Public Works asks for $25M to add crews, trucks and dump cameras to tackle graffiti, illegal dumping and street cleaning

San Francisco Public Works Director Carla Short presented a $25 million supplemental request to the Budget & Appropriations Committee to expand manual street‑cleaning capacity and abate graffiti and illegal dumping. The package would add 42 general laborers (distributed across supervisorial districts), five frontline supervisors, one supervisor 2, six packer truck drivers and additional packer trucks so crews can transfer loads locally instead of driving to Recology; two graffiti inspectors; district‑based steam cleaners and 20 illegal‑dumping license‑plate cameras.

Director Short showed city 311 and tonnage data indicating that manual cleaning crews pick up the majority of street debris and that tonnage has increased even as 311 requests have held roughly level. The department said additional localized steam clean capacity would let crews keep blocks cleaner for longer and free district crews for other work.

The Budget & Legislative Analyst recommended making the 56 new off‑budget positions time‑limited (three years) given an estimated 21% vacancy rate in the bureau and to allow the department to transfer temporary hires into existing vacant permanent slots where appropriate. Supervisors from multiple districts expressed strong support for the cleaning supplemental and said added crews, steamers and cameras would produce visible results for residents and businesses.

The committee accepted BLA’s time‑limit recommendation and forwarded the ordinance and related items to the full Board without recommendation.

What to watch: If approved by the Board, the department plans to recruit quickly for block cleaners and drivers, deploy rented steamers while procuring equipment and install cameras in hotspots within months; the time‑limited positions will be reviewed during subsequent budget cycles.