SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco Mayor London Breed signed an $11 billion dollar two-year budget for 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 on Wednesday, August 1 for the city. The budget includes addressing issues including public safety, which includes additional foot patrol and additional officers to address violent and property crime. Over 250 new police officers are expected to be deployed in the next two years under the new budget.
“This $11 billion budget is a reflection of the values of the city of St. Francis, supporting the city’s most vulnerable with compassion and problem solving,” said Malia Cohen, President of the Board of Supervisors in a statement.
Over $60 million of the budget will be distributed to addressing issues of homelessness, including the development of 430 permanent housing units, and $4.4 million for a Youth Navigation Center, to assist homeless youth. Twelve million dollars will be allotted for rapid rehousing programs to assist those who have recently become homeless, while $6 million will be allocated to street medical teams to address addiction.
The budget allows $800 million to be used to develop over 3,000 new affordable housing units for low-income residents in the region. Thirteen million is being distributed to the 11 Districts to have 44 new neighborhood street cleaners for the region.
Mayor Breed tweeted, “Today I signed a two year budget that addresses our most pressing issues while also making a number of critical investments in our future. What we see on our streets is unacceptable and these budget investments are a key step to ensuring that you see and feel a difference in SF. Thank you to Board President @MaliaCohen, the Board of Supervisors, members of the Budget and Finance Committee, @SFController Ben Rosenfield, and everyone else whose hard work and cooperation helped to develop this comprehensive budget.”
