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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

San Francisco Budget and Finance Committee Meeting, April 15, 2026

Budget and Finance Committee — Wednesday, April 15, 2026

BodySan Francisco, California

SessionBudget and Finance Committee

DateWednesday, April 15, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 50:00

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:05

Good morning.

0:05

The meeting will come to order.

0:07

Welcome to the April 15, 2026 meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee.

0:12

I am Supervisor Connie Chan, Chair of the Committee.

0:14

I am joined by Vice Chair, Supervisor Matt Dorsey, and Member Supervisor Danny Souter.

0:20

Our clerk is Brandt Haliba.

0:22

I would like to uh thank Jeanette from SFGov TV for broadcasting this meeting.

0:32

Mr.

0:32

Clark, do you have any announcements?

0:34

Thank you, Madam Chair.

0:35

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.

0:42

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

0:46

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

0:50

When your item of interest comes up in public comment is called.

0:52

Please line up to speak on the west side of the chamber to uh your right, my left along those curtains.

0:58

And while not required to provide public comment, we do invite you to fill out a comment card.

1:02

And leave them on the trade by the television to your left by the doors.

1:06

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.

1:13

I email them to myself, the budget and finance committee clerk.jsfgov.org.

1:23

If you submit public comment via email, it will be forwarded to the supervisors and also included as part of the official file.

1:29

You may also send your written comments via U.S.

1:32

Postal Service to our office and city hall at one, Dr.

1:35

Carlton because of the place.

1:37

Room 244, San Francisco, California, 94102.

1:41

And finally, items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda of April 21st, unless otherwise stated.

1:50

Madam Chair.

1:51

Thank you so much, Mr.

1:52

Clerk.

1:52

Please call item number one.

1:54

Yes, item number one.

1:59

Is a resolution retroactively authorizing the Department of Elections to accept and expend funds allocated by the California Secretary of State in an amount not to exceed approximately 416,000 to fund voting system and election management system replacement for the period of July 1st, 2025 through August 31st, 2026.

2:19

Madam Chair.

2:20

Thank you.

2:21

And today we have Department of Election here.

2:23

Thank you.

2:23

Good morning, Supervisors.

2:24

John Ernst, Director of Elections.

2:26

So this morning, the Department of Elections is requesting the committee's review and approval of an accept expend resolution authorizing the Department to obtain funds from the State of California totaling 416,431.10 cents for the reimbursement of costs associated with voting system replacement.

2:45

These funds are the city's allotment of a larger total that the State Legislature has provided for all counties in California.

2:52

The Department will apply the funds to reimburse costs incurred when making lease payments to the voting system vendor as required under an existing contract.

3:01

The city must also show that it provided matching funds of 138,810 and 37 cents to receive these state funds.

3:10

Since the lease payment under the contract exceeds the total of state funds by more than the 138,810 and 35 cents, the city meets the requirement regarding the matching funds with without having to make any additional expenditures.

3:24

And with that, I'll be glad to answer any questions regarding this resolution.

3:28

Thank you.

3:28

I don't actually have additional questions regarding specifically the item before us today.

3:55

And how how will we prepare for that?

3:58

So right now, no, there's I don't have concerns about any about election security and about any impairment of the election process by the Federal Government for June.

4:08

That's really the election that we're focused on right now.

4:10

We're not really we're we are planning for November, but right now our focus is on the on the June election.

4:16

We do have meetings with the uh Department of Emergency Management that is uh collaborative of all the security-related agencies and also support services like DPW will be part of that uh regarding supporting the department through the election cycle on election day.

4:35

And those conversations will include election security, of course, and including any sort of potential impingement of the elections process by any federal agency or authorities.

4:46

Um at this time, I I I don't expect there to be any sort of security issues arising in June.

4:54

And I just don't, and I have my experience, the Federal Government has not interfered with elections processes in San Francisco during my time as director.

5:03

And we do work with the FBI before every election and the DOJ.

5:08

So we have connections in those offices.

5:11

So I understand the fears, I understand the concerns, but at the same time, I do expect the election to be well administered and for people to vote safely and securely in in June.

