The meeting will come to order.

Welcome to the March 18, 2026 meeting of the budget and appropriation committee.

I am Supervisor Connie Chan, Chair of the Committee.

I'm joined by Vice Chair, Supervisor Matt Dorsey, and uh member Supervisor Shaman Walton, our clerk is Brent Halipa.

I would like to thank um Jeanette uh Eknoff for from Essecuff TV for broadcasting this meeting.

And my apologies and I will learn your name.

Um Mr.

Clerk, do you have any announcements?

Yes, just a friend of a reminder.

Uh to those in attendance, so please make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices to prevent interruptions to our proceedings.

And should you have any documents to be included as part of the file, this should be submitted to myself, the clerk.

Public comment will be taken on the item on this agenda.

Uh when public comment is called, please line up to speak on the west side of the chamber to your right by left along those curtains.

And while not required to provide public comment, we do invite you to fill out a comment card and leave them under trade by the television jury left by the doors if you wish for your name to be accurately recorded for the minutes.

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 at 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 and city hall at one Dr.

Carlton be good at 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 March 24th, unless otherwise stated.

Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr.

Clerk.

And before we call the item uh item number one, which is the only item on the today's agenda, we need to excuse President Amendelman and Supervisor Souter.

Uh so I move to excuse them.

Second by Supervisor Walton and roll call, please.

And on that motion, uh by Chair Chan, seconded by Member Walton, that we excuse Supervisors Sauter and Mandelman from attending today's meeting.

Vice Chair Dorsey.

Dorsey, aye.

Member Walton.

Walton, aye.

Chair Chan.

Aye.

Chan, aye.

We have three ayes.

The motion passes.

And Mr.

Clerk, please call item number one.

Yes, item number one is a motion establishing priorities for the Board of Supervisors Budget and Appropriations Committee and the process to guide the board's deliberations on the city budget for fiscal years.

Madam Chair.

Thank you and colleagues.

Normally no one pays attention to budget until really June.

This year particularly is going to be earlier because of the Enterprise Agency.

So we will be starting in May.

And throughout the month of April, it is my intention that we uh will be hearing different priorities, budget priorities.

But I I just uh want to make this motion to really uh establish priorities as upcoming um budget process and that I I want to set the table and to make sure that everyone are everyone is clear-eyed uh on not only on this committee, but also at a full board, that uh uh it is going to be a difficult budget year, another one.

But I think that um I want to make sure uh I'm clear about the approach.

Uh and so when we do come together in May, uh everyone will be ready uh for this.

I would say now that we're at a pivotal moment um in which our controller reports project that the city's budget trajectory is finally trending in a better direction.

But to keep this positive progress, we need continuing strong leadership to get us through another difficult budget year.

Um so I am committed to supporting Mayor Daniel Lurie, Board President Rafael Mendelman, and all our colleagues on the Board of Supervisors as budget chair, so that we can get through this.

Um but this is also why, though, um that uh I want to also be on the record that we together we can successfully serve our residents and uh continue to deliver a balanced and equitable budget.

This is why I have every intention to guide the city through another challenging year as the budget committee chair, but also why I plan to step down as committee chair in August of 2026, after we complete this year's budget process.

In order for our cities to continue to progress to make progress, our colleagues on the board must take on new leadership roles on a committee and learn to make difficult but critical choices needed to shape our future budget.

So as we continue to face another year, and that will begin in May this year for our budget process.

We are talking to the mayor uh and his team about what we will be seeing from him.

So at the same time, I want to be clear about this committee's objective.

Um, and I'm gonna just go through the list uh that is listed in the motion.

But I want to make sure that uh everyone will have a chance to process.

Um there are a few priorities that I suggest we all focus on is to chop from the top in the face of Mayor Lurie's conversation around layoffs, leverage federal and state grant and funding.

We need to maximize our reimbursement rate.

We should review contracts of one million or less, and that we um will to work to evaluate and consolidate the process.

Uh we ought to seek to reduce administrative costs and ask all city departments to do so.

