Budget Committee Draws Line on Layoffs, Targets Senior Management in $900M Deficit Fight

San Francisco's Budget and Appropriations Committee laid down its markers for the coming budget battle Wednesday, unanimously adopting a framework that demands cuts start at the top of city government — not with frontline workers serving vulnerable communities. With a $900 million deficit looming and an estimated $737 million in federal funding losses over four years, the committee's priorities will shape how the Board of Supervisors evaluates Mayor Daniel Lurie's proposed budget starting in May.

• Committee adopts "chop from the top" budget priorities, directing cuts at senior management before frontline staff, and sends framework to full Board on 3-0 vote

• $737 million in projected federal losses compounded by a chilling effect on philanthropy, leaving the city as the last line of defense for immigrant, trans, and BIPOC communities

• Chair Connie Chan announces she will step down as Budget Committee chair in August 2026 after shepherding the two-year budget through passage

• Payroll data shows the city added 815 senior managers at $211.9 million in cost over 14 years, bolstering the case for management-level reductions

• Nonprofit service providers push for stabilization funding, warning that rising costs and delayed city payments are straining the safety net

Supervisor Connie Chan, chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, introduced a motion establishing the Board's priorities for the fiscal year 2026–2028 budget cycle — a two-year spending plan that will be negotiated against one of the worst fiscal outlooks San Francisco has faced in recent memory.