Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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San Francisco Examiner - May 10, 2004
Ethan Fletcher, Staff Writer
The department released its contingency plan to be reviewed by the Health Commission on Tuesday. While the commission already approved $12.6 million in base budget cuts in March, the new proposal identifies another $19.7 million in cost-saving remedies that Mayor Gavin Newsom could call on the department to implement when he releases his balanced budget plan on June 1.
According to the plan, released on the department's Web site, four of The City's mental health clinics will be closed and their services picked up by nearby primary care facilities. The closing of the clinics, including the Sunset and Mission Mental Health Clinics, would save close to $4 million for the cash-strapped city.
Newsom is struggling with an estimated $352 million budget shortfall, and so has asked each department to provide a 5.5 percent base budget cut proposal. In addition, Newsom's office has asked departments to provide a contingency budget that would slash an additional 15 percent. How much of each department's contingency budget gets cut is for the mayor's office to decide by June 1.
According to the report proposed by director Mitchell Katz, Newsom approved a contingency plan for the health department that asked for only an 8.2 percent cut in general fund moneys -- instead of the 15 percent cut, which would have resulted in $37.1 million saved.
"There was no way to make such a large cut without eliminating vital safety-net services," the report stated. "After reviewing a number of different options, the mayor determined that there was no acceptable way to reach a $37.1 million reduction and reduced our General Fund reduction to under $20 million."
Other cost-saving measures proposed were the elimination of additional high-level administrator and middle management positions, outsourcing the laundry for the Laguna Honda Hospital and the cutting of nonessential support services for HIV/AIDS patients.
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