San Francisco Budget and Appropriations Committee Meeting – June 22, 2022
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San Francisco Budget and Appropriations Committee Meeting – June 22, 2022
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget and Appropriations Committee, chaired by Supervisor Hilary Ronen, met on June 22, 2022, to consider a lengthy agenda centered on the Mayor’s proposed budget for fiscal years 2022‑2023 and 2023‑2024. The committee heard presentations from the Budget and Legislative Analyst (BLA) and department heads, accepted most agreed‑upon technical reductions, and debated policy recommendations for several departments. Key votes included forwarding routine items to the full board and continuing certain controversial items for further discussion. The meeting was recessed to June 23 and June 27 for unfinished business.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1 (Racial Equity Hearing): Continued to the call of the chair (unanimous).
- Item 2 (Fiscal Cliff Reserve – Rent Relief): Initially continued to June 23; later a motion to rescind that vote passed unanimously, and it was placed on the June 23 recessed agenda.
- Items 3 & 4 (Outreach & Official Advertising): Amended to add Sing Tao Daily; forwarded to the July 12 full board meeting with positive recommendation (5–0).
- Item 5 (Dignity Fund Community Needs Assessment): Approved and forwarded to July 12 full board (5–0).
- Items 6 & 7 (Administrative Provisions Hearings): Heard and filed (5–0).
- Item 10 (Proposition J Contract Certification): Forwarded to July 12 full board (5–0).
- Item 11 (Graffiti Clean‑up Fund Ceiling): Forwarded to July 12 full board (5–0).
- Item 12 (Access Line Tax CPI Adjustment): Forwarded to July 12 full board (5–0).
- Item 13 (Certificates of Participation – up to $140M): Continued to June 27 recessed meeting.
- Item 14 (BLA Contract Amendment): Forwarded to July 12 full board (5–0).
Public Comments & Testimony
- David Pilpel spoke on several items, supporting BLA recommendations and suggesting the addition of Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon as outreach newspapers and noting the importance of administrative provisions.
- Paul Ruhlbeck (San Francisco Examiner) testified on Item 4, emphasizing the Examiner’s local printing and 50 jobs, and requesting continued designation as the official newspaper.
Discussion Items
- Racial Equity Hearing (Item 1): President Walton thanked the BLA for a report on disparities in city hiring and promotions. The hearing was continued to after the budget process to allow full attention.
- Outreach Advertising (Items 3‑4): Supervisor Chan moved to add Sing Tao Daily, citing its reach in Chinese‑speaking communities. The amendment passed unanimously.
- Dignity Fund Needs Assessment (Item 5): Director Dearman presented findings showing one‑in‑five older adults served, with strengths in serving low‑income populations. Supervisors praised the work and noted the importance of cross‑departmental coordination on housing and technology access.
- Administrative Provisions (Items 6‑7): BLA recommended amending the AAO to reflect the new Department of Sanitation and Streets and amending the ASO to require controller certification for temporary‑to‑permanent conversions in subsequent years. The mayor’s budget office agreed. Supervisor Safai raised the possibility of adding a provision to track board‑phase funding; the controller said discussions are ongoing.
- Budget Discussion (Items 8‑9): The committee reviewed budgets for over a dozen departments. Most departments reached agreement with the BLA and had their budgets accepted with technical reductions. Notable disagreements and policy decisions included:
- Juvenile Probation: BLA recommended cutting two counselor positions. Chief Miller demonstrated that overtime hours increased 167% over two years and that cuts would harm programming and staff. Chair Ronen and President Walton supported retaining the positions, rejecting the policy recommendation, citing the department’s transparency and increased state duties.
- Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing: Technical reductions accepted. A policy recommendation to cut $2M for a Mission district cabin site was deferred to Monday after Director McSpadden could not provide a detailed budget. The committee also noted the department’s $12M wage enhancement plan may need an additional $4.5M to reach desired pay levels.
- Public Works: Technical cuts accepted. Policy recommendation to reduce the sidewalk and street enforcement initiative (shared spaces and illegal vending) by 0.79 senior inspector and 0.79 analyst was deferred to Monday. Director Short argued the staffing is needed; supervisors were skeptical about the need for the analyst position given community‑based partner efforts.
