San Francisco Budget and Appropriations Committee Special Meeting - June 9, 2023
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San Francisco Budget and Appropriations Committee Special Meeting - June 9, 2023
The Budget and Appropriations Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors convened on June 9, 2023, to consider the proposed interim budget for FY2023-2024 and FY2024-2025, the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (OCII) budget and bond issuance, and a $50 million supplemental appropriation to establish an Office of Reparations. The meeting featured presentations from the Mayor's Budget Office and OCII, extensive public testimony, and committee votes on forwarding two budget items to the full board. The reparations item was continued to June 28, 2023.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Items 1 & 2 (Interim Budget): Multiple speakers from homeless service providers (e.g., Larkin Street Youth Services, Episcopal Community Services, Compass Family Services) strongly opposed the Mayor's proposed reallocation of Proposition C ("Our City, Our Home") funds away from Transitional Age Youth (TAY) and family housing programs toward adult shelter expansion and rapid rehousing. Speakers argued this would increase youth and family homelessness, subvert voter-approved allocations, and ignore a community-driven process. Some speakers also called for greater investment in District 10 and for health protections related to toxic sites in the Bayview/Hunters Point.
- Item 5 (Reparations): The vast majority of public commenters urged the committee to approve the $50 million supplemental to create an Office of Reparations under the Human Rights Commission. Speakers included members of the African American Reparations Advisory Committee, small business owners, educators, and community advocates. They stressed that the Board of Supervisors had previously committed to reparations and must "put their money where their mouth is." Many noted the historical and ongoing harms of slavery, redlining, redevelopment, and discrimination in San Francisco, and argued that this funding is a crucial first step. A few callers expressed general support for reparations but asked for careful implementation.
Discussion Items
- Items 1 & 2: Proposed Interim Budget and Salary Ordinances – Anna Doening, Director of the Mayor's Office of Budget, presented a high-level overview of the Mayor's proposed two-year budget. She highlighted that the budget closes a $780 million deficit through departmental reductions, use of reserves, and reliance on non-General Fund sources (e.g., Our City, Our Home Fund, opioid settlement dollars). Key investments include: $98.6 million from the Our City, Our Home Fund for homelessness services (adding nearly 600 net new shelter beds), $200 million for behavioral health, $11 million (growing to $35 million) for the Student Success Fund, expanded child care, $25 million for food security, and continued funding for public safety, street cleaning, and the DreamKeeper Initiative. The budget also proposes business tax changes to aid economic recovery. Public testimony focused on opposition to the reallocation of Prop C funds away from TAY and family housing.
- Items 3 & 4: OCII Interim and Proposed Budgets & Bond Issuance – Thor Kaslofsky, Executive Director of OCII, presented the agency's $712 million budget, noting a $1.6 million reduction to help close the city's deficit. 90% of the budget goes to housing, parks, and infrastructure. Key projects include completion of Bayfront Park (P22) in Mission Bay, affordable housing units across all project areas, and infrastructure for the Hunters Point Shipyard. OCII plans to issue $75 million in bonds to finance enforceable obligations. The committee reviewed OCII's staff vacancies and hiring plans.
- Item 5: Appropriation of $50 Million from General Reserve for Office of Reparations – Supervisor Shamann Walton, the ordinance sponsor, played a video of all 11 supervisors expressing support for reparations at the March 14, 2023 board meeting. The chair of the African American Reparations Advisory Committee, McDonnell, urged the committee to fund the office to avoid yet another report sitting on a shelf. Dan Goncher from the Budget and Legislative Analyst (BLA) office estimated that staffing the office would cost about $1.6 million over two years, leaving $48.4 million for programming. He noted that $50 million is insufficient to implement all 111 draft recommendations but could pilot new programs. The BLA also stated that Proposition 209 does not prohibit the city from investing in historically marginalized communities. During Q&A, the Mayor's Budget Director confirmed that the Mayor's proposed budget does not include funding for a reparations office. Human Rights Commission Director Dr. Cheryl Davis clarified the difference between the DreamKeeper Initiative (which is race-conscious but not exclusively for Black people) and a reparations office (targeted at Black San Franciscans). She suggested the office would need at least $3 million for staffing and operations to be credible.
Key Outcomes
- Items 1 & 2: Moved to the full Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation. Motion passed 3-0 (Supervisors Chan, Mandelman, Walton voting aye; Supervisors Safai and Ronan excused). These ordinances will appear on the June 27, 2023 board agenda.
- Items 3 & 4: Moved to the full board with a positive recommendation. The interim budget (item 3) goes to the June 27 board meeting; the proposed budget and bond issuance (item 4) goes to the July 11 board meeting. Motion passed 4-0 (Supervisors Chan, Mandelman, Safai, Walton aye; Supervisor Ronan excused).
- Item 5: The committee voted to continue the item to the June 28, 2023 meeting of the Budget and Appropriations Committee. Motion passed 3-1 (Supervisors Chan, Mandelman, Safai aye; Supervisor Walton dissented). The continuation allows further budget negotiations to potentially include funding for an Office of Reparations.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. The meeting will come to order. Welcome to the June 9th 2023 meeting of the budget and appropriation. I'm Supervisor Connie Chan, Chair of the Committee, and I'm joined by Supervisors Asha Safai and Shaman Walton. Our clerk is Brent Halipa. I would like to thank Michael Baltazar from SFGov TV for broadcasting this meeting. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcement? Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a friendly reminder for those in attendance to please make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices as to not to interrupt our proceedings here in the chamber. The Board of Supervisors and its committing uh committees are convening hybrid meetings. That'll allow in person attendance and public comment while still providing remote access and public comment via telephone. Public comment will be taken on each item on this agenda. Those attending in person will be allowed to speak first, and then we'll take those who are waiting on the telephone line for those watching remotely and streaming through sfgovtv.org. The public comment call in number is streaming across the screen, and when connected, you will hear the meeting discussions, but you will be muted and in listening mode only. When your item of interest comes up and public comment is called, those joining us in person should line up to speak and those on the telephone to dial star three to also 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. And each speaker will be allowed up to two minutes to speak unless otherwise stated. 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 br e n t dot J A L I P A Hat S F G-O-V dot or 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 and city hall. That's one Dr. Carlton B. Good place. Room 244, San Francisco, California, 94102. And finally, Madam Chair, items acted upon today, are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda of June 27th, unless otherwise stated. Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Before we proceed, uh we have received a request uh from Supervisor Ronan to be excused for today's meeting. So um I would like to move to excuse Supervisor Ronan, and may I have a second? Second by Supervisor Walton. Mr. Clerk, please call the rope. Yes, on that motion uh to excuse a supervisor ronan from this meeting. Uh Vice Chair Mandelman. Aye. Mantelman, I member Safai. I member Walton. Walton, I, Chair Chan. I Chan I. We have four eyes with uh member Ronin. Excuse for this meeting. Thank you. The motion passes. And um just would like to remind colleagues that item uh five, which is the last item on our agenda today, um, has the um budget and legislative analyst report. So we should have a presentation and then go to the budget and legislative analysts report, then we go to comments and questions and public comment. And with that, uh Mr.
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