S.F. Sheriff’s Department Projected to Overspend Overtime by $19M, 146% Overrun

San Francisco’s sheriff’s department is on pace to spend approximately $60.2 million in overtime by the end of fiscal year 2025–26, leaving a projected $19.0 million shortfall against the Board of Supervisors’ $41.2 million overtime approval, Controller Greg Wagner wrote in a memorandum dated March 2, 2026. The Controller’s Office based the projection on payroll data through the pay period ending February 13, 2026 and flagged the gap as large enough to require immediate action.

The Controller’s table in the memo breaks the numbers into component lines: "Sheriff General Fund 31.7 30.3 96% 50.4 159% (18.7)"; "General Fund Work Order 9.5 6.1 64% 9.8 103% (0.3)"; "Sheriff’s Office Annual Operating Funds $41.2 $36.4 88% $60.2 146% ($19.0)". The memorandum addresses Mayor Daniel Lurie and President Rafael Mandelman and members of the Board of Supervisors and was signed by Wagner and Deputy Controller ChiaYu Ma from the Office of the Controller at City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place.

Wagner’s memo warns that “significant and immediate operational changes” would be required to bring overtime spending back within the $41.2 million appropriation. The Controller’s Office also told the department bluntly: “We have communicated to the Department that there exists no authority under our budgetary control laws to authorize overtime above budgeted levels absent action by the Mayor and Board to increase appropriations.” The memo includes a truncated legal caveat: “However, under federal law, our office has no legal authority to withhold payment [...]”

If the Sheriff’s Department does not enact operational changes, the Controller directs that the department will need to pursue a supplemental appropriation under Administrative Code Sec. 3.17, which requires action by Mayor Lurie and the Board of Supervisors. The Controller’s Office indicated it will work with the sheriff’s department and the mayor’s office to identify potential savings, including cuts to equipment, capital projects, and facilities maintenance, though the memo notes those measures may not fully close the shortfall.

Sheriff Paul Miyamoto submitted a separate memo on February 23, 2026 requesting $18.4 million in extra overtime for the next two fiscal years and $42 million in additional personnel funding to add jail staff, citing an increasing jail population and understaffing that forces deputies to backfill empty shifts. The Controller’s payroll projection also shows the department has “nearly depleted” its overtime budget two-thirds of the way through the fiscal year.

The overtime overrun arrives as Mayor Lurie pursues broad budget reductions across city departments and follows a history of large supplemental requests from local law enforcement; last year, the police and sheriff’s departments sought an additional $91 million and drew sharp criticism from supervisors including Matt Dorsey. With Rafael Mandelman, Budget Director Sophia Kittler, Board Budget & Legislative Analyst Dan Goncher, Deputy City Attorney Brad Russi, and Clerk Angela Cavillo copied on the March 2 memorandum, the next binding decision on how to close the $19.0 million gap will rest with the mayor and the Board of Supervisors under the city’s appropriations process.