Fight the Savage City Budget Cuts
San Francisco faces a $576 million shortfall, half of its normal
discretionary spending. Mayor Gavin Newsom has eliminated $115
million from this year’s budget, 40% as devastating cuts to the Public
Health Department. He plans to take $90 million from City workers,
though Police and Fire have refused. He plans to take $49 million
from the Rainy Day fund. And he plans to take 12.5% from the
2009-2010 budget of each Department, for an additional $144 million.

But Newsom has no viable plan for the remaining $178 million budget
shortfall. He has proposed a couple on non-starters: lifting caps on
condominium conversions and selling them for $10,000 (which won’t pass
the Supervisors because it would decimate rental housing stocks), and
selling taxi medallions (which have failed in recent votes.)

Newsom’s other plan makes the budget crisis worse, not better:
redirecting federal stimulus money (intended to sustain existing
health and human services from Oct. 2008 through Dec. 2010) to
one-time construction and beautification, and tax breaks and
no-interest loans for business.

The real plan of Newsom, the Committee on Jobs, and the Chamber of
Commerce is to let the City budget crash, and then force through a
second round of 12.5% “Contingency” cuts to all Departments, making
$100 million in health cuts. Implementing this second round of cuts
will mean massive contracting out and slashing of City and non-profit
health, homeless, family, and other human services. For seniors, the
sick and disabled, and low-income working people, San Francisco would
become like New Orleans after Katrina.

Cuts identified so far:

Mental Health: Total loss of outpatient care for 6,500 clients.
Uninsured get only crisis care. 2+ month wait for individual
outpatient care. Loss of 50+ City positions in outpatient clinics.
Half of SF General Hospital acute inpatient beds lost.

Substance Abuse: Half of funding lost. Services lost for 3,500+
individuals. Treatment on Demand Ordinance redefined as only detox
and methadone treatment. Loss of outpatient treatment targeting
Tenderloin and Central City.

Housing: 5 month wait for families seeking shelter. Full shelters with
2/3 people turned away each night, while Sanitation trucks patrol
Tenderloin each night hosing down homeless sleeping in doorways. Kean
SRO Hotel closed, loss of housing for 1,000. Loss of case management
(help with medications, medical and social service appointments,
access to services) for residents of Conard House, Baker Places, and
Progress Foundation.

SF General Hospital: Half of nurses in General Medical Clinic and
Women’s Clinic laid off. Rape Treatment Program eliminated. Untrained
clerical workers substituted for clinically-trained Unit Clerks.
Less-trained health workers substituted for CNAs.

Laguna Honda Hospital: No more low-income seniors or disabled accepted
as nursing home patients. Closure of Adult Day Health Center, where
families could bring Alzheimer patients during the day so they could
stay with their family members at night and their families could work;

Healthy San Francisco, Universal Healthcare: With layoffs at City
clinics, wait time increased from 3 to 6 months. An estimated 50
members per day, many paying premiums, unable to get visits, yet
program expands to include yet more patients.

What needs to happen:

Cut the Fat! The Coalition to Save Public Health has identified $70
million in wasteful or unnecessary costs, including 400 managers hired
since a hiring freeze, PR executives for the Mayor or Departments,
salaries over $150,000, and $1 million in police overtime
investigating construction sites.

Pass Revenue Measures. Make Those Who Can Afford Pay! An income tax on
high-pay workers in the City, a gross receipts tax on big business, a
transit assessment tax on downtown business, a realistic charge to
PG&E for gas and electricity privileges, and a City vehicle tax.

Community and Supervisor Input and Transparency! Remove the Mayor’s
right to set the total amount of the budget. Provide Supervisors and
the Community the same budget resources and information as the Mayor’s
office.

People’s needs first; make the bosses take the losses!