5:23

And if I uh recall correctly, that the city does and Department of Election is part of, has been through the city's like surveillance uh policy uh Chapter 19, that if I understand correctly, that uh for the Department of Elections, you do have cameras.

5:40

Correct.

5:41

Could you re elaborate a little bit?

5:43

Certainly.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Budget and Finance████████████████████████24%

Elections█████████████████████21%

Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████████18%

Procurement██████████████████18%

Procedural████████████12%

Transportation██████6%

Environmental Review█1%

Summary of Proceedings

San Francisco Budget and Finance Committee Meeting, April 15, 2026

The Budget and Finance Committee, chaired by Supervisor Connie Chan and joined by Vice Chair Matt Dorsey and Member Danny Souter, met on April 15, 2026 to review six agenda items. The committee voted unanimously to recommend all items to the full Board of Supervisors, with items two and three approved without recommendation (by consent) and item four amended before referral.

Consent Calendar

No consent calendar was noted.

Public Comments & Testimony

No members of the public spoke on any of the six items.

Discussion Items

Item 1: Resolution Authorizing Acceptance of State Funds for Voting System Replacement

Presenter: John Ernst, Director of Elections
Details: The Department of Elections requested approval to accept and expend up to $416,431.10 from the California Secretary of State to reimburse costs for voting system replacement (lease payments to vendor) for July 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026. The city must provide matching funds of $138,810.37; existing lease payments exceed this amount, so no additional city expenditure is needed.
Discussion: Chair Chan asked about election security and federal interference. Director Ernst stated the department is focused on the June election, meets with the Department of Emergency Management, and works with the FBI and DOJ; he does not expect security issues. He described robust transparency measures including livestreaming ballot handling, internal cameras on servers, and in-person observation. Chair Chan and Vice Chair Dorsey expressed strong appreciation for the department's work and transparency.

Items 2 & 3: Resolutions Establishing Appropriations Limits for FY 2025-2026

Presenter: Michael Bitten (Controller’s Office) and Bridget Katz (Office of Public Finance)
Details: The Gann limit (Article XIII B of California Constitution) limits the amount of tax proceeds the city can collect. Item 2 sets the city’s appropriations limit at approximately $14.6 billion, based on a 0.39% population decline, 6.44% per capita personal income growth, and voter-approved increases (Prop M, passed 2024, exempts business taxes from limit for four years). Actual tax proceeds subject to the limit are $5.5 billion, leaving $9 billion under the limit. Item 3 sets the limit for special tax districts and infrastructure financing districts at the amounts listed (combined adjustment factor of 6.02% for FY 25-26). Budget Legislative Analyst Nick Menard recommended approval, noting spending in both categories is well under the limits.
Chair Chan noted that further hearings on debt policy, fee waivers, and related issues will occur later in April and early May.

Item 4: Ordinance Extending Delegation of Authority for Green Infrastructure Grant Program

Presenter: Willis Logsden, Senior Watershed Planner, SFPUC; Jeremy Spitz presented clerical amendments.
Details: The ordinance extends through July 1, 2031 the authority for the SFPUC General Manager to enter into grant agreements under the Green Infrastructure Grant Program, with terms up to 20 years after project completion. The program provides funding to large property owners to build green infrastructure (rain gardens, green roofs, permeable pavement) that captures stormwater to reduce pressure on the combined sewer system. Since 2019, $30 million has been awarded to 29 projects. The program aims to capture 1 billion gallons of stormwater by 2050. The committee accepted clerical amendments (adjusting ordinance numbers, adding “July 31st” as annual review date, etc.) and recommended approval of the amended ordinance. Chair Chan praised the program’s benefits in her district (Lafayette and Alamo schools). Member Souter asked about geographic distribution; staff acknowledged the half-acre minimum may limit projects in dense areas and noted other grant programs exist for smaller sites.

