as you have heard, there have been cuts and cuts and cuts. these contractors have not had an increase in money since 2007. so when you are thinking about making additional cuts, when you say 10% and 10% more, it does not sound like much, but when these contracts for most of these cbo's , about that have not been raised since 2007 and are doing the hard work that everybody up here has been talking about, an additional cut is called starvation. i am urging you to look for other places to take the cuts. the people in this community are the most vulnerable. the workers in this community are ready to, you know, keep continuing the work. we are not asking for a raise this year, although of course, that is what our members would like. we are asking you to maintain these services and the work being provided as a whole unit.

i wanted to give you a brief lead with -- leaflet. i'm done, thanks. >> thank you. we have time for a couple more over here, and then we are going to call two more names. >> about three years ago, i moved here because they were cutting a lot of hiv services and taxes. i figured i would be able to get better. it is really frustrating because we do not have enough economic opportunities. disabled people in general cannot work the eight hours a day that a lot of people are able to. there's just not the economic opportunity, and we have all these cuts that we're talking about here, and one thing about

revenue, and i think that for each of these cuts, we need to have something producing revenue, whether it be organizations employing hiv- positive people or disabled people that work within the facilities -- we need to come up with some kind of innovative thinking like we are doing with the cuts for revenue because it is not going to fly just cutting things. we are going to continue to see people flooding in throughout the country to san francisco because they are still making cuts out there, what little they have, and we kind of ignore that fact, but people are going to still come here, and there is nothing -- this is the only place that gay people have to come to live and be free. i spent years and years in texas trying to be employed, and it does not work, so i come here, and there's no economic opportunity for us, so we need to think about that. thanks. [applause]

>> hello. i am here representing the treasure island community. i'm here -- mayor, thank you for being here this evening. just to support the catholic charities and development center. we really need funding for that. and to reestablish the muni link that helps our families to the grocery store. there are no grocery stores on the island. population consists of a transitional community. we used to have about 180 kids to provide academic success, job readiness, healthy lifestyles, and we're taking from the children that are the future of our generation. so please reconsider budget cuts, and i just want to say

hello to maria and thank you for all the work you do. please do not cut our children funds. thank you. [applause] >> i am just a parent on treasure island. my kids go to treasure island boys and girls club. they need that clubhouse, just like i need my kids to do their homework. [applause] one more question for the mayor and supervisor -- i just want to know what are you guys doing with the money from the number one cash crop in california, which is cannabis? i know you guys are charging cannabis club a large tax. i want to know where that tax money is going and why we are having a budget crisis when you're getting that much money from each club in san francisco. [applause]

>> hello. in the coordinator of the friends of but never part. the reason i'm speaking today is particularly for our rec and park department and our clubhouses. the park is in the tenderloin at the corner of jones and eddie. it is only open three hours a day five days a week, and it is the only park in the north of market tender one that is open to all ages. seniors, kids, and adults. the other parks are for young people. so it is very urgent for us to have our park open more often. also, i do not know if you are aware that all the clubhouses in san francisco are not staff now. it is really urgent that we have more staffing at our club houses in san francisco. they mainly have to be rented out to private organizations to provide the programming. even though that might be

necessary, i feel and i think many others feel that we should have our own city staff at the club houses providing programming. it is a funding issue, of course, but i think it is really urgent to be able to have our own staff for representative and park department in our clubhouses and recreation centers, particularly for our own part in our own district 6 in the tenderloin. we need more staffing. thank you very much. fosdic-- >> hello. my name is susan bryant. i live in district 6 in the heart of the tenderloin. i want to say to the elected officials, the decision makers

of san francisco -- do not give away the store with tax cuts. do you remember the dot-com situation? we could not do enough for those guys. we were building lofts and not charging any taxes for schools. we were so happy that they were here and they were going to generate all that money for us. you know what happened -- those guys went back to live in their parents' basement. [laughter] san francisco -- everything starts here. where is our pride? they should be happy to be here and not have us give them tax cuts all the time. we gave the fisher family $30 billion a while back. where did that go? what good does that do us? anyway, our muni, our bart

