Mayor Breed needs to spend $1 billion on homelessness in San Francisco over subsequent two years

Mayor London Breed is proposing more than $ 1 billion in new funding to fight homelessness over the next two years – a staggering amount she hopes will finally contain the city’s most annoying problem.

This proposal, announced on Tuesday as part of their broader plan for the city’s upcoming $ 13.1 billion budget, is on top of the $ 300 million that is already being spent directly on homelessness each year. The historic investment reflects the tremendous pressure Breed and other city guides are under to appeal to the thousands who live on the streets, in shelters, and in unstable shelters.

In front of a large, masked crowd, Breed proudly described her proposal as a “historic investment” on Tuesday. However, she acknowledged that money alone won’t solve the problem and that the city also needs more housing, treatment and enforcement to take people into or care for.

“For those who display harmful behavior, be it towards themselves or others, or refuse to help, we will use all means to get them into treatments and services, to get them into the home,” she said. “We will not accept that people just stay on the street when we have a place for them.”

It’s unclear how many homeless there are in San Francisco right now, but the number has certainly increased in recent years. The city’s official 2019 census recorded more than 8,000 homeless people, up 30% from two years earlier. Other censuses suggest there could be up to 17,000 homeless people in the city.

At the same time, the financing of assistance to the homeless has increased significantly. The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing budget has grown 80% since it was set up in 2016 to $ 364 million last fiscal year. Meanwhile, Prop. C., a 2018 election taxing large corporations for homeless services, is expected to raise $ 250 million to $ 300 million annually.

Indirect spending on homelessness is likely much higher as the crisis affects many different agencies – from police officers responding to people sleeping on the street to Department of Public Works cleaners sweeping away tents, human feces, and trash .

If the board of directors approves Breed’s massive spending plan this summer, it will likely put even more pressure on City Hall to ensure the money makes a noticeable difference on the city’s streets.

“The city used to spend a lot of money without a plan. Now we actually have a plan. Prop C is the plan, ”said Supervisor Matt Haney, chairman of the board’s budget and finance committee. “Now we have to make it work and get real, we have to track the results and track the data and be transparent about successes and challenges.”

Most of Breed’s proposed homeless investment comes from $ 800 million raised by Prop. C, which it did not support in 2018. The rest would come from the city’s general fund, a 2020 bond effort, government funding, and one-time federal funding from the American Rescue Plan, which earlier this year helped close a massive budget deficit caused by a pandemic.

According to Breed’s proposal, the money would be used for initiatives such as limiting all permanent rental housing to 30% of a resident’s income, funding two new RV sites and maintaining a 40-bed emergency shelter for families.

The mayor also wants to create 6,000 residential spaces by June 2022, including new permanent supportive housing units, additional residential vouchers or the purchase of bus tickets for families and friends of the city. The funding would also cover an additional 4,000 new home brokers through 2023 and help prevent potential homelessness and evictions for over 7,000 households.

In addition to homeless services, Breed is also suggesting $ 300 million, or a 36% year-over-year increase, in additional funding for mental health and drug treatment services as overdoses skyrocket.

Tomiquia Moss, CEO of All Home, a group advocating a regional approach to homelessness, said she was glad that homelessness is being addressed not only by building more housing – but also with the “multitude of services” that such as psychiatric care and drug treatment.

Although the $ 1 billion price tag is enormous, she said it could pay off in the long run as the programs and housing help stabilize people who would otherwise be on the streets.

“We haven’t invested enough for decades,” she said. “What we actually need now to get out of the problem is exorbitant, but it doesn’t have to be that way if we start making the right investments.”

Overall, San Francisco has a budget of $ 13.1 billion for the coming fiscal year and $ 12.8 billion for the following year. That’s a little less than last year’s budget of $ 13.6 billion as major city departments like San Francisco International Airport saw less revenue amid the pandemic.

The Board’s Budget and Finance Committee will hold a series of hearings this summer on the mayor’s proposed plan. The entire board will then vote on the proposal before it is sent back to the mayor for signature around August 1st.

This could be a tense process between the mayor and the board of directors, who in the past have disagreed on how the money should be spent – especially when it comes to funding the homeless, the city’s rainy reserves, and Prop. I, a measure to the real estate transfer tax of 2020.

The mayor’s proposed two-year spending plan also includes:

public safety

Breed proposes $ 65 million for violence prevention and safety. This also includes financing the maintenance of the current police force through two new academy classes for around 100 new officers. These officers would replace those who have retired or left the force.

“Let’s be clear, the security of our city also requires law enforcement,” she said on Tuesday. “That means making sure we have cops on our streets, walking in time and responding to crimes.”

While activists urged city leaders to divert resources from law enforcement to the community, Breed knew it would not reduce the number of officials in San Francisco.

Instead, she has supported new outreach teams of psychiatrists to respond to the people on the street – although there are currently not enough to divert all mental health-related emergency calls away from the cops.

The mayor’s budget also continues the $ 60 million annual investment in the Dream Keeper Initiative, which redirects money from the police force and sheriff’s department into programs that support the city’s black and African American communities.

The law enforcement budget, which includes resources to maintain the current police force and investing in non-civil servant responses to homelessness and mental health crises, is sure to be scaled back.

In May, a hearing before a committee of overseers on alternatives to law enforcement attracted dozens of callers. Most urged to relieve the police and invest more in community services, psychological treatment and education. A smaller contingent called for law enforcement funds to be kept or even increased, citing a pandemic increase in break-ins and street violent attacks.

Economic recovery

Breed plans to spend $ 477 million over the two years to “fuel and accelerate” the city’s economic recovery.

The bulk of it would be spent on the city’s remaining COVID-19 response, which includes funding the city’s homeless hotel program through early 2022. It also includes funds for food security programs, vaccinations, and testing.

The chronicle’s author, Mallory Moench, contributed to this report.

Trisha Thadani is a contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani