San Francisco HSH presented its proposed departmental budget for fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27 on Feb. 14, outlining revenue declines driven by one-time fund balances and identifying personnel and grant adjustments to avoid programmatic service cuts.

Gigi Whitley, HSH chief of finance and administration, told the commission "Overall, our budget is decreasing year over year, by 11% this coming year and another 9% decrease the following year." She said the largest driver was the expiration of one-time state and local funds and a projected drop in Our City Our Home (Prop C) revenue.

Key numbers and measures: Whitley reported HSH currently budgets 254.65 FTEs with 33.65 vacancies. The department increased salary attrition savings to $3.4 million, which will require keeping about 18 general fund positions unfilled. Whitley said the mayor's hiring freeze announced in January is expected to generate $2.4 million in salary savings for the general fund and that HSH had paused hiring for 57 positions (24 filled temporarily), with a request pending to unfreeze 24 positions.

Why it matters: HSH said it prioritized protecting existing services and used contract underspending, grant realignments and one-time reserves to avoid programmatic cuts. Whitley said the department will continue aggressive grant-seeking, including plans to apply for additional encampment resolution funds and future state rounds of homelessness assistance.

Budget composition and risks: The presentation showed HSH's expansion in recent years — more housing units and shelter beds funded — and emphasized the timing mismatch between revenue and when capacity comes online. Whitley warned of uncertainties including potential changes at the federal level, pending Continuum of Care awards from HUD, state budget developments, and citywide fiscal pressures that could trigger mid-year cuts.

Commission response and next steps: Commissioners thanked staff for avoiding program cuts and asked for supplemental, program-level budget details. Whitley said the department will continue coordination with the mayor's office and bring updated Our City Our Home projections in late February and return with additional budget details during spring budget development.