Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection – BGA Policy 2025 Budget Snapshot

Departmental Highlights

Snapshot: Appropriation & Staffing Changes from 2024 Budget

• As of October 28, 2024, when the new ARPA dashboard and associated datasets were made available, BACP had allocated $48.1 million in ARPA funds, of which $12.1 million had been obligated and $8.7 million spent.
• BACP's Small Business Support Program has one of the largest unobligated allocations of ARPA funds remaining, with $28.9 million out of $32.9 million still unobligated.
• As with several other departments, BACP's budget includes a "reserve balance" appropriation from a number of grant funds. This appropriation, which appears in several department's budgets and has been retroactively added to 2024 appropriations data as well, was not used in the previous year's budget at the time of its passage. BGA Policy has reached out to the Office of Budget and Management for clarification of this appropriation's purpose and has not yet received a reply.
• Apart from the reserve balance appropriation, BACP's largest new appropriation is a $8.3 million appropriation from the Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Fund for special program costs.
• Pass-through spending to delegate agencies saw the largest cut in BACP's budget, down -$16.4 million from 2024, a -32.7% reduction. Despite the decline, delegate agencies spending remains the largest appropriation in the department's budget.
• The department's overall net -9 reduction in budgeted headcount was primarily achieved by a reduction in business compliance investigator positions, as well as the elimination of the department's studio equipment manager and forensic data analyst positions.

Historical Context

BACP's departmental budget increased dramatically after the infusion of federal pandemic relief funds beginning in the 2021 budget and reaching their peak in the 2022-2024 budget years.

Prior to the pandemic, the department's budget from 2011-2020 grew at an average annual rate of 9.6%, while the overall budget grew at an annual rate of 5% and departmental budgets at a rate of 1.7%.

Staffing

The department's overall net -9 reduction in budgeted headcount was primarily achieved by a reduction in business compliance investigator positions, as well as the elimination of the department's studio equipment manager and forensic data analyst positions.

Other position changes at BACP were largely retitling.

Appropriations

BACP's overall appropriations are up from last year despite declines in pandemic relief grant funding, buoyed in large part by increases in local grants and new appropriations from the Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Fund.

Largest Appropriations

Despite a nearly one-third reduction from the previous year's increase, pass-through spending to delegate agencies remains BACP's largest appropriation, followed by salaries and wages on payroll.

Change from Previous Year

As with several other departments, BACP's budget includes a "reserve balance" appropriation from a number of grant funds. This appropriation, which appears in several department's budgets and has been retroactively added to 2024 appropriations data as well, was not used in the previous year's budget at the time of its passage. BGA Policy has reached out to the Office of Budget and Management for clarification of this appropriation's purpose and has not yet received a reply.

Apart from the reserve balance appropriation, BACP's largest new appropriation is a $8.3 million appropriation from the Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Fund for special program costs.

Pass-through spending to delegate agencies saw the largest cut in BACP's budget, down -$16.4 million from 2024, a -32.7% reduction.

ARPA Allocations

The city budget does not typically break down budget appropriations to the programmatic level. However, this year the Office of Budget and Management has made available a new ARPA dashboard and associated datasets that detail the allocations, obligations, and expenditures made towards ARPA-funded programs.

As of October 28, 2024, when the new ARPA dashboard and associated datasets were made available, BACP had allocated $48.1 million in ARPA funds, of which $12.1 million had been obligated and $8.7 million spent.

BACP's Small Business Support Program has one of the largest unobligated allocations of ARPA funds remaining, with $28.9 million out of $32.9 million still unobligated.

ARPA funds must be obligated by December 31, 2024. The city can obligate funds by entering a contract, order for services, or similar award or transaction; by entering into an interagency agreement; by dedicating the funds to certain personnel costs for positions that existed and were filled prior to December 31, 2024; or by using them to cover the legal or administrative costs of ARPA itself.

As of the October 28, 2024 data, the city had allocated roughly $1.9 billion in ARPA funds, of which 91.8%, roughly $1.7 billion, had been obligated.

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