Nearly seven years after San Francisco voters passed a tax on the city’s wealthiest companies to fund homeless services, Mayor Daniel Lurie is looking to shake up how the money is spent.
Under the measure passed in 2018, at least 50% of the funds raised must go toward permanent housing, at least 25% for mental health services, up to 15% for homelessness prevention, and up to 10% for shelter and hygiene services.
But in his upcoming budget proposal, Lurie will propose eliminating those parameters to use future funds raised by the tax, as well as about $90 million in unspent funds and interest, in the best way his administration sees fit to tackle the city’s behavioral health, homelessness and drug crises, according to sources familiar with the matter. Funds that are already committed to future projects would still go toward those programs…