San Francisco Mayor’s Budget Plan Aims to Boost Police Spending Amid Deficit

As San Francisco faces a nearly $800 million deficit, Mayor London Breed’s budget proposal prioritizes boosting law enforcement, revitalizing downtown, and preventing homelessness, spending that she said “reflects our values.” The mayor unveiled her budget in May, which proposed spending $15.9 billion for 2024–25 and $15.5 billion for 2025–26. “In this budget, we made the tough decisions to close our deficit and those are never easy, but we also made the right decision to invest in critical city services our residents expect and deserve,” Ms. Breed said in a statement. The mayor emphasized the importance of improving public safety in the city. The proposal aims to increase law enforcement staffing, invest in new technologies, and “modernize San Francisco’s public safety resources,” her office said. She has proposed spending $821.6 million on policing in fiscal 2024–25, up 6 percent from 2023–24. Her proposed $839.5 million for fiscal 2025–26 would be a further increase of 2.2 percent....