- Sanitation and Streets: Technical cuts accepted. Policy recommendation to reduce the Tenderloin enhanced cleaning initiative (five to three trucks, two to one steamer, seven to five laborers) was rejected by the committee. Several supervisors stated the Tenderloin requires full investment and that resources were being drawn from other neighborhoods.
- Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD): The committee did not accept several BLA recommendations. Disagreements centered on a proposed $4.5M reduction to the mid‑market/Tenderloin ambassador program (the department said it would lay off 50 from the current 250 ambassadors), a $1M cut to small business grant programs, and a $6M economic core recovery program lacking a detailed plan. Chair Ronen expressed frustration over conflicting ambassador headcount numbers and noted the budget had more than doubled in five years. The committee directed OEWD to provide detailed plans for small business grants, ambassador deployment, and economic core programming by Monday.
Key Outcomes
- Votes on continuances and forwarding: All consent items were forwarded to the July 12 full board or continued (Item 13 to June 27).
- Department budgets: Most accepted with BLA technical recommendations. Policy recommendations for Juvenile Probation (rejected), Public Works (deferred), Sanitation and Streets (rejected), and OEWD (not accepted, further discussions ordered).
- Positions retained: The committee allowed three departments (City Attorney, City Administrator, DHR) to retain position authority for government operations recovery positions, accepting salary savings but not eliminating the positions.
- Future meetings: The committee recessed to June 23 at 10 a.m. to consider unfinished items (Item 2, Items 8‑9, Item 15) and to June 27 for Item 13.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. The meeting will come to order. Oh. This is the June 22nd, 2022 Budget and Appropriations Committee meeting. I'm Supervisor Hilary Ronin, Chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee. I'm joined by committee members, Supervisor Sasha Safai, Gordon Marr, Connie Chan, and President Walton. Our clerk is Brent Halipa, and I would like to thank Lena Mendoza and Seuss Enos from SFGov TV for broadcasting this meeting. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcements? Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh with our return to the chamber, just a friendly reminder for those in attendance to please uh make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices. Uh the Board of Supervisors and its committees are now convening hybrid meetings that allow in-person attendance and public comment while still providing remote access and public comment via telephone. The board recognizes that equitable public access is essential and will be taking public comment as follows. First public comment will be taken on each item in this agenda, with the exception of items eight and nine. Public comment on the annual appropriation and salary ordinances will be held at this committee's meeting on Friday, June 24th. On the rest of today's items, those attending in person will be allowed to speak first, and then we will take those who are waiting on the telephone line for those watching either channels 2678 or 99 and sfgovtv.org. The public call in number is streaming across the screen. That number is 415-655-0001. Again, that's 415-655-0001. Then enter the meeting ID of 248245. Once connected, uh you will hear the meeting discussions, but you'll be muted and in listening mode only. When your item of interest comes up in public comment is called, those joining us in person should line up to speak. And those on telephone should dial star three to be added to the speaker line. If you're on your telephone, please remember to turn down your TV and all listening devices you may be using. Alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing in either of the following ways. Email them to myself, the budget and appropriations committee clerk at B R E N T dot J A L I P A Hat S F G-O-V dot O R G. If you submit public comment via email, it will be forwarded to the supervisors and also included as part of the official file. You may also send your written comments via U.S. Postal Service to our office at City Hall One, Dr. Carlton B. Goodlick Place, Room 244, San Francisco, California, 94102. And thank you, Madam Chair. That concludes my announcements. Thank you so much. Um colleagues and to all the department heads uh and budget staff. Today, this week, the budget legislative analysts will report on your department's budget, and you will have an opportunity to agree or disagree with the BLA's recommendations. We will be changing up the order of a few departments this morning, prioritizing departments that agree with the recommendations, departments that agree but have trailing legislation will go next. Then departments who agree with the technical recommendations but not necessarily the policy recommendations, and then uh finally departments who do not agree. I think we only have one. Um, and I want to thank all of uh the city departments and department heads that reached agreement with the Billy BLA. It is incredibly appreciated. Um, with that, Mr. Oh, sorry, uh to the public. We will have public comment day on Friday, June 24th. That day is reserved for public comment and public comment only. Uh, we will have a break today at some point. Um I'll announce it but before it happens so everyone can take that into consideration in their schedule today. And with that, Mr. Clerk, can you please read item number one? Thank you, madam chair.
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