This morning the City Council voted its proposed 2020 budget out of committee, and this afternoon the Council formally adopted it.
There was one last-minute amendment to the budget this morning, beyond the two minor ones I discussed in last night’s post: Council members Bagshaw and Sawant co-sponsored an amendment taking $222,600 from SPD’s overtime budget and adding it to the budget for funding restorative justice programs, specifically for “educational, community-building, and youth diversion programs.” The Mayor’s proposed budget included $1.8 million for restorative justice programs; Bagshaw had already added $300,000 on top of that in her balancing package of changes, and the additional funds added today make the total 2020 budget for this line-item $2.3 million.
If you’re worried about the Council de-funding SPD officers with this move, don’t be: the Police Department has exceeded its overtime budget several years in a row, forcing the Council to appropriate additional funds to cover the overrun after the fact. In 2020, they will simply overrun by an additional $222,600.
This afternoon, Council member Sawant tried to slip in one more change: to try to expand the “Driver Resolution Center” for TNC drivers into a “Driver Solidarity and Resource Center,” the goal of which would be “to enable drivers to come together to advocate collectively for their rights within the transportation network company industry, and to find services including:
A. Advocacy, legal support, training, and community organizing to challenge driver deactivation;
B. Membership meeting space for driver advocacy organizations and collective driver advocacy;
C. Multilingual workshops and trainings on transportation network company policies and customer service;
D. Tax and financial training;
E. Voter registration and voter rights training;
F. Immigration and naturalization assistance;
Resolution 31914
G. Driver family assistance and support services;
H. Counseling and mental healthcare, suicide prevention services; and
I. English language training and education.”
While several of her colleagues on the Council expressed theoretical support for the change, none were willing to support it without more time to consider and wordsmith the specific details in the amendment.
Council member Mosqueda, who is on parental leave, took her seat on the dais and participated in the final budget votes this afternoon.
The final budget now heads to the Mayor’s desk for her signature. Given that the Mayor’s Office has already issued a press release praising the Council for passing “her proposed 2020 budget,”(never mind all the changes they made to it) it’s safe to assume she’ll sign it.