San Francisco leaders scoff at $91M bill for SFPD overtime

Lazar pointed to two drivers of the growing overtime: a staffing shortage of roughly 525 officers, and community policing called for by politicians. Roughly $30 million of SFPD’s overtime budget went to beefing up police presence in the Tenderloin, Union Square, and tourist areas, which drew resources from district stations.

“We’re pretty excited to ramp up staffing,” Lazar said. “The future is bright.”

But Supervisor Connie Chan threw cold water on that hope. City leaders need to acknowledge the “budget crisis,” Chan said. “I want to be really honest,” she told Lazar, noting that the city may not be able to afford to hire enough police to grow the force.

“We don’t have money. We’re in a budget deficit,” Chan said. “How can the police department — at this moment, I’m asking every department — how do we do more with less?”

Jonah Owen Lamb contributed to this story.