SF Budget Committee Meeting - February 24, 2021: Budget Process, Prop I Funding, Youth Priorities
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San Francisco Budget and Appropriations Committee Meeting - February 24, 2021
The Budget and Appropriations Committee, chaired by Supervisor Matt Haney, met on February 24, 2021, to consider three major items: the Board of Supervisors' budget process for FY2021-2023, a supplementary appropriation for rent relief and social housing funded by Proposition I revenue, and a hearing on the Youth Commission's budget priorities. The committee also briefly recessed to handle an item from the Budget and Finance Committee. All discussions and votes were conducted remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Consent Calendar
- None on this agenda.
Public Comments & Testimony
- On Item 1 (Budget Process): No public comments were received.
- On Item 9 (Prop I Funding): Multiple callers expressed strong support for allocating Prop I funds to rent relief and social housing. Speakers included a Youth Commissioner urging support for social housing on public land, a representative from the Chinatown Community Development Center highlighting the need for innovative affordable housing, and a former Prop I field director emphasizing voter support (58% approval) and the urgency of preventing displacement.
- On Item 2 (Youth Commission Priorities): One caller, a behavioral health clinician and member of DPH Must Divest, urged support for the Youth Commission's recommendation to end the MOU between SFDPH and the Sheriff's Department and reallocate funds to health-focused safety strategies.
Discussion Items
1. Board of Supervisors Budget Process (Item 1) Chair Haney presented a motion, co-sponsored by all 11 supervisors, establishing goals and a timeline for the FY2021-2023 budget process. Key principles included urgent COVID-19 recovery for vulnerable populations, anti-corruption, and innovation. Supervisor Maher successfully moved an amendment to add "workforce development" to the list of top budget goals (page three, line seven: "small businesses, workforce development, and neighborhood stabilization"). The motion passed unanimously (5-0) and was forwarded to the full Board with a positive recommendation.
2. Prop I Revenue Appropriation (Item 9 – from Budget and Finance Committee) Supervisor Preston presented an ordinance to appropriate $5.7 million from the General Reserve to the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development for rent relief (under the Rent Resolution and Relief Fund) and affordable social housing (under the Housing Stability Fund), funded by Proposition I (a transfer tax increase approved by 58% of voters in November 2020). He noted that updated controller projections raised Prop I revenue estimates from $14.4 million to $26.1 million for FY2020-2021, and he proposed amendments to allocate $10.05 million to each fund (instead of the original $5.7 million total). Discussion included the ongoing need for rent relief despite state/federal programs ($54 million anticipated but far below the estimated $196 million+ in back rent), and the importance of investing in social housing. Vice Chair Safai questioned the timing of social housing spending but supported the rent relief portion. The committee accepted the substantive amendments and voted to continue the item to the March 17, 2021 meeting (vote: 4 ayes, with Vice Chair Safai absent).
3. Youth Commission Budget Priorities (Item 2) Youth Commissioners Calvin Quick, Sarah Chung, and others presented the commission's preliminary budget recommendations for FY2021-2023, based on a youth budget town hall and outreach. Key recommendations included:
- Funding youth voter outreach and pre-registration (Department of Elections)
- Investing in physical/mental health services, closing the digital divide, and supporting GED/college matriculation (Department of Children, Youth and Their Families)
- Providing housing and rehabilitative services for youth in the justice system, and closing juvenile hall (Probation Department)
- Cutting police funding by at least 50% and reallocating to non-carceral programs (Police Department)
- Eliminating sheriffs from hospitals, funding mental health responders, and supporting entrepreneurship for impacted youth (various departments)
- Reserving 100 units of permanent supportive housing for transition-age youth, and expanding employment training (Homelessness and Supportive Housing)
- Making Muni free for all youth, funding a youth transportation advisory board staff, and improving school-serving bus lines (SFMTA)
- Raising Youth Commission staff salaries above 100% AMI and providing stipends for youth seats on boards/commissions (Board of Supervisors). Commissioners requested better integration with the Board, including a dedicated budget staff or controller assistance, and more consistent engagement with appointing supervisors. The hearing was filed (vote: 4 ayes).
Key Outcomes
- Item 1 (Budget Process): Approved as amended (adding workforce development), forwarded to full Board with positive recommendation (5-0).
- Item 9 (Prop I Appropriation): Amendments to increase funding to $10.05 million each for rent relief and social housing were accepted; the item was continued to March 17, 2021 (4-0, with Vice Chair Safai not voting but present).
