San Francisco’s Budget Deal: Implications for HIV and Legal Service Providers

San Francisco’s budget deal—reached last week between the mayor and the Board of Supervisors—contains mainly positive news for HIV and legal service providers. Given the fact that the city had to close a deficit of over $800 million over the next two years, it’s a testament to our city’s values and leadership that greater damage wasn’t inflicted. Here are the highlights:

• Mayor Lurie fulfilled his campaign pledge to continue the city’s longstanding practice of backfilling with its own dollars cuts in federal HIV funding through the Ryan White CARE Act. We want to thank Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman and Budget & Finance Committee Chair Connie Chan for their back-channel advocacy with the mayor’s budget office on this issue. This means that ALRP’s Ryan White grants—totaling $421,500—will be re-funded this year.

• The budget kept funding whole for the Tenant Right to Counsel Program, through which nine organizations, including ALRP, provide free legal assistance to residents facing eviction lawsuits. During the budget advocacy process, we produced data showing that the program’s 93% success rate saved city taxpayers at least $66 million last year in expenses that otherwise would have been incurred if the residents receiving legal representation had become homeless. The budget deal means that ALRP will continue to receive approximately $1 million for our eviction defense work.

• Thanks to the leadership of President Mandelman, groups that receive Ryan White CARE Act funding—including ALRP—will receive the same Cost of Doing Business increase as other city-funded programs. While the increase is only 1%, it still means a lot in this challenging budget climate.

• The mayor’s budget proposal eliminated all funding for general civil legal services programs, which totaled $8.4 million over two years. During the final budget negotiations, the Board of Supervisors restored $4.2 million of that amount—$3 million this fiscal year and $1.2 million next year. While disappointing, getting that much added back was a herculean effort, championed by Supervisors Joel Engardio and Connie Chan. We are hopeful that the city will consider renewing all or some of its $91,000 grant for our immigrant legal services program with this restored money.

On a less positive note, the Board of Supervisors was only able to restore $250,000 of the $3 million withheld by the mayor from the Dignity Fund at the Department of Disability and Aging Services (DAS). This program disproportionately benefits people living with HIV. As a result, our partner Project Open Hand will need to end weekend meal service—or 100,000 meals a year.

Over the last six months, ALRP was heavily involved in budget advocacy with the mayor’s office and individual members of the Board of Supervisors. We are very grateful to our partners in the HIV/AIDS Provider Network (HAPN)—especially our co-chairs Laura Thomas (SF AIDS Foundation) and Lance Toma (SF Community Health Center)—and the Tenant Right to Counsel collaborative, which were with us every step of the way. A special shout out to our former executive director, Bill Hirsh, who helped our collaboratives organize dozens of meetings with policymakers.