Committee leadership outlined a multi‑part financial agenda on Feb. 6 that ranged from special funds to parking enforcement as possible sources of budget relief.
The chair said the city currently has "more than 800 distinct special funds" and that roughly 82–83 funds relate to homelessness. He estimated the combined balance across funds and the general pool at about $18.2 billion and argued the general fund is often "starved" of flexible dollars.
"One of the things that we looked into is creation of something akin to an internal cap" to increase reimbursements from special funds to the general fund, the chair said, and proposed sunset clauses for narrowly restricted funds and targeted consolidations where legally permissible.
On treasury management the chair said reserve and investment portfolios carry differing yields (he cited a reserve effective yield around 2.95%) and suggested the city examine longer‑term lawful investments because a 100‑basis‑point improvement across a large pool could yield meaningful additional revenue.
On parking enforcement, the chair said enforcement costs have risen about 40% since 2016 while ticket revenue dropped from roughly $157 million to $110 million. Members discussed adopting technology such as automated license plate readers and real‑time street‑sweeper notifications to improve collection and efficiency, while raising concerns about collateral consequences for low‑income residents.
Committee staff and members agreed to further research and to use interns/fellows to prepare materials and timelines for next steps; no changes to fund structures or enforcement policy were adopted at this meeting.