Budget Information

Budget Transparency Legislation

On December 17, 2019, the Board of Supervisors passed Ordinance 0294-19 (File No. 191072) to amend the Administrative Code to modify the process for the City's adoption of the annual budget by requiring City agencies to hold public hearings prior to submission of their proposed budgets to the Controller and the Mayor; requiring the Mayor to submit to the Board of Supervisors a description of the Mayor's budget priorities after holding a public hearing regarding those priorities; and requiring the Controller to maintain a public website with information about the City's budget process.

To view the full language of Ordinance 0294-19, click on the following link: Admin Code_Budget Approval Process_ Ord 0294-19.pdf

For DEM's budget submission related to the City's Fiscal Years 2021-2023 process, please refer to the information below.

DEM's Budget Priorities

The Department of Emergency Management has established the following budget priorities to drive the Department's key objectives:

Investing in the 911 Call Center – The support of our dispatcher hiring is the primary investment in our 911 Operations to continue our progress of answering 90% of all emergency calls within 10 seconds. Outside of hiring more dispatchers, our budget also funds 2 Major IT initiatives for the Radio Replacement and CAD Projects as well as including capital funding to replace our aging dispatcher workstations.
Ensuring a Prepared & Resilient City – By operating a Watch Center Program, we provide situational awareness of evolving incidents to address immediate needs of the community and to quickly coordinate support activities among response and support organizations. Beyond the Watch Center, staff within our Division of Emergency Services continue their core services to prepare the City for both man-made and natural disasters through planned exercises and training.
Promoting a Culture of Preparedness and Safety – We develop, maintain and support partnerships with community serving organizations, neighborhood groups and other public agencies to engage San Francisco’s diverse population on emergency preparedness and safety. These partnerships will focus on community-centric preparedness and safety initiatives and education programs and workshops.
Strengthening Regional Relationships - San Francisco currently receives $24 million in annual federal homeland security grant dollars and DEM’s staff within the Bay Area UASI continue to serve as the fiscal agent for the City. Through these federal funds, the Bay Area UASI designs programs to improve regional capacity to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks and catastrophic disasters.
Promoting Diversity, Racial Equity, and Inclusion - For all DEM programs, plans and activities, we establish priorities in DEM’s Racial Equity Plan including but not limited to developing strategies for increasing diversity in hiring and recruitment, a review of emergency plans and protocols through the lens of equity and inclusion of San Francisco’s diverse population in emergency operations.
Leading the City's Response from the COVID-19 Pandemic - Through leadership, expertise and coordination, we serve as the City's lead agency for San Francisco’s overall response and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. In coordination with the City's COVID Command Center and associated emergency operations, we are engaging multiple programs including vaccination, testing, outbreak management, care and shelter, and public information, engagement and guidance.

Public Comment on DEM's Budget Priorities

Public comment on DEM’s budget priorities shown above will be accepted through February 14, 2021 by emailing DEM's Chief Financial Officer: william.lee@sfgov.org

DEM's Public Meeting to Discuss the Budget For Fiscal Year 2021-2022 and Fiscal Year 2022-2023

Date: February 4, 2021
Time: 4:00PM PST
Zoom Meeting Link:  https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEscOqoqzoiG9OARPNMt4kOCryDAXcjUwke
Agenda:   2021.02.04_DEM Public Budget Meeting - Agenda.pdf
Materials:   DEM Budget Presentation for FY 2021-2023.pdf

Video Recording of Public Meeting - Due to filesize, the recording has been uploaded into four (4) parts:
DEM Budget Meeting_02-04-2021_Part 1.pptx
DEM Budget Meeting_02-04-2021_Part 2.pptx
DEM Budget Meeting_02-04-2021_Part 3.pptx
DEM Budget Meeting_02-04-2021_Part 4.pptx