SAN FRANCISCO—On Monday, June 1, San Francisco Mayor Edward M Lee announced a new $8.9 billion budget plan, one that will greatly benefit the San Francisco Police Department and Muni.
The proposed two-year budget, which Lee officially introduced to the board of supervisors Monday morning, will pay for 400 new police officers and 244 public transit Employees.
The proposal would increase the city’s current budget by an estimated $400 million, a number that reflects the wealth and prosperity of a city that has become the epicenter of technological America.
The proposed numbers show just how far San Francisco is ahead of the rest of the United States economy, as the proposal estimates that the city’s revenues will grow between 5 to 7 percent this year and 2 to 4 percent next year. Such increases lie in stark contrast to the U.S. economy’s 2.5 percent projected rate of growth.
When he became mayor, his [Lee’s] focus was really jobs, jobs, jobs,” said Lee’s budget director Kate Howard. “And I think now he is really focused on how do we rise to the challenges of today, which are about the shared prosperity, about affordability for all.”
In addition to funding the police force and public transit, Lee plans to increase funding to support local housing for the city’s homeless population.
For the next month, the new budget will now be put in the hands of the Board of Supervisors for possible amendment and approval. It is anticipated that cuts roughly around $10 to $15 million will be made and re-directed to specific city projects.
