San Francisco: Health Commission Accepts $15.5 Million Less in Budget

A budget-cutting plan approved by the San Francisco Health Commission Tuesday will reduce support for people with HIV, cut services for the mentally ill, and lay off nurses who visit the chronically ill. The mid-year cut-backs are part of a plan introduced last week by Mayor Gavin Newsom, who blamed a $25 million shortfall in this fiscal year -- and an $80 million annual shortfall in the coming years -- on the failures of two ballot measures that would have raised the sales tax and introduced new business taxes. Newsom hopes to slice $97 million from the city's budget in the coming 18 months.

The commission had little choice in the matter, as the mayor has the authority to enact mid-year cuts unilaterally. In resolutions, it asked Newsom to restore about $60,000 in funding for the Shanti Lifelines breast cancer case management program, plus funds for an anti-gambling initiative and HIV support services. HIV services comprise about 25 percent of the health cuts.

The nearly 200 people who attended Tuesday's meeting offered 90 minutes of comments asking the commissioners to spare programs, especially those targeting people with HIV or breast cancer. While Department of Public Health Director Dr. Mitch Katz said the cuts were planned to avoid impacting core services, many citizens testified that without support services, such as transportation and translation, core services would indeed be affected. Some speakers predicted the cuts would raise costs to the city in other areas, such as emergency-room fees. "We've done our best, but we realize this is not a list to be proud of," said Katz.

To close a projected $307 million deficit in San Francisco's $5 billion 2004-05 budget, Newsom and the Board of Supervisors had already turned to service cuts, layoffs and employee salary givebacks to fund pensions.

Back to other news for November 10, 2004