Item 5: Resolution Approving Contract for Hetch Hetchy Water and Power NERC Compliance Support

Presenter: Adam Ozerkowitz, Division Manager, Hetch Hetchy Water and Power, SFPUC
Details: The resolution authorizes a five-year contract (May 2026 – May 2031) with Archer Energy Solutions LLC for up to $11.6 million to provide compliance and audit support for the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), Western Electricity Coordinating Council, California ISO, and CPUC. Hetch Hetchy operates components of the bulk electrical system (four powerhouses, transmission lines, substations) and must meet 56 reliability standards. Budget Legislative Analyst Nick Menard noted the contract may be undersized given historical spending of $2.3 million/year and inflation; SFPUC staff acknowledged the risk but noted internal hiring may reduce contract dependence. Chair Chan flagged potential need for a supplemental appropriation in the final year. The committee recommended approval.

Item 6: Resolution Approving Agreement on Caltrain Pension Obligations

Presenter: Jesse Kaler, Director of Strategy, San Francisco County Transportation Authority
Details: The resolution approves an agreement among the three Caltrain member agencies (San Francisco, San Mateo County Transit District, and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority) to backstop Caltrain’s pension obligations to CalPERS if Caltrain were dissolved or its contract terminated. This is required for Caltrain to enter a separate contract with CalPERS, giving it greater oversight of employees. Caltrain’s assets ($4.36 billion) vastly exceed its unfunded pension liability ($15.7 million as of 2023), making the risk extremely low. Budget Legislative Analyst Nick Menard noted Caltrain’s ridership is down 38% from pre-COVID and net income negative, but a pending regional sales tax measure could cover all expenses for 14 years. Chair Chan supported the agreement, calling it a necessary regional risk-sharing step. The committee recommended approval.

Key Outcomes

Item 1: Passed 3-0, referred to full board with recommendation.
Items 2 & 3: Passed 3-0, referred to full board with recommendation.
Item 4: Clerical amendments accepted; amended ordinance passed 3-0, referred to full board with recommendation.
Item 5: Passed 3-0, referred to full board with recommendation.
Item 6: Passed 3-0, referred to full board with recommendation.
All items are scheduled to appear on the Board of Supervisors’ agenda of April 21, 2026 unless otherwise stated.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning. The meeting will come to order. Welcome to the April 15, 2026 meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee. I am Supervisor Connie Chan, Chair of the Committee. I am joined by Vice Chair, Supervisor Matt Dorsey, and Member Supervisor Danny Souter. Our clerk is Brandt Haliba. I would like to uh thank Jeanette 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 uh 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 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. I email them to myself, the budget and finance committee clerk.jsfgov.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 and city hall at one, Dr. Carlton because of the place. Room 244, San Francisco, California, 94102. And finally, items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda of April 21st, unless otherwise stated. Madam Chair. Thank you so much, Mr. Clerk. Please call item number one. Yes, item number one. Is a resolution retroactively authorizing the Department of Elections to accept and expend funds allocated by the California Secretary of State in an amount not to exceed approximately 416,000 to fund voting system and election management system replacement for the period of July 1st, 2025 through August 31st, 2026. Madam Chair. Thank you. And today we have Department of Election here. Thank you. Good morning, Supervisors. John Ernst, Director of Elections. So this morning, the Department of Elections is requesting the committee's review and approval of an accept expend resolution authorizing the Department to obtain funds from the State of California totaling 416,431.10 cents for the reimbursement of costs associated with voting system replacement. These funds are the city's allotment of a larger total that the State Legislature has provided for all counties in California. The Department will apply the funds to reimburse costs incurred when making lease payments to the voting system vendor as required under an existing contract. The city must also show that it provided matching funds of 138,810 and 37 cents to receive these state funds. Since the lease payment under the contract exceeds the total of state funds by more than the 138,810 and 35 cents, the city meets the requirement regarding the matching funds with without having to make any additional expenditures. And with that, I'll be glad to answer any questions regarding this resolution. Thank you. I don't actually have additional questions regarding specifically the item before us today. And how how will we prepare for that? So right now, no, there's I don't have concerns about any about election security and about any impairment of the election process by the Federal Government for June. That's really the election that we're focused on right now. We're not really we're we are planning for November, but right now our focus is on the on the June election. We do have meetings with the uh Department of Emergency Management that is uh collaborative of all the security-related agencies and also support services like DPW will be part of that uh regarding supporting the department through the election cycle on election day.

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