We absolutely given what we have been through.

We absolutely need to invest in oversight to reduce wasteful and corrupt spending.

And we need to start asking, particularly our enterprise agencies to streamline their capital improvement projects.

However, the guiding principles, colleagues, and to the public, I will ask, and particularly also mayor, as he prepared his budget, that we ought to be able to make sure we have availability and capacity of city services serving immigrants, LGBTQ plus community, seniors, and people with disabilities, children and youth, tenants and unhoused people and working families.

I ask that we collectively evaluate the fiscal impact of fee waivers and tax revenue suspension on housing protection production, local business revitalization, and service city services that are critical in delivering public safety.

While it may be very technical, I really want all of us to evaluate the utilization of debt and financing policies, including but not limited to bonds, enhanced infrastructure finance districts, and certification of participation in coalition with the projection of economic growth for the city.

Even though right now I know the chamber is empty.

We know that in the coming weeks and coming months uh there will be increase of folks coming in and demanding um that we deliver for them.

Uh I ask that we continue to evaluate um city funding and budget uh based on our value as a city and to be able to hold strong.

In my opinion, it is time that we hold true to our value that we deliver for working people and not the wealthy few in the city.

So with that, happy to go to public comments on this item.

Oh, Supervisor Walton.

Okay.

After public comment.

Let's go to public comment on this item.

Yes, we are now opening public comment for this item number one for those who wish to address this committee regarding this motion.

Um through a previous accommodation, we did receive a request uh under the ADA for remote public comment.

And with that, Mr.

Shu, if you could put our caller on the line, please.

Yes, we can, Mr.

Manetchau.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Chair Chan and committee members.

I'm Patrick Monet Shaw.

I appreciate this committee establishing budget priorities to guide deliberations while developing the proposed city budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

The first of your priorities listed is quote, chop from the top, end quote.

Thank you.

God at last.

I have requested the city controllers' payroll database as a public records request even before fiscal year, 2010-2011.

The written testimony I submitted for today's meeting posted online.

Through 2024, 2025.

Over the 14 years, the city added 8,74 employees.

There were 33,979 in 1011.

And 42,683 in 2425, excluding superior court employees.

Exhibit one in my written testimony shows the city added 815 senior managers across the 14 years, which represents 9.4% of the additional 8,704 employees at an increased cost of 211.

The mayor's office added 88 additional employees at an increased cost of 15.7 million dollars.

Why does the mayor's office need a total of 188 employees?

What changed so drastically in the mayor's duties?

The Board of Supervisors should oppose Mayor Leary's charter change proposal to eliminate the charter mandated salary cap.

Restricting pay of mayoral staff is 7% of the mayor's salary.

In the fiscal year 2425, there were 43 employees across all city departments.

But when it came to total pay, including overtime so-called other pay, there were 334 employees across all city departments who earn total pay in excess of the mayor's official salary at a combined cost of 147.3 million dollars.

Yes, sir E.

It's long past time to chop from the top.

The Board of Supervisors must stick to your guns and chop both vacant and still senior manager positions.

Thank you for listening.

Thank you much for your comments, Mr.

Manach.

If we could have your next speaker, please.

One second.

Thank you.

Go ahead.

Hi everyone.

Rocile Malina here, director of the San Francisco Human Services Network.

Thank you so much for your remarks, Supervisor Chan.

We really appreciate the consideration that the board is placing on prioritizing the impacts that potential cuts on the budget will have on our city's most vulnerable community members.

As a representative for over 60 organizations that provide critical services for these communities, it is heavy on my heart to hear, you know, how much the cuts are already impacting staff structures and the future outlook of service providers in the city.

We have been advocating for an investment in the cost of doing business that would help stem some of the bleeding due to raising rising costs in the service delivery infrastructure due to things like growing um expenses for health insurance for workers, growing administrative burdens as we all try to stabilize and standardize the monitoring and reporting guidelines that the city is investing in internally in order to you know address potential, you know, uh discrepancies in financing and things like that.

And as partners for the city, we look forward to working on that with you all and with the controller and the mayor's team.

However, it has created an undue burden on our indirect uh staff um cost.

A lot of program staff also have had to be redirected in order to deliver an increased reporting requirements, which are essential and mandated in spite of delayed payments to these organizations.

So many organizations, prior to even being paid on their contracts, are moving staff around in order to produce reports and really meet the expectations of their commitments to the city.

All of this can be supported by a cost of doing business, and so we really implore you all to consider the stabilizing impact that this will have across a sector that is already already hurting deeply during this budget cycle.

Thank you so much.

And thank you, Rosario Molina.

And uh seeing no further speakers, Madam Peter that completes your queue.

Thank you.

Seeing no more public comments, Papa Common is now closed.

Vice Chair Dorsey.

Thank you, Chair Chan.

Um, I just want to express my appreciation for this motion, which I think really does a good job of laying out principles and values, and there's one aspect of it that I think uh deserves to be elevated.

A lot of the conversation around the budget deficit has been about the impact of federal cutbacks, um, which I think over four years uh amount to about seven hundred and thirty-seven million dollars.

But there's another aspect of what we're seeing from the federal government that's playing out for vulnerable communities, and in particular, um, I think it's it's the immigrant community, um, the trans community, uh the BIPOC communities.

Umlike ever before in the time that I've been here, there is real fear, even in the ph philanthropic world.

Um that good philanthropies don't want to target on their back because of how politicized things are from the Trump administration.

And for many of the communities that we're going to be endeavoring to support, it's important that we be mindful that there is no cavalry coming for them unless we are.

So I just think that this is really important, and that we remember that this is different than other budgetary downturns, and I really appreciate your work setting out these values and principles, and I'd like to be added as a co-sponsor.

Thank you.

Supervisor Walton.

Thank you so much, Chair Chan, and I definitely want to make sure that I am at it as a co-sponsor.

I'm already on here, never mind.

But the reality of it is I do just want to state that these budget cuts from what we're seeing and what possibilities may exist are not necessarily neutral.

And these are going to be very real and have some very inequitable impacts across the city as we make our decisions as we move forward.

And we definitely want to make sure that we focus on applying equity and have an equity lens to all the proposed cuts and how we move forward and make sure that we address the needs of our most vulnerable populations, some of which Supervisor Dorsey also outlined.

I also just want to say that it's going to be important that we, from a broader arching standpoint, maintain critical services, address affordability, decrease in equities, make sure we focus on safety, and of course, providing services for our unhoused and our immigrant populations.

So definitely appreciate uh having these guidelines in place as we move forward, because we have a lot of work to do and a lot of work in front of us, and I just want to make sure we come up with a budget that is reflective of the needs of all and not just some.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And with that, um, I would like to make the motion to move this motion, make the motion to move this motion to full board with recommendation and a roll call, please.

Ahead of that, Madam Chair.

Uh actually ahead of that, Madam Chair, uh, I do believe there is a clerical amendment that was offered.

That's correct.

My apologies.

Yes.

Uh is that that there's a clerical amendment on page two line 11 is to uh correct the uh spelling or really the words from principal P A L to P E P L E S principles.

Um I would like to make the motion to amend and send the amended motion to full board with recommendation.

And yes, that was already seconded by the second by Supervisor Walton, and we'll have a roll call, please.

And on that motion by Chair Chan, seconded by Member Walton, that we refer this motion to the full board.

Oh, sorry.

That we first amend the motion to accept the clerical uh amendment as so offered by the chair, and then we refer this motion to the full board with the recommendation as amended.

Vice Chair Dorsey.

Dorsey, I, Member Sauter.

Oh, sorry, uh Member Walton.

All right, Walton, I, Chair Chan.

Aye.

Chan, I we have three eyes from members Sauter and Mendelman excused.

The motion passes.

And Sir Clark, do we have any other items before us and before us today?

Yes, Madam Chair, that concludes our business.

Thank you.

And the meetings adjourned, I think.