Supes Push for More Equitable BudgetPaul Hogarthbyline‚ Jun. 11‚ 2009Mayor Gavin Newsom may call his budget proposal “near perfect,” but it is anything but equitable. For the first time in recent memory, the City’s General Fund would give more to Police than to Public Health – and more to the Fire Department than Human Services. A large crowd of non-profit workers and their clients marched down Market Street yesterday towards City Hall – demanding that the Board of Supervisors save front-line services, and take a more balanced approach to the San Francisco budget. Over the next month, the Supervisors will make changes to the Mayor’s proposal – which usually means saving a few key programs that are a minor slice of a $6.6 billion document. But at last night’s Budget Committee, the Supervisors voted 3-2 to pass an amendment cutting $82 million out of the Police, Fire and Sheriff Departments – so that the City can more evenly “spread the pain” of the financial crisis among various agencies. It was the first signal that the Board means business, and will not be content with just tinkering around the edges. |