San Francisco’s budget is a mess, but at least its streets won’t be.
Mayor Daniel Lurie’s budget will nix proposed cuts to Public Works street cleaning teams, The Standard has learned.
And, in news of interest to anyone who has ever stepped in something awful on a sidewalk, rather than axing eight street cleaners, Lurie will boost the teams by 18 employees, sources with knowledge said.
Lurie is set to reveal his proposed budget Friday or Monday to meet a June 1 deadline. While its full scope has yet to be revealed, portions have leaked: Public safety departments will be spared from cuts while others figure out how to eliminate roughly 1,000 jobs, some which will come from layoffs. He’s also amassing a $400 million war chest to defend against federal meddling.
Public Works spokesperson Rachel Gordon said Lurie’s priorities for a clean San Francisco align with the department’s goals.
“It sounds like good news not just for Public Works but for the people of San Francisco, allowing us to build on the momentum to bring back the neighborhoods to keep them clean and welcoming,” Gordon said.
Public Works employs roughly 250 street cleaners. That doesn’t include truck drivers or members of the department’s Block Sweepers program, which puts underemployed and unemployed people to work cleaning commercial corridors. The 18 new staffers may represent almost as many new teams, as some cleaners work solo and others work in groups, Gordon said.
Lurie walked back another proposed Public Works cut: extra power-washing for Chinatown, a program that began in 2018 under Mayor London Breed. Half of the program’s $800,000 budget was restored by Lurie.
“This is one we really went to bat for, and we’re glad it’s been restored,” said Supervisor Danny Sauter, whose district includes Chinatown, North Beach, and Fisherman’s Wharf.
Streets are on Lurie’s mind in other ways too.
The mayor previously consolidated nine city-led street teams that respond to crises, arguing that the myriad efforts could be more efficient. In his proposed budget, he’s planning to bring most of the city’s third-party ambassador programs, such as Urban Alchemy, under one roof at the Department of Emergency Management.
While Lurie declined to speak to specific budget items, he discussed the need for more focused efforts.
“We are already seeing closer coordination and signs of better outcomes for those struggling on our streets” after consolidating city-led street teams, he told The Standard in a statement. “But to accelerate our recovery, we must make the most of every tool we have to provide safe and clean streets for our residents and visitors.”
Those teams will see dips in funding, from $30 million spent on ambassador programs in the 2024-25 fiscal budget to $27 million in 2025-26 and $26 million in 2026-27.
The reductions will mostly be represented by the anticipated ramping down of Urban Alchemy’s efforts in the Tenderloin and Mid-Market, sources said. Replacement efforts have been discussed internally but have yet to be finalized.