San Francisco Budget and Finance Committee Meeting – July 8, 2026
San Francisco Budget and Finance Committee Meeting – July 8, 2026
The Budget and Finance Committee, chaired by Supervisor Connie Chan, met on July 8, 2026, to consider 13 items including grants, audits, bond issuances, and health service rates. The committee approved all items, referring them to the full Board of Supervisors with positive recommendations.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 2 (Cal Academy Audit): Multiple speakers, including union representatives, a former employee, and a volunteer diver, expressed support for a full performance and management audit. They cited concerns about layoffs, top-heavy management, contracting out work, and executive bonuses while the institution faces financial challenges. Emily Abraham, director of government affairs at the Academy, stated the institution welcomes the audit and will cooperate fully.
- Item 3 (Embarcadero Plaza Renovation): TJ Wenzel of the San Francisco Downtown Development Corporation (DDC) expressed support for the partnership, noting the project will strengthen San Francisco’s global front door.
- Item 5-7 (Mission Bay Ferry Landing): Amy Alden of UCSF supported the ferry landing, highlighting that UCSF’s $4 million contribution fulfills a commitment made to Mayor Ed Lee, and that the landing will improve access for employees, patients, and visitors.
Discussion Items
- Item 1 – Grant Approval Threshold Ordinance: The committee heard a presentation on an ordinance to increase the minimum grant award requiring Board of Supervisors approval from $100,000 to the greater of $1 million or the federal single audit threshold, effective October 1, 2026. The item was continued from a previous meeting; no further discussion was needed and it was moved to the full board.
- Item 2 – Performance Audit of California Academy of Sciences: Supervisor Melgar introduced a motion to direct the Budget and Legislative Analyst (BLA) and Controller’s Office to conduct a performance and management audit of the California Academy of Sciences. She noted the Academy operates on city land and receives city support but has never been audited. BLA representative Nick Minard stated that with cooperation, the audit would take six to nine months and could be completed within the fiscal year. The committee discussed the Academy’s $200 million endowment (including $50 million unrestricted) and the need for best practices for cultural institutions. The motion passed unanimously.
- Item 3 – Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park Renovation: Supervisor Sauter presented a resolution to accept a $20 million grant from the DDC for renovations. The total project budget is approximately $40 million plus $2.5 million in-kind from BXP. The city is contributing $18 million, including $14 million from the Vibrant SF 2024 bond. The DDC has committed to fundraising the remaining $20 million. The resolution passed unanimously.
- Item 4 – SFUSD General Obligation Bonds (Series B): The committee received a presentation on a resolution authorizing the issuance of up to $270 million in Series B bonds from the 2024 Prop A authorization. The bonds will fund school projects over 24 months, with a true interest cost not to exceed 6% and a repayment term of up to 25 years. The district may also issue refunding bonds to generate savings. The resolution passed unanimously.
- Items 5-7 – Mission Bay Ferry Landing Grants and Contract: Vice Chair Dorsey expressed support for the ferry landing, noting it will serve the growing Mission Bay neighborhood. The port presented three items: acceptance of a $4 million grant from UCSF, a $4.5 million grant from the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, and an amendment to extend a design contract with COWI OLMM Joint Venture retroactively to June 16, 2026, through June 30, 2028, with no change in the $6.4 million contract amount. The committee approved the items with an amendment to item 6 adding retroactive language. All passed unanimously.
- Item 8 – Health Service System Rates for 2027: The Health Service System presented the proposed 2027 rates and benefits package, with an overall premium increase of 10.11%. The increase is driven by rising costs of GLP-1 medications, gene and cell therapies, and provider inflation. The Health Service Board approved no changes to plan benefits or providers. The committee noted that the city’s total cost for health benefits will increase from $1 billion in 2026 to $1.1 billion in 2027. Chair Chan commended the system’s transparency and requested continued communication on rate projections during the budget process. The ordinance passed unanimously.
- Item 9 – Wastewater Analysis Gift: Vice Chair Dorsey introduced a resolution to accept an in-kind gift of $87,000 from Biobot Analytics for wastewater-based epidemiology services to detect emerging substances in the drug supply. Dr. Jeffrey Hom of the Department of Public Health presented the project, which will run from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The city received notice on June 9, 2026, leaving only 22 days for the acceptance process; retroactive approval was sought. The resolution passed unanimously.
- Items 10-11 – Airport Leases: The airport commission presented two resolutions: a 12-year lease with Hotel Zoe LLC for a traveler’s retreat (Wait & Rest and The Lost Gate) at terminals 1 and 3, with a minimum annual guarantee of $350,000, and a lease termination agreement with SSP America Inc. for the Sweet Maple space in Terminal 2. The BLA recommended approval. Both resolutions passed unanimously.
- Items 12-13 – District Attorney Grants: The District Attorney’s Office presented two items: a grant of $275,391 from the California Victim Compensation Board for the Criminal Restitution Compact Program (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2029), and a gift of $200,000 from the Chris Larson Fund to support Project Restore, a women’s housing initiative for victims of violent crime. Both items passed unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- All 13 items were approved by the committee and referred to the full Board of Supervisors with positive recommendations. The votes were unanimous (3-0) on each item. Items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 were referred without amendment; item 6 was amended to include retroactive language before referral. The next board meeting where these items will appear is July 14, 2026, unless otherwise stated.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. Good morning. The meeting will come to order. Welcome to the July 8, 2026 of the budget and finance committee. I'm Supervisor Connie Chan, Chair of the Committee. I'm joined by Vice Chair, Supervisor Matt Dorsey, and Member Supervisor Danny Sauter, our clerk. It's Brent Halipa. I would like to thank Eugene Labadia from SFGov TV for broadcasting this meeting. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcement? 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. 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 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 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 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, items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda of July 14th, unless otherwise stated. Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. And before we call the items on the agenda, I would like to just remind the public that we have budget and legislative analyst reports for items one, eight, and ten on today's agenda. And so for those items, we will have the department presentation first, followed by the budget and legislative analyst. Then we will take questions and public comment. So with that, Mr. Clark, please call item number one. Yes, item number one is an ordinance amending the administrative code to increase the minimum grant award amount requiring board of supervisors approval for acceptance and expenditure from 100,000 to the greater of 1 million or the federal single audit threshold amount set by the United