Alternative Cuts
Below the fold, you’ll find some of our alternative suggestions for cuts to the budget. Manifestly, cutting healthcare for San Franciscans is not the only way to balance the budget. Here are some ways that outlays could be harmlessly trimmed. If you know of others, e-mail us at director@cohsf.org.
| Item | Dept | Justification | Savings |
| Non-critical $150 grand positions | all | Cut all positions paying over $150,000 that are not protected by city charter or neccesary for government operations. | $13.800,000 |
| Remove salary increases for Mayoral staff | Mayor | 1.4.8 changes were made to increase salary and benefits of Mayoral staff | $553,716 |
| Planning: +34,422 | |||
| Econ/Workforce Dev.: +$33,930 | |||
| OCC: +$42,276 | |||
| Mayor’s Office/Criminal Justice: +$42,848 | |||
| Human Rights Com: +$3,146 | |||
| Mayor’s Office/Community Dev: +$12,993 | |||
| Arts Commission: +$8,648 | |||
| Neighborhood Srvs.: +$28,340 | |||
| Two new senior staff including climate protection and homeless policy director $389,657 | |||
| Dept. Funded 10 Mayoral Staff | Muni | $821,747 | |
| Human SA | $388,092 | ||
| Planning | $50,106 | ||
| PUC | $39,440 | ||
| DPW | $28,170 | ||
| Rec & Park | $16,903 | ||
| Sacramento Insiders | 2 Positions | ||
| Remove Salary Increases | Airport | ||
| Emer Mngt | |||
| City Admin | $64,642 | ||
| Restrucure SFPD | SFPD | Report concludes that reducing number of stations would be cost effective, decrease redundant administrative job functions, increase number of available patrol officers | $? |
| Eliminate pedestrian safety overtime | SFPD | Police currently clock overtime investigating construction sites to ensure that pedestrians can safely pass. This job should be done instead by DPW staff. | $1,000,000 |
| Aggressive MediCal/SSI application for 500 additional individuals | Human SA | Federal government re-imburses for cost of GA during application period. Saving also incurred from general fund as individual no longer reliant on GA. | $2,040,000 |
| MEA Contract Modification | All | Management Union to take a cut | $4,000,000 |
| Payroll Savings: Doctors and Dentists | DPH | Union of American Physicians/Dentists payroll savings | $1,000,000 |
| Freeze Wages- non-union CCSF employees | $? | ||
| Eliminate Community Justice Center | Human SA | Eligibility Worker | |
| DPH | Coordinator and case management currently funded by Pelosi earmark. Have Pelosi re-direct $1.1 million ear mark to save critical substance abuse and mental health services for homleess people. | ||
| Public Def | 1 position | ||
| District Attorney | 1 position | ||
| Sheriff | Includes deputies, transportation | ||
| Building 2 jail cells | |||
| Total | $2,900,000 | ||
| Laguna Honda fixtures, furniture and incidentals | DPH | Budget is bloated for these items | $15,000,000 |
| Prosecuting homeless people | District Attorney | 1 position from DA is used to prosecute homeless people in traffic court. No public monies are used to defend homeless people for tickets for sleeping and camping after being turned away from shelters at a rate of 2 in 3. | $70,000 |
| Operation Outreach | SFPD | 21 full time police officers are assigned to address homeless people. This is 2 from each station and 1 coordinator. Homeless people do not need a special police unit simply because they are poor. They need housing and jobs. | $2,670,000 |
| Delay Assorted Capitol Projects | City Admin | Unallocated | $7,625,405 |
| DPW | Unallocated GSA General Fund | $9,774,589 | |
| Eliminate Tenderloin Washdown | DPW | Tenderloin Washdown” . DPW. This program squirts high powered hoses into storefronts and onto sidewalks in the Tenderloin, often wetting homeless people and creating unhealthly puddles and civil rights violations. The program operates during night time hours, wastes water and does not effectively clean the area. 2 staff, 1 manager | $? |
| Eliminate Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services |
. This department has outlived its purpose with the onset of 311 calling center. | $755,016 | |
| 50% Reduction Mayor’s Office of Communication | Mayor | Mayor can utilize departments for most media dispursement needs | $0 |
| Fire Department Brown Out | SFFD | Voter initiative regarding department is not binding. Fire Department has excessive number of stations and highest per capita number of stations in country. By creating a plan in which during low peak times, engines are rotated from one of two close stations, instead of both, would realize substantial savings. | $6,000,000 |
| Panhandlers Parking Meters | ? | ||
| Early Retirement | |||
| Eliminate Limo Drivers | SFFD | Department has 27 Limo drivers, no longer neccesary | |
| Total Savings | $54,797,826 |
COH