OEWD seeks $10M for small‑business grants and $25M for downtown/Tenderloin recovery as workforce funding is cut

The Office of Economic and Workforce Development told the Budget & Appropriations Committee on June 15 that its FY22‑23 proposal centers on equity and recovery even as it cuts some workforce programs that relied on prior one‑time pandemic funding.

Montana Cruz, speaking for OEWD, described a two‑pronged strategy to help small businesses and revive downtown. She said the department’s proposed FY22‑23 budget totals about $156.6 million — a modest net increase driven by targeted “near‑term investments” — including $10 million to replenish small‑business grant programs (commercial rent relief and a 0% loan program) and $25 million for sustained Tenderloin/Mid‑Market investments (safety ambassadors and plaza activation). The package also includes $2.5 million for economic‑core activations and $3 million of funding to continue COVID‑hub services through December.

But agency finance staff told supervisors the workforce development line drops by roughly $13,400,000 from last year, primarily because several one‑time COVID recovery grants and temporary hub funding have expired. Merrick Pascual, OEWD CFO, said the reduction reflects “$14,000,000 decrease in one‑time COVID recovery services” and related nonrecurring grants.

Supervisors pressed the department on prioritization and neighborhood equity: how the $10 million in small business funding will be targeted, whether the Tenderloin focus comes “at the expense” of other neighborhoods and how OEWD will measure impacts. Cruz and staff said grants would prioritize businesses in BIPOC opportunity communities, small businesses under $2.5M in revenue and applicants already in high‑demand pipelines; they also described a new vacancy‑mitigation specialist position and plans to roll out clearer impact metrics and shared data systems during the coming year.

On development projects and private‑sector partnerships, officials said OEWD’s early joint development work with Amazon was funded by developer fees and had paused; staff said any future activity would include community partners and the department would follow up with a list of community participants.

What’s next: supervisors requested more detail and district‑level breakdowns of Invest in Neighborhoods spending and timeline for performance metrics; OEWD said it will deliver progress reports and that BLA audit recommendations already informed the department’s work plan.