“People are always complaining and always saying, ‘Well, we have a $12 billion budget,’” said Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer, chair of the Budget and Finance Committee. “But really … the mayor doesn’t have control over $12 billion. And neither does the Board of Supervisors.”
Due to a patchwork of voter mandates, and state and federal rules, the majority — about 73% — of San Francisco’s budget was already accounted for before Breed and the supervisors could get their hands on it.
Then comes the city’s biggest expense: salaries for its 31,800 full-time positions. The average compensation for city employees is now $175,004 a year, including salary and benefits.
