Age with Pride San Francisco’s budget adds $5.4M for LGBTQ needs

by Matthew S. Bajko

The two-year budget San Francisco leaders have crafted includes funding for various LGBTQ needs, from beefing up security at nonprofits to assisting the local transgender community through an array of programs. Mayor London Breed signed the balanced budget July 26.

The $14.6 billion budgets adopted 10-1 by the Board of Supervisors at its July 18 meeting cover fiscal years 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 and addressed a nearly $800 million deficit over that time frame. According to the office of gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, a member of the board’s budget committee this year, there is roughly $5.4 million in special allocations for LGBTQ programs.

“My colleagues generally recognized the need for these services. A lot of cuts included in the mayor’s budget had needed to get back filled,” said Mandelman, who noted that numerous programs “that had been going, some for a number of years, have always been funded by add backs, and we were able to find add backs to keep them going.”

Mandelman’s office included in its LGBTQ funding total several budget asks made by HIV service providers, who had rallied in the spring at City Hall to press their case. However, not all of the $7 million in funding they had requested was appropriated. (See story, page 2.)

“These are tough budget times; a lot of things are on the chopping block,” noted gay District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio, who was elected to his first term last year. “Every group or organization that was in jeopardy had a very compelling case to not lose funding.”

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