding a fair and democratic budget.
They are not asking for handouts, they are not asking for charity,” stated Jose Luis Pavon, a care manager at the San Francisco nonprofit HOMEY, during a press conference held by the People’s Budget Coalition.
“We’re asking for our fair share of the budget.
All of us work, all of us contribute to the tax base here,” he added, emphasizing the essential nature of the services at risk.
Many nonprofits have expressed that the proposed cuts could lead to their closure, presenting alarming statistics.
Project Homeless Connect, founded in 2004 by Gavin Newsom to assist the homeless population, indicated it stands to lose 93 percent of its funding, a move that would result in the organization shutting down.
“This isn’t just a budget cut — it’s a severing of frontline care,” declared Pamela G. H., executive director of Project Homeless Connect.
“We are a cost-effective, trauma-informed access point that prevents crises before they escalate,” she continued, stressing the dire consequences of eliminating resources in place.
Joe Wilson, executive director of Hospitality House, asserted during the press conference that the city charter provides the mayor with excessive budget authority.
This year, Lurie manages approximately $2.3 billion, or 15 percent of the total $15.9 billion budget, leaving the supervisors with limited control over funding decisions.
“By the time the budget gets to the Board of Supervisors, we’re dealing with pennies, not dollars,” Wilson explained, illustrating the limited power of the supervisors in negotiating the budget.
More than two hours into public comments, supporters of the People’s Budget Coalition lined the second and third floor balconies of City Hall’s rotunda, showcasing yellow posters proclaiming “No new jail! No cuts!”
This signified their opposition to funding for the jail annex in San Bruno, as well as their desire for essential services to be prioritized.
Some protesters unfurled homemade banners from the third-floor balcony, voicing messages such as “Stop cuts,” “¡No mas recortes!” and “New jail steals $$ from crucial services.”
Activists also displayed banners advocating for “Tenants rights” and “Immigrants’ rights” on the rotunda steps while chants of “Whose budget? Our budget,” resonated throughout the building.
However, officers from the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office promptly confiscated the banners just five minutes after they were revealed, leading to a decline in protests even though the line for public comment persisted.
image source from：missionlocal
