Editor,
Mayor Newsom proclaiming that there is a budget surplus is not exactly the truth, at least in the real world. For example, Mayor Newsom has ORDERED all department heads to submit a budget that is LESS than last year. The Fire Department decided to submit a base line budget that does NOT reflect it’s true operating needs. Prop F, recently passed mandated that the FD keep ALL it’s firehouses open. NO MORE “BROWN OUT” closures that have been going on for over a year now. However, Chief Joanne Hayes-White failed to include the necessary stffing in her submitted budget to cover ALL fire houses. Instead, her Fire Budget reflects a continuation of the “BROWN OUT” closures in order to create an “ARTIFICIALY” reduced budget per the Mayor’s instructions.
CHIEF JOANNE did this despite orders from the Fire Commission a month ago to submit a budget that was reflective of the voter mandate of PROP F. The questions of “WHY” begs to be asked. Simple, the Mayor ( and the fire chief) want to decieve the public and the Board of Supervisors with a “manufactured” and fiscally friendly reduced budget to keep everybody happy. Then, when the fiscal year starts on July 1st, they will go back to the Board of Supes to give them the bad news about the increase in the operating budget. Of course, now the scrutiny from the press and the public would have subsided since the budget was turned in 4 months earlier.
When the Fire Commission heard the CHief submitted a “FALSE” budget that misrepresented the FIRE DEPARTMENT’S needs, they were very upset.
My guess is that many of the DEPARTMENTS submitting budgets are less than truthful in order for the Mayor to toot his own horn…albeit for only a few months.
Thanks for your time.
John Darmanin
You can submit letters to the editor by clicking on this link: rshaw@beyondchron.org
or by writing to:
Beyond Chron
126 Hyde Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-771-9850 (phone)
415-771-1287 (fax)
