SAN FRANCISCO-Mayor Edwin M. Lee just recently signed San Francisco's two-year balanced budget for Fiscal Year 2013-14 and 2014-15. The two-year balanced budget for Fiscal Year 2013-14 and 2014-15 totals $7.9-billion annually, and it closes budget shortfalls of $124 million for fiscal year 2013-14 and $256 million for FY 2014-15.
The Mayor and Board of Supervisors worked closely together to develop this budget, and collaborated with residents, community organizations, City Departments and City employees to deliver the balanced budget on time. “This consensus driven, responsible budget that the Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted eflects our shared commitment to innovate to solve our City's challenges, involve the public and invest in our infrastructure and workforce,” says Mayor Lee. “Together we are supporting San Francisco's economic recovery and at the same time, guaranteeing public safety and protecting the social safety net services for those that need them the most.”
The two-year budget “provides vital services to our residents and invests in the safety and vibrancy of our neighborhoods,” says Board of Supervisors President David Chiu. “This is a responsible budget in a growing economy.”
The City's budget reflects funding decisions that align with the City's Five Year Financial Plan and protects the City's economic recovery. This includes increasing budgetary reserves to record levels; reducing reliance on debt; addressing structural challenges at the Department of Public Health without enacting service cuts; and making unprecedented up front investments in capital infrastructure and streets that will save money over the long term. The final budget includes funding for historic levels of General Fund capital improvements--with the final budget including a total of $179 million over the next two years.
This budget also funds important policy priorities including: adding capacity to successfully implement the federal Affordable Care Act; funding hiring plans for the City's public safety departments which will ensure that San Francisco hires 300 new police officers and 120 fire fighters over the next two years; and supporting the City's children and families by allocating $110 million in direct funding to the San Francisco Unified School District. The budget also adds capacity at the Recreation and Parks department to open one new clubhouse in every district in San Francisco.
San Francisco's unemployment rate has dropped from 9.5% in January 2011 to 5.7% in June 2013. But with many San Franciscans still unemployed, Mayor Lee and the Board of Supervisors remain focused on jobs and the economy, and this proposed budget includes a number of economic and workforce development initiatives to support small businesses, drive job creation and strengthen diverse neighborhoods.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
