A Guide to San Francisco'sBudget Process
B u d g e t Y e a r 2 0 1 0 - 1 1
Prepared by City and County of San FranciscoController's Office
April 15, 2010
2
A Guide to San Francisco's Budget Process
City & County of San Francisco, Controller's Office
IntroductionBalancing the Budget
E
ach year the City andCounty of San Franciscospends billions of dollars tomaintain and improve ourlibraries and parks, to paveroads, and to operatehospitals, the Airport andCity Hall. The City runsMUNI, provides police, fireand emergency medicalservices and also collectstaxes. During the budgetprocess, critical decisionsare made about all publicservices. Choices are madeabout spending on health
care, children’s programs,
jails, and hundreds of otherpublic services and facilities.City services significantlyimpact your daily life. Stayinformed - attend a publicmeeting, call or send an e-mail or a letter to yourelected representatives andtalk with your neighbors. Your tax dollars go into thebudget, and public input onhow the money is spent isvital. This brochure will helpyou navigate the City &
County’s budget process and
provides key timeline andmeeting information to helpyou stay informed.
T
he Constitution of theState of California requiresall cities to adopt a balancedbudget. This means that:Sources or Revenues=Uses or CostsOne of the challenges eachyear is that the City mustestimate its revenues andcosts as far as 18 months inadvance. Another challengeis that the City Charter andState law in many casesrestrict how revenue may begenerated and oftentimesspecify how the City mustspend available funds. Insome years, yet anotherchallenge is that projectedcost increases are expected tooutpace revenue growth. ForFiscal Year (FY) 2010-11, ashortfall of $483 million (equalto 13
% of the City’s General
Fund supported budget) isprojected due to decreases inprojected year-end fundbalance, declining revenuesdue to the weak economy,State budget cuts, increasedvoter-approved baselinefunding requirements andincreasing City operating costs.While the Bay Area economy isstrong in many areas,challenges still exist. Themoderate growth in new jobshas resulted in some increasein employment - related localrevenues, and property-relatedrevenues reflect stability inreal estate values, althoughrevenues realized over thepast few years from thetransfer of commercialproperties has sharplydeclined. Economic downturnin other parts of Californiahave negatively impacted the
State’s budget and Citywide
costs have continued toclimb, in large part due toescalating employee salaryand benefit costs related tolabor agreement provisions,new mandates and capitalfunding. As a result, the Citywill have to either reduceprojected cost increases orincrease revenues.
Contents
Introduction 2Balancing the Budget 2What is in the Budget? 3Who participates in theBudget Process? 4Fiscal Year 2010-2011Budget Timetable 5Where do I get BudgetInformation? 6 Annual AppropriationOrdinance (AAO) 6Fiscal Year 2009-10Sources and Uses Budget 7Where can I make myvoice heard? 8Budget & Finance CommitteeFiscal Year 2010-2011 8
Controller's Office
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett PlaceCity Hall, Room 316San Francisco, CA 94102-4694
Phone:
(415) 554-7500
Fax:
(415) 554-7466
E-mail:
controller@sfgov.org
Web:
http://www.sfgov.org/site/controller_index.asp
3
What is in the Budget?
PublicWorks, Transportation &Commerce8,452 or 31.6%
Public Protection6,318 or 23.6%Public Health5,838 or 21.8%Human Welfare &NeighborhoodDevelopment1,958 or 7.3%Culture & Recreation1,810 or 6.8%GeneralAdministration &Finance2,346 or 8.8%
The City & County's FY 2009-10 Annual Budget is $6.6 billionand includes funding for 26,721 positions as shown below byMajor Service Area
T
he City is organized bydepartments - nearly 60 intotal - ranging in size of budgets less than $1 million(Unified School District) toover $1.4 billion (PublicHealth) and from staffs of one (Unified School District)to thousands (Public Health,MUNI).Each department breaks
down its budget and staff into programs - smaller
unitswith specific jobs to do.For example, the Fire
Department’s programs
include Fire Prevention, FireSuppression & Investigation. A program is often the bestway to understand andcritique the budget - at thislevel
you can see the trends,the decisions that your Cityis making, and the specificservices being funded.The
Mayor’s Budget Book
(Proposed Budget) and the
Annual Appropriation
Ordinance
(AdoptedBudget)
each show the Citybudget by program.
E
very department isrequired by law to measureand report on itsperformance. Thesemeasures can show theeffectiveness of differentCity services and the moneyspent on them.For example, the HumanServices Agency measuresthe number of peoplereceiving job training whosuccessfully earn income andstop receiving publicassistance.The
Mayor's Budget Book
and the
Controller'sCitizen Survey
each showperformance measures,comparisons, and ratings of the quality of City Servicesfrom year to year. The CitySurvey is completed everyother year. The last surveywas completed in April 2009.
E
very department payssalaries to its staff, buysmaterials and supplies, andcontracts with privatebusinesses or with non-profitorganizations to build thingsor to provide services.Many departments collectfees, receive grant funding,or generate other kinds of revenue. By reviewing thesources side of a
department’s budget, you will
be able to tell how much of their costs are being coveredthrough both tax and non-taxrevenues (that is, fees andservice charges).The
Mayor’s Budget Book
and the
Annual Appropriation Ordinance
both show departmentbudgets this way - by type of revenue and expense.
The
Annual AppropriationOrdinance
and the
Controller's Citizen Survey
are available on the Controller's Office website
(www.sfgov.org/controller)
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San Francisco Budget Process
A brief description of San Francisco's municipal budget process. Produced by the San Francisco Controller's Office and issued April 15, 2010. This document was downloaded from the Controller's Office website April 14, 2012.
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