brings these employees to the doors of where they have to work. we service them. that money has to come from somewhere, and it should not come from us. they should pay the freight. i mean, because, where is our pride? we have all the good ideas. anybody moves away, what is going to happen is they are going to die on the vine. thank you. [applause] >> [inaudible] you know, we want you all you allsro -- let sro people know what is going on. we did not feel we get a fair representation. we want to have a better city. an earthquake should not have to come before we all come

together. it is time that everyone in this city that brings money to the city and loves this city is a fear it will want to know what is going on at city hall. we need to let people know what is going on. people do not know what is going on. we want people to know that is not free shelter. thank you. >> thank you, everyone, for coming out. i want to thank all the speakers. i want to thank everybody who is here. i am a district 6 residents. i am a parent in this neighborhood. i am a service provider, and it is beautiful to me to see our community here. district 6 is a lot of times the overlooked community in this city. people forget that families live here, people live here, so it is beautiful to see you all he appeared on april 16, the

department of public works is doing a community clean-up in the south of market, so look into that. come out and support, and remember, this is just the beginning of the process. this is just the beginning of the budget process. if you were not able to speak, write down your comments and put them on the wall back there. i'm sure you can contact supervisor kim's office. there are many ways you can continue to be engaged in this because that is what we need, for the community to come out and be at the table. thank you very much. we are going to pass it on to close, but thank you all for being here tonight. [applause] >> let me add my thanks to everyone here tonight for your time, for your patience, listening to each other.

it is very important that we get this information, and i also want to just thank our staff at the office of civic engagement. i see they are working very hard to make sure everyone understands what is going on. the budget is very serious. one of the most important things we do in the city, and i want to make sure everybody is included throughout the city. if it is as smooth as tonight, i do not mind going to seven more of these things. thank you very much for being patient with us and sharing your ideas and passion about how you love to be in this city and to be part of it. thank you very much. [applause] >> again, just want to reiterate, thank you so much for being here. i want to thank our department heads, our budget director for being here. we asked him to come and just listen. you often get to hear us, and we do not always get the same opportunity to hear you, so they

all came knowing that they would not get an opportunity to speak or respond, but they came to get feedback from you as they develop their budget, so we thank you for giving of that tonight. also, this would not have been possible if not for the many community residents and organizers that brought people out, that organized folks and educated people about the budget and budget process, so i really want to thank all the organizers and the volunteers. also, the greeters, the people that provide child care. all the folks out there, raise their hands. paul, chris, tiffany, johnny, diana, chilly -- thank you so much for helping me tonight. and i want to thank everyone because this is a tough and painful and emotional process, and everyone really came ready and also very respectful. it did not have to go like this, and i just really wanted to appreciate that, and this is just the beginning of a dialogue and process for our office. we will continue to hold budget

stakeholders meetings, so please, come up to our staff and signed up so you can find out when our meetings are and continue to engage. i wanted and community members for being irresponsible about what we can contribute to these cuts. we will come out and do more clean up and held out if you can help us bring lights to the victoria park. those other types of solutions. we can all can cheviot to that process as well. we really heard a lot of things that were said tonight. district 6 is home to one of the most diverse constituencies here in the city. we have the poorest residents of san francisco. we have lgbt, immigrants, people of color, youth, and a high proportion of seniors as well. we heard that people want to see more jobs, want to see access to more jobs for our residents. we want to see more preventative compared to just reactive, so we want to see after-school

programs versus the police picking up our youth because they are out on the streets. we want to see more preventative health versus going to the emergency room. those were all things that were said tonight, and we have to come together and support revenue in the city. that is where you can come together to help us put that together. thank you again. also want to recognize security here from tenderloin station. he hosts regular community meetings, so please, though. he has really been a community partner for us. are there any other announcements? >> please return your translation headsets. [laughter] them all right. thank you again so much. i hold office hours were you did not have to make an appointment with me every first friday and first saturday of the month, said czech our website. and get on our e-mail list. thank you.

