Committee, police clash over $81M overtime projection and $200K TrueNarc request

San FranciscoBudget and Appropriation Committee members and Police Department leaders debated three key disagreements Wednesday: a proposed cut to overtime, a $200,000 policy request to buy ten TrueNarc presumptive testing devices, and an adjustment to civilian attrition savings.

Police Chief (no name provided in the transcript) and CFO Patrick Leon said department projections assume large overtime needs next year because sworn staffing remains below target. Leon told the committee the department budgeted roughly $81 million for overtime in FY24 and plans to hire 100 recruits next year but will still rely on overtime and vacancy savings while staffing recovers. "Given the number of vacancies that we have, we do anticipate a significant portion and a significant increase ... for overtime backfill," Leon said.

The Budget and Legislative Analyst projected lower overtime savings and proposed a revised cut (reduced in negotiation to about $1.4 million), arguing the department's model includes high overtime estimates and assumes continued $81 million spending that exceeds historical norms. BLA analyst Nick Menard said the board-approved plan to expand civilian alternativescommunity ambassadors, HEART and other non-sworn responsesand an upcoming overtime audit would allow some savings without undermining core services.

The department also requested $200,000 to buy 10 TrueNarc devices to expand presumptive testing capacity so stations do not need to transport evidence across the city for preliminary results. Catherine Maguire of the Police Departmentstrategic management bureausaid presumptive testing is necessary to proceed to arraignment and that devices expedite processing. The manufacturer and PD materials cited an 80-to-100 percent accuracy range in limited testing; PD and BLA agreed that forensic lab confirmation remains the evidentiary standard for trial.

Supervisors asked about training, reliability, and legal implications. Chair Connie Chan asked for the manufacturers accuracy data and for PD to describe training and maintenance plans for the devices; PD said manufacturer guidelines and the crime lab would provide training.

On personnel, the department disagreed with a BLA $1 million civilian attrition adjustment; PD said it relies on vacancy savings across sworn and civilian lines to help balance overtime needs and warned that cuts could force supplemental requests later in the fiscal year.

The committee asked PD to return with station-level data on drug arrests, more detail on the TrueNarc efficacy and training program, and quarterly reporting on recruitment, overtime spending and core public-safety performance metrics (response times, arrests and clearance rates).