Published Aug. 6, 2026at6:00am
Mayor Daniel Lurie signed San Francisco’s budget into law at the end of July (opens in new tab), closing a $643 million deficit without the mass layoffs, nonprofit bloodbath, or gutting of front-line city services that many had feared. Police and firefighters even secured a raise of 14%, measured over four years.
But the bigger problem hasn’t gone away.
The long-term structural deficit is still projected to top $1 billion by fiscal 2029-30, according to the city controller, which also projects a structural deficit of roughly $450 million in fiscal 2028. Rising labor costs threaten city coffers amid uncertainty over federal funding under President Donald Trump, and the outcome of November ballot measures.
So did Lurie fix San Francisco’s finances or just buy the city some time? We break it down.