>> ok, everyone, but like to thank everyone for coming out this evening. this is a wonderful turnout. i especially would like to thank ucsf for letting us use this beautiful facility. i am honored that mayor ed lee

is with us today. thank you, sir, for coming. [applause] i am equally honored to welcome department heads from some of our most important departments -- hint hint. i'm going to bother them up for all of us. it is also wonderful to see so many people from our communities here tonight. we are having this meeting because the city, as you know, faces a deficit of $300 million, and the mayor's predecessor requested that all agencies cut 10% from their budget and prepare an additional 10% cut in their contingency. this means that agencies like department children and the families come upon a public health will have to spend a lot less money to do things that they want to do throughout the city.

and to help us carry out the missions of many of the organizations that are in the room today. the goal tonight is to come up with our community priorities and a vision for the district as well as the city. i want to focus the conversation on city agencies that can fund cbo's rather than cut programs. i'm hopeful that with all the smart mines in this room, that we can collaborate on ways to find some savings. here are a couple of questions for you to think about -- are there programs that overlap? are we still spending money on a program for problem that existed five years or 10 years ago that does not exist now? are there new approaches to old problems that can save money? are we spending money on temporary fixes without addressing the larger issue? i understand that no one wants to have their programs cut -- of course not. i also want everyone here to

understand that no one of here wants to cut programs because they do not care about the population being served. there are no villains here. we are all on the same team. it is a tough situation, and we are here so that we can begin to work together. in about seven weeks, starting june 1, the mayor's office will come out with their budget. then, the board of supervisors will pick up the budget with the opportunity to make changes. i want this meeting tonight to be an important step in that process. as the mayor and budget director speak, i would like everyone with a question to write it down so when it comes time for questions, you may ask them. we have cards that have different colors based on topics. please make sure that you include your name and contact information. when your done, and if you need another card, hold it up, and my staff will come by and help you.

i would like to a college dan stein, who has been instrumental. -- i would like to acknowledge dan stein. megan. leslie. where is john? he is moving his car. well, he will be your. the colors will make sure we ask questions on different topics throughout the night, and we will know of any specific issues that are especially important. i will call on people to either come up to read their question, or if they prefer, i can read them. we will try to get through these presentations quickly so that we have as much time as possible left for questions at the end. remember, we are all here to hear the voices in this room. i hope that we can find solutions to be very difficult situation, and again, i would like to thank everyone again for coming, and i would like to now turn things over to mayor ed

lee. thank you. [applause] mayor lee: thank you. thank you, supervisor cohen, and thank all of you for welcoming us here to district tend to talk about our city-wide budget. i also want to recognize the department heads that are here today, joining here sitting in the front row as well as various commissioners. i know several of you out there are commissioners for the city, and i appreciate your time, being here tonight. also want to give a shout out to the office of civic engagement. i know they are doing translation tonight as well, and that is exactly what we wanted that office to do when we put some funding to it. thank you very much for your team to be out here, making sure that people understand in all languages what we are trying to do with our budget. [applause] i'm not going to make a long speech for you. i'm here to listen and listen carefully to what people say are

the priorities for the community. i also want to let you know that i will be working very closely with supervisor cohen. i'm excited about her leadership in the district. i have committed to working extremely closely with our supervisors, so please, listen to her. listen to us as we talk through what we have here in the next couple of weeks, departments will be coming out with their cuts -- at least their proposed cuts to the budget. we are building in a degree of flexibility, and part of that flexibility is to listen carefully to what you have to say tonight. hopefully, as those cuts come out and the weeks in sioux -- ensue before the budget is due to the board for their decision making, that we have done our best to reflect some of the budget priorities, perhaps as many as we can, about what you're saying to us. as we hold these budget town

