San Francisco City Budget to Pass Board Today

by Paul Hogarth via Beyond Chron

Tue, Jul 14, 2009 7:20AM

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 : Today, the Board of Supervisors will vote on the final budget – and consider a Charter Amendment that would give such appropriations teeth. It also happens to be the 14th of July – the French National Holiday that Americans call “Bastille Day,” which is an apt coincidence. Consider the following: Mayor Gavin Newsom proposed a “let them eat cake” budget this year that slashed health and human services, but progressive Supervisors demanded some égalité in the cuts.

Talk of downsizing the Police and Fire Departments then provoked an angry contingent of firefighters to storm the Board Chambers, who – unlike the sans culottes of 1789 – did not prevail in their direct action. The Budget Committee then spent weeks examining Newsom’s proposal, but it didn’t take long before the progressive Jacobins at City Hall split. After talks with the Mayor’s Office, Board President David Chiu and Budget Chair John Avalos produced a negotiated budget many felt was lacking – prompting Chris Daly to pull a Robespierre on his former aide. As the budget reaches its finale today, here is what to look for in this afternoon’s meeting …

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