Mayor Daniel Lurie gave new financial marching orders to San Francisco departments Friday as he ramps up his efforts to close a two-year city budget deficit that’s now expected to total $936 million.
Lurie’s office said it will work with City Hall departments in the coming months to identify their most essential services and come up with a plan to fund them while eliminating the massive shortfall. Programs deemed discretionary may be eliminated to help Lurie get $400 million in permanent spending reductions from the general fund starting next fiscal year.
Lurie did not mandate a specific percentage that each department must cut spending to achieve his goal. His directive is a different approach than the one taken by previous Mayor London Breed, who told departments to plan for 15% spending reductions last year and 10% cuts the year before…