halls throughout the city -- this is the third. i will be holding 10, just to make sure that we listen carefully to what the community has to say. that is my commitment. as many of you know, i am not running for mayor. i am running to listen to you and to make sure that i am as close to the community as possible. i will be here listening tonight as well. i have said very simply i want a budget, and i have said this to department heads, to commissioners, and i am saying it to every district, every community -- and i want the budget to reflect a save san francisco, safe in the public safety since, save in a -- safe in the core level of essential services. i want the city to be solvent. it must have programs that we can afford to pay. that is why i am working hard on a parallel issue, which is reining in our pension costs, to make sure we have pension

reform this year that will make sure we solve that problem so it never eats into our general fund. we want the city to be solvent. and we ultimately want to join you all tonight to make sure the city is successful. our city attracts you and so many other people to state and live here because we believe in the city. we believe in its multiculturalism. we believe in the neighborhoods , that it thrives, and that is what makes the city successful, but i want that city to continue being successful. with that, i am all ears tonight, and you also have my heart open to the issues that you are struggling with because i know there is a lot of issues that people struggle with. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you. ok, i'm just going to briefly go down the names of the attending agencies and their representatives. we have farber garcia, director

of the form of public health. maybe just wave. that is very nice, but let's hold our applause. let's just hold our applause so we can get through the business of tonight. jim, deputy director of human resources. fred blackwell, director of redevelopment agency. we have jeff go down, sfpd. sonali bose, sfmta. bob sitting in for phil ginsburg from iraq and park -- from rec adn park. -- rec and park. next up, we have greg wagner, who is going to be via a little bit on the budget. you can use that microphone right there.

>> thank you very much, supervisor cohen. i wanted to set the stage by walking briefly through an overview of what our budget problem is, to set the stage for the conversation we are going to have and give a little bit of background on why we are all here tonight and what the challenges are that are facing us collectively over the next three months as we need to balance our budget. so as you know, the city charter requires us to have a balanced budget every year. unlike the federal government, we cannot borrow money and operate at a deficit. this is an ironclad requirement.

it requires us to ensure that our sources and the money coming into the city are equal to our users, and that is the expenditures we make. when we look ahead at next year, we do a projection of what our revenues look like and what our expenditures look like, and what we're seeing for next year is that we are going to have a little bit of good news on revenues -- about $37.7 million, but offsetting that is an expenditure growth. it is getting more expensive to operate our city at the same level, and we're going to have about $344 million worth of cost increases. much of the do, as mayor lee noted, to increases in employee benefit costs. that will be one of the issues that i think we will all have to tackle over the next several months. the bottom line is that we have a $306 million deficit projected

for the coming year. this is a little bit better than our starting point of $380 million that, some little bit of good news that we have been seeing out there in the economy, it looks like things are stabilizing a little bit. nonetheless, we still have a sizable challenge remaining to get our budget into balance. as i said, we are seeing some glimmers of hope that the economy is beginning to stabilize over the last several years, we have had declines in revenue. just as the economy affects all of us personally, it affects the city's finances. we are starting to see things come back a little bit, but we are projecting a slow and steady recovery over the next several years. one of the very early stages of that -- we are in the very early stages of that recovery.

even while our local tax revenues are recovering, we are taking significant cuts in funding from the state and federal government. last year, we were able to protect a lot of services by using about $120 million of federal revenue have our health department, the human services agency. those funds have gone away this year, so that leaves us with a gap that we need to make up. again, our cost growth -- we have among our wages, pension costs and health care -- we have over $100 million worth of growth in those expenses alone. and the other costs of doing business for the city are increasing at the same time. the mayor, under the city charter, is required to balance that gap by june 1 and submit a proposed balanced budget to the board of supervisors, who will

then take up the budget and make adjustments to the mayor of's proposal -- the mayor's proposal, said that is the task before us over the next couple of weeks. one of the things i hear from folks often is that san francisco has a $6.5 billion budget. why is a $305 million deficit such a problem? the main reason for that is that there are different categories within the city budget. the biggest division in the city budget is the distinction between what is in the general fund and what is outside the general fund. the general fund is the part of the city budget that comes from our tax dollars, property taxes, sales taxes, business taxes, and it pays for a lot of services we need to provide that do not generate their own revenue. it pays for the services of a lot of the department's sitting here. -- a lot of the