Budget Committee Hearing on Homeless Services and Tenant Protections - April 17, 2024
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Budget Committee Hearing on Homeless Services and Tenant Protections - April 17, 2024
The Budget and Appropriations Committee, chaired by Supervisor Connie Chan, held a hearing on the city's continuum of homeless services, supportive housing, and tenant protection services. The meeting also included a motion to continue a hearing on the Five-Year Financial Plan March update. The committee heard presentations from the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH), the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD), the Department of Building Inspection (DBI), and a coalition of community-based organizations. Over 50 members of the public provided testimony, overwhelmingly opposing cuts and urging increased investment.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Jennifer Friedenbach (Coalition on Homelessness) stated that austerity measures would worsen humanitarian crises and called for balancing the budget through revenue from corporations and the wealthy, not cuts to services.
- Tabitha Allen (Tenderloin Housing Clinic) emphasized that flat funding is effectively a cut due to rising costs, and that permanent supportive housing providers face over $8 million in rental arrears and $5 million in vacancy losses.
- Mayasa Mudio (Housing Rights Committee) warned that a 10% cut to the Code Enforcement Outreach Program (COP) could lead to staff reductions and reduced ability to address habitability issues.
- Laura Chiera (Legal Assistance to the Elderly) and Krista Alderson (Eviction Defense Collaborative) noted that 92% of tenants with full-scope representation remain housed, and alerted to a projected 50% cut in Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) funding, which could result in up to 5,000 individuals losing their homes.
- Multiple tenants and family members spoke in support of SRO Families United Collaborative, stressing the importance of language-accessible tenant counseling and code enforcement assistance.
- Joel Wilson (Hospitality House) urged the committee to fight for vulnerable residents and suggested a "woodshed conversation" with 84 billionaires to address the deficit.
- Hope Kimer (Compass Family Services) highlighted that 442 families are waiting for shelter, including children sleeping outside.
- Dozens of other speakers from organizations including Causa Justa, Glide, and the SF Latino Parity and Equity Coalition called for maintaining or increasing funding for housing, prevention, and legal services.
Discussion Items
- HSH Presentation (Shireen McSpadden and Gigi Whitley): The proposed budget maintains current services and bed capacity through fiscal year 2026 by leveraging state grants and prior year fund balance. It avoids programmatic cuts but defers significant fiscal cliffs. HSH reported helping over 6,700 people exit homelessness in the past two years, and noted a 7% budget decrease overall due to expiring one-time funds. The department identified $4–6 million in general fund reductions through contract efficiencies and capturing underspending.
- MOHCD Presentation (Brian Shi): Tenant protection programs (eviction legal defense, ERAP, education, mediation) total about $66.6 million annually. The budget faces a projected reduction in ERAP from $20+ million to roughly $12.5 million from recurring OCO funds, with one-time enhancements expiring. MOHCD provided the mayor's office with options to defer cuts, including using one-time general fund carryover and eliminating a $1 million capital rehab program.
- DBI Presentation (Christine Gisperick): DBI's general fund grants for code enforcement outreach (COP) face a 10% reduction (about $500,000), but the department noted that the program has been underspent by a similar amount in prior years. DBI is also implementing fee increases averaging 40% phased in over three years to address revenue shortfalls.
- Community Coalition Presentation (Multiple Speakers): The coalition presented a vision for dignified shelter, diverse housing options, and a coordinated by-name system. They opposed cuts to family and youth housing (citing $11 million in Prop C reductions) and called for investment in vehicularly housed populations, better encampment resolution practices, and fully funded contracts for supportive housing providers.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1 (Five-Year Financial Plan Hearing): Continued to the call of the chair on a motion by Chair Chan (seconded by Walton), passed with three ayes (Melgar and Peskin absent).
- Item 2 (Homeless Services and Tenant Protections Hearing): After presentations and public comment, the committee filed the hearing on a motion by Chair Chan (seconded by Walton), passed with three ayes. No specific budget decisions were made; the hearing served as an early opportunity for public input and departmental discussion ahead of the mayor's May 31 budget proposal and June budget hearings.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. Oh, are we ready? Okay. Sorry. Good afternoon. The meeting will come to order. Welcome to the April 17, 2024 meeting of the appro meeting of the budget and appropriation committee. I am Supervisor Connie Chan, Chair of the Committee. I'm joined by uh Supervisors Shaman Walton and Mayorna Melgar, uh, Board President Peskin, shortly by Vice Chair Rafael Mendelman, our clerk is Brent Haliba. I would like to thank Matthew Enall from SFGov TV for broadcasting this meeting. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcement? Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a filling reminder. For those in attendance to please make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices to prevent interruptions to our proceedings. Should you have any documents to be included as part of the file, they should be submitted to myself, the clerk. Public comment will be taking uh will be taken on each item on this agenda. When your item of interest comes up in public comment is called, please line up to speak on the west side of the chamber to your right, my left along those curtains. And while not necessary to provide public comment, we do invite you to fill out a comment card and leave them on the tray by the television to your left by the doors if you wish to be accurately recorded for the minutes. Alternatively, you may submit public comment and 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 ORG. 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 in City Hall 1, Dr. Carlton be good at the place, room 244, San Francisco, California 94102. That concludes my announcement, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Giving that our morning sessions ran long. I hope that we can continue item one to the call chair just to get into the hearing with item number two. So Mr. Clerk, please call item number one. Yes, item number one is a hearing on the March update to the city and county of San Francisco's five-year financial plan. Madam Chair. Thank you. And colleagues, I would like to make the motion to continue item number one to the call chair, and with that, a roll call, please. And on that motion to continue this hearing to the call of the chair. Do we need to do public comment? Oh, that's I am so sorry. Yes, you are correct, madam chair. Thank you. Um, and before we go to the public comments today, I would like to limit today's public comments to one minute. Um and with that, let's go to public comment on item number one. And yes, um, we do invite members of the public who wish to address this committee regarding the continuance of uh this item number one. Uh, now is your opportunity to approach the lecture and madam chair. We have no speakers. Thank you. Seeing no public comment for item number one. The public comment is closed and would like to make the motion to move. I already did, uh, and would like to do a roll call on that motion to continue uh this item to the call.
openpublica.com