Drying up the rainy day fund

As it stands today, whenever we have a year in which The City’s revenue will be less than it was in the previous year, we can snatch up to 50 percent of The City’s rainy-day fund, but not more than the amount of our projected budget shortfall.

On Dec. 16, Supervisor Chris Daly introduced a charter amendment that would allow The City to take 100 percent of the money in the rainy day fund in those years where San Francisco’s deficit is $250 million or more, but only in an amount less than 20 percent of the projected deficit. (Download Rainy Day Fund Ord.)

Next year’s budget shortfall is projected to be $560 million, so unless there is more than $112 million or so left in the fund (which is doubtful given our reliance on it this year) Daly’s amendment would allow for a total depletion of the remaining funds.

Then again, it’s hard to argue that our anticipated financial monsoon doesn’t warrant full use of the rainy-day funds.

Comments

[Jerry Jarvis]

Thanks Gavin for last years pet projects. We need more! Thanks Daly for making this a ultra poor/elitist city.