- Item 2 (Youth Commission Priorities): Hearing filed (4-0); no formal action taken.
Meeting Transcript
All right. This meeting will come to order. Um, this is the February 24th, 2021 budget and appropriations committee meeting. I am Matt Haney, Chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee. I'm joined by by committee members, President Shimon Walton, Supervisors Ronan, Safai, and Marr. Our clerk is Ms. Linda Wong. I want to thank Colina Mendoza from EssexGov TV for broadcasting this meeting. Madam Clerk, do you have any announcements? Yes, Mr. Chair, to do the COVID-19 health emergency and to protect board members, city employees, and the public. This precaution is taken pursuit to the various local, state, and federal orders, declarations and directives. Committee members will attend the meeting through a video conference and participate in the meeting to the same extent as if they are physically present. Public comments will be available on each item on this agenda. So Channel 26 and SFGTV.org are streaming the number across the screen. Each speaker will be allowed two minutes to speak. Comments or opportunity to speak during public comment period available via phone call by calling 415 655 0001 again. It's 415 65501 meeting ID 1878 1885 again, 1878 1885, then press pound twice. When connected, you will hear the meeting discussions, but you will be muted and in the sitting moment only. When your item of interest comes up, DAS JR 3 to be added to the speaker line, best practices are to come from a quiet location, speak clearly and slowly and turn down your television or radio. Alternatively, you may submit public comment in the following way. Email to myself, the budget and appropriations committee clerk at L I M D A dot W O N G at S F O Doc O R G. If you submit public comments via email, it will be forwarded to the supervisors and will be included as part of the official file. Finally, items after upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda of March 2nd, unless otherwise stated. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Um, just a note on scheduling uh before we start. Uh we are going to I'm going to call item one and then after we hear item one. Uh we uh I'm going to recess and we have to finish the budget and finance item number nine. And once that item is finished, we will reconvene the budget and appropriations committee uh to finish item two. Madam Clerk, can you please call item one? Yes, item number one motion establishing goals for the Board of Supervisors, Budget and Appropriations Committee and the process to guide the board deliberations on the city budget for fiscal years 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023. Members of the public who wish to provide public comment on this item should call 415 655 0001 meeting ID 1878 1885, then press pound twice. If you have not already done so, please sell star 32.0 to speak. Assistant pop will indicate you have raise your hand. Please wait until the system indicates you have been unmuted and you may begin your comments. Thank you so much, Madam Clerk, and good afternoon colleagues. Uh today, with the support and co-sponsorship of all 11 members of the Board of Supervisors, we have before us the Board of Supervisors budget process motion for fiscal years 2122 and 2223. Each year, the board strives to design a budget process with broad involvement from not only all members of the board, but also the mayor's office, city agencies, service provider networks, labor partners, and of course, members of the public. The goal of this motion is to delineate the budget process for the coming year months, including but not limited to the committee's anticipated hearing topics from March through June, the process for the board to identify and publicly communicate its policy priorities for the budget, the mayor's budget priorities, the mayor's proposed budget, the board's proposed spending plan or other topics, and the committee's guidelines regarding public transparency and decision making. This motion speaks to our shared goals and principles. One, to urgently act to rebuild San Francisco toward a more equitable and racially just future by prioritizing uh COVID-19 recovery for our most vulnerable populations, housing affordability and homelessness services, health care access, including mental health, drug treatment and food security, youth educational services and the digital divide, small businesses and neighborhood stabilization. Two, to stop corruption, inefficiencies, and waste in city government, and three, to innovate and fund new ideas that move us away from any failed policies and focus on impact. In light of the ongoing pandemic, we demand that all departments and agencies justify their expenditures with a data-driven COVID 19 spending plan that uses the best available data to strategically invest city dollars in addition to state and federal government relief funding in COVID-19 response. These plans must continue protecting seniors and immunocompromised individuals most at risk and communities disproportionately impacted by the crisis. We need to provide the best possible foundation for a swift economic recovery for all. We must ensure the basic needs of San Franciscans are met and that families are stabilized during a period of tremendous uncertainty. In March, we will hold hearings focused on key departmental budgets that are most interest to all of the board of supervisors. The first two hearings will happen next week, prioritizing the mayor's office of housing and community development and the Department of Homelessness and Support of Housing.
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