Seniors Pack City Hall as $11 Million in Program Cuts Loom

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors' Budget & Appropriations Committee held a marathon hearing on proposed cuts to older adult and disability programs — and what they heard was a city on the brink of dismantling the community safety net it built by voter mandate.

• City deficit is $690 million, not the $1 billion figure the mayor's office has been citing, budget director concedes under questioning

• 69 community grants totaling $6.9 million face total elimination under the Mayor's Office of Housing proposal, along with digital equity programs serving nearly 8,000 senior households

• DAS proposes $2.9 million in cuts hitting community centers, LGBTQ pilot programs, workforce training and safety initiatives — the second straight year of significant reductions

• More than 40 public commenters from the Dignity Fund Coalition, Senior and Disability Action, Booker T. Washington and dozens of other organizations oppose the cuts, calling them "penny wise, pound foolish"

• Advocates from Black, LGBTQ and immigrant communities warn cuts will fall hardest on populations already facing systemic disparities

• Supervisors signal skepticism, with Chair Chan calling for revenue increases and Supervisor Sauter demanding "warm handoffs" if services are shifted

San Francisco's budget picture may not be as dire as the mayor's office has been suggesting — and one supervisor forced the administration to say so on the record.