San Francisco Budget and Finance Committee Meeting - March 20, 2024
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San Francisco Budget and Finance Committee Meeting - March 20, 2024
The Budget and Finance Committee met on March 20, 2024, chaired by Supervisor Connie Chan, with Vice Chair Raphael Mandelman (arriving later) and Member Amir Melgar. The committee considered five regular agenda items, all of which were approved with amendments on items 1 and 4. No public comments were made on any item.
Discussion Items
Item 1: Emergency Radio Communications Site Sharing Agreement – The Real Estate Division presented a resolution to approve a five-year sharing agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center for emergency radio telecommunications equipment at 4150 Clement Street. The initial base rent is $117,648 per year with 3% annual increases, with three five-year renewal options. The presenter noted that the VA template is non-negotiable and that the rent is supported by appraisals. The committee approved an amendment to correct the end date from March to May on both lines. The amended resolution was forwarded to the full Board with a 2-0 vote (Vice Chair Mandelman excused).
Item 2: Assessor-Recorder Fees – The Assessor-Recorder’s Office presented an ordinance to revise fees for copies of recorded documents and notary services, which had not been updated in over 25 years. The new fee structure includes a flat $1.76 fee for online copies (regardless of page count) and per-page fees for in-person, mail, and kiosk copies. Approximately 67% of transactions are online, and the average 5-page document will see an 82% cost savings for online users. Supervisor Melgar raised concerns about system usability and potential modernization. The ordinance was forwarded to the full Board with a positive recommendation on a 2-0 vote (Vice Chair Mandelman excused).
Item 3: Pier 70 Disposition and Development Agreement Amendment – The Port presented a second amendment to the DDA with FC Pier 70 LLC (Brookfield Properties). The 28-acre site is part of a larger special use district approved in 2017. Phase one infrastructure (except parks) is complete, but due to delayed vertical development, special taxes are not yet available for maintenance. The amendment allows maintenance costs incurred by the Port or developer to be treated as reimbursable project costs until special taxes are sufficient. The committee forwarded the resolution to the full Board with a 2-0 vote (Vice Chair Mandelman excused).
Item 4: Loan Agreement for 936 Geary Avenue – Small Sites Program – MOHCD presented a resolution approving up to $11.8 million in permanent financing for the acquisition and rehabilitation of a 31-unit residential building with two ground-floor commercial spaces. The project is a joint venture between San Francisco Housing Development Corporation and Noven Development. 42% of households were formerly homeless, and all units will be affordable for 99 years. The Budget and Legislative Analyst (BLA) recommended reducing the loan amount by $200,000 to $11.6 million and correcting the address. The committee approved these amendments and forwarded the amended resolution to the full Board with a 3-0 vote (Vice Chair Mandelman present).
Item 5: Accept and Expend Grant – Public Defender’s CARE Court Fund – The Public Defender’s Office presented a resolution to retroactively accept a $524,765 grant from the state CARE Court Fund (SB 101/104) for legal representation in CARE Act proceedings. The grant covers one attorney and one paralegal, plus vouchers for clients (shelter, meals, transportation). To date, 21 petitions have been filed in San Francisco, and the office has been appointed on one case. Supervisor Melgar joined as co-sponsor. The resolution was forwarded to the full Board with a positive recommendation on a 3-0 vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
No members of the public spoke on any agenda item.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1: Resolution amended (date correction) and forwarded to full Board with positive recommendation (2-0).
- Item 2: Ordinance forwarded to full Board with positive recommendation (2-0).
- Item 3: Resolution forwarded to full Board with positive recommendation (2-0).
- Item 4: Resolution amended (loan reduction and address correction) and forwarded to full Board with positive recommendation (3-0).
- Item 5: Resolution forwarded to full Board with positive recommendation (3-0).
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. The meeting will come to order. Welcome to the March 20th, 2024 meeting of the budget and finance committee. I'm Supervisor Connie Chan, Chair of the Committee. I'm joined by Supervisor Amir Namalgar, shortly by Vice Chair Raphael Mendelman. Our clerk, it's Brent Halipa. I would like to thank S of Gov TV, um Kalina Mendoza for broadcasting this meeting. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcement? Yes, Madam Chair, just a friendly reminder to those in attendance to please make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices so as to not to interrupt our proceedings. 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 each item on this agenda. Uh when your item of interest comes up and 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 uh provide public comment, we do invite you to fill out a comment card and leave them on the trait by the television to your left by the doors if you wish to be accurately recorded for the minutes. Alternate alternatively, you may submit public comments uh in writing in either of the following ways. Email them to myself, the budget and finance 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 in City Hall. Uh at one, Dr. Carlton be good at place. Room 244, San Francisco, California 94102. And items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda of March 26th, unless otherwise stated. Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. And um a reminder for everyone that we have budget and legislative analysts report for item four on today's agenda. And for that one item today, we will have the department presentation first and followed by the budget and legislative analyst. Then we will take questions and public comment. With that, Mr. Clerk, please call item number one. Yes, item number one is a resolution approving and authorizing the director of property on behalf of the city's departments of emergency management and technology to execute a sharing agreement for the continued use of emergency radio telecommunications and associated equipment with the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center San Francisco at a base rent of approximately 117,000 per year for 3% annual rent increases commencing June 1st, 2024 through March 30th, 2029 for an initial term of five years with three five-year options to extend and authorizing the director of property to take certain actions that do not materially increase the obligations or liabilities to the city. Uh do not materially decrease the benefits to the city and are necessary or advisable to effectuate the purposes of the sharing agreement for this resolution. Madam Chair. Thank you. And we have our Rio Estate Division here. Thank you. Good morning, uh Chair Chan and Supervisor Milgar. Claudia Goram, Deputy Managing Director for the Real Estate Division. Since 1997, the city has owned and maintained an 800 megahertz citywide emergency radio system for the city's public safety divisions, including police, fire, public health, sheriff, and outside safety divisions and other city departments. There are eight base stations or radio towers, which provide the grid over San Francisco for this emergency radio system. The VA tower at issue here is one of them. In 2003, the city approved and DT DEM entered into a sharing agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center for radio telecommunications equipment at the VA facility in San Francisco. Two renewals carried the lease to 2023. We started negotiations with the VA in 2021. Basically, we accept their template because they do not negotiate on their template or their price. Having received the sharing agreement, it took a little bit longer, but we did come to an agreement. While we do not have an appraisal for that amount, our appraisals of recent from summer of 2023 and our own guidelines support that amount. The BLA did not report on this item, and we asked for your positive recommendation. I believe we did send in an amendment because five years from June 1st is not March, but May, and we need to make those changes.
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