San Francisco Chronicle - Wednesday, June 25, 2003
Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writer

But come Monday, they will be real, as dozens of programs that have relied on city funding are set to shut their doors or pare back their services significantly.

"At first we didn't believe it. But now it's hitting us," said Jackie Jenks, executive director of Central City Hospitality House, which runs the Tenderloin Self-Help Center, a drop-in center for homeless people.

Layoff notices have been issued to nine employees, and the homeless who use the program have been told that as of 7 p.m. Monday, the end of the city's fiscal year, the center that serves 200 to 300 people a day -- offering them a place to use the bathroom, grab a meal, get basic benefits and job counseling -- will cease to exist.

That is unless the Board of Supervisors steps in with a last-minute reprieve, something for which Jenks and her counterparts who run other programs that fell victim to the city's $347 million budget deficit are hoping.

In jeopardy are substance abuse programs, AIDS support services and mental health programs. Meanwhile, the city is planning to cut hours at recreation centers, reduce street cleaning, train fewer cadets to become cops and demote members of the Fire Department brass.

"We're going to try to protect the programs that serve the most vulnerable, " said Supervisor Chris Daly, who chairs the board's Budget Committee.

That committee already restored about $1.1 million for programs targeted for cuts, including senior services, domestic violence programs and the enforcement of health and safety codes in residential hotels.

Daly said that when all is said and done, the board may have another $15 million or more on hand to save some of the threatened programs. As is the practice every year, supervisors are combing through Brown's proposed budget with the supervisors' budget analyst, Harvey Rose, to find savings.

Others are determining whether money can be found elsewhere. For example, Supervisor Tom Ammiano is exploring whether the Department of Public Works can shift a portion of the financial burden of the city's street-sweeping program to the Public Utilities Commission. That would free up money for General Fund programs.

"Some of these holes cannot be filled," said Budget Committee Vice Chair Aaron Peskin. "But I think we will be able to restore some direct services in the Department of Public Health."

Daly predicted that the supervisors will battle over what stays and what goes -- for example, whether the city should give money to the cash-strapped public schools.

The Budget Committee, which has scheduled a City Hall hearing at 6 p.m. tonight to hear from the public on the proposed cuts, may wrap up its major budget deliberations as early as Friday. The full Board of Supervisors will consider the committee's revised budget plan for the first time on July 15, with a final vote scheduled for July 22.

City officials have called the city's financial problems the worst in history. In addition to cutting services, perhaps as many as 200 city workers will lose their jobs, said City Controller Ed Harrington. Officials also are poised to raise dozens of fines and fees, for everything from the cost of a parking ticket to a bus ride.

There's still a big unknown looming in the budget, and that's the fate of Brown's plan to divert $25 million of tobacco settlement money earmarked for the rebuilding of Laguna Honda Hospital to help balance the budget. Former City Attorney Louise Renne, who helped secure the settlement money, has threatened to sue if it is used for anything other than the hospital replacement project. Brown administration officials believe the money can legally be used for other purposes without jeopardizing the new hospital.

E-mail Rachel Gordon at rgordon@sfchronicle.com.

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