San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie unveiled his long-awaited two-year budget proposal Friday morning, citing the need to tackle a historic $782 million deficit and usher in what he called a “new culture of accountability for each tax dollar.” But even before the full budget was made public, criticism erupted across the city, with the People’s Budget Coalition issuing a forceful condemnation of what it called an “austerity budget” that “balances the budget on the backs of the working class of San Francisco.”
According to a press release from the Coalition, the mayor’s proposal slashes $100 million in vital services, including homelessness support, food access, and legal services—cuts that directly affect the city’s most vulnerable residents. The Coalition warns that hundreds of city workers are now bracing for layoff notices, with even more nonprofit employees at risk as city-funded community-based programs face either deep reductions or complete elimination.
“Difficult choices have to be made in unprecedented times, but the Mayor is taking familiar routes: balancing the budget on the backs of working-class San Franciscans while protecting the wealthy and powerful,” the Coalition stated. “Someone always has to pay, and it’s always us.”
In announcing his proposal Friday, Mayor Lurie said his $15.9 billion budget for fiscal year 2025–2026—$400 million more than former Mayor London Breed’s budget for the same year—was designed to protect core services that “enhance quality of life for all San Franciscans.” Among the departments spared cuts are the police, fire, sheriff, district attorney, public defender, and juvenile and adult probation departments. The budget also preserves funding for legal services for LGBTQ+ and immigrant communities and maintains spending on street cleaning and emergency management.
However, the mayor’s office also confirmed that 1,400 positions will be eliminated across 17 departments—1,300 of which are already vacant due to a January hiring freeze. Roughly 100 current city employees will be laid off. Mission Local reports that the Office of Economic and Workforce Development and the Department of Emergency Management will see some of the heaviest cuts, while the Mayor’s own Office of Housing and Community Development will also be reduced.
Perhaps most controversial is the plan to slash $200 million in nonprofit contracting over two years, a move that could impact a broad range of outsourced services, from housing support and legal aid to cultural programming and community health.
In its press release, the People’s Budget Coalition called out what it sees as an imbalance in priorities: “It is clear that investments in mass arrests and subsidies to downtown real estate will continue,” while essential services across neighborhoods are being cut.
Adding to frustrations, the Coalition criticized the mayor’s office for its lack of transparency. Even after the official announcement, the full budget was not immediately released to the public. “This follows an unfortunate trend of the community, service providers, and the public being the last to know the real details,” the group stated.
The mayor’s office acknowledged that the budget does continue to rely on some one-time funds—at least $40 million in reserves—even as it claims to be phasing out the practice of using such funds for ongoing expenses. It also sets aside $400 million to prepare for expected federal funding cuts, including a clawback of $141 million in FEMA funds and the loss of $267 million in anticipated federal support.
In response, the Coalition urged Mayor Lurie to reject failed strategies such as “doubling down on downtown” and investing in new jails, calling instead for policies that prioritize neighborhoods, workers, and proven community-based solutions. “We appreciate the Mayor’s dedication to address this budget crisis head on,” the Coalition concluded, “but we are concerned at who these cuts target and who they spare.”
