The San Francisco Budget and Finance Committee, chaired by Supervisor Connie Chan with Vice Chair Matt Dorsey and Member Cheyenne Chin, met on October 22, 2025, to consider multiple financial resolutions and ordinances. The agenda included grants for public safety departments, contracts for city services, and financing for affordable housing projects. All items were discussed and forwarded to the full Board of Supervisors with recommendations for approval.
Good morning. The meeting will come to order. Welcome to the October 22nd 2025 meeting of the budget and finance committee. I'm Supervisor Connie Chan, Chair of the Committee. I'm joined by Vice Chair Supervisor Matt Dorsey, shortly by Member Supervisor Cheyenne Chin. Our clerk is Brent Halipa. I would like to thank Eugene Lombardia from SFGov TV for broadcasting this meeting. Mr. Clark, do you have any announcements? Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a friendly reminder to 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 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 required to provide public comment, we do invite you to fill out a comment card and leave them on the trade by the television to your left by those doors. If you wish to be accurately corded for the minutes, alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing in either of the following ways. Email them to myself, the budget and finance committee clerk at B R E N T.j. Sf 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 October 28th, unless otherwise stated. Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. And before we call item number one, I would like to remind everyone that generally speaking, when we have a budget and legislative analyst reports for the items, for those items that we will have the department presentation first, followed by the budget and legislative analysts. Then we'll take questions and public comment. So with that, Mr. Clark, please call item number one. Yes, item number one is a resolution retroactively authorizing the police department to accept and expend a grant in the amount of approximately 63,000 from the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services for the Paul Coverdale Forensic Science Improvement Program to train and procure equipment for the criminology laboratory with the project period beginning on April 1st, 2025 through March 31st, 2026. Madam Chair. Thank you. And uh today we have the police department here. Good to see you. You too. Good morning, Chair Chan, Vice Chair Dorsey, Supervisor Chen. I'm Carl Nasita, Government Affairs Liaison for the police department. As Mr. Halipa just announced before you is a resolution authorizing the police department to accept and expend $63,254 from the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services under the Paul Coverdale Forensic Science Improvement Grant for the period of April 1st, 2025 through March 31st, 2026. Although the award amount is under the 100,000 threshold for board approval in the admin code, the state requires proof of governing body authority as a condition of the grant before releasing funds. For that reason, and consistent with the board's actions on prior Coverdale grants, the department is seeking approval by resolution. Because of the same state requirement, the resolution is retroactive. While the department budgets the annual grant in the annual appropriation ordinance, Cal OES will not release the funds until the governing body formally authorizes acceptance. Just a brief bit of background. The Coverdale program is a longstanding federal initiative that helps local forensic laboratories strengthen scientific accuracy and efficiency. This year's award fund will be used for specialized staff training, professional certification, and upgrades to analytical and digital evidence tools that enhance case turnaround times, data integrity, and overall lab reliability. Approval today allows the department to continue implementing federally supported improvements that enhance accuracy, reduce evidence backlogs, and maintain accreditation.