Mayor Breed makes $27 million police overtime ask

Mayor London Breed has proposed spending more than $27 million on police overtime to address staffing shortages.

Why it matters: The additional funding for this fiscal year will help ensure that there are enough San Francisco Police Department officers to respond to residents' basic needs, as well as "priority concerns" for the city, she said in an announcement Tuesday.

By the numbers: At 1,641 officers currently, the SFPD has 340 fewer officers today than it had in 2019.

• Breed said the department would need to hire 541 officers to be fully staffed.

What they're saying: "The push for full staffing has to be consistent and it has to be sustained," Breed said in her "State of the City" speech last week. "But full staffing is still years away."

Of note: Alongside the overtime proposal, Breed also called for $200,000 in additional funding to help pay for three prosecutors in the district attorney's office who would focus on open-air drug dealing cases.

State of play: San Francisco is projecting a $728 million deficit over the next two fiscal years, and the mayor has already asked city departments to slash their budgets by at least 5%.

• Yes, but: It's not likely that Breed will ask the SFPD to make cuts, a spokesperson for the mayor's office told Axios.

Of note: The SFPD has faced recent scrutiny for the millions it has paid officers accused of sexual misconduct, domestic violence and more.

What's next: To pass, the additional funding will need a majority vote from the full Board of Supervisors, which will likely take place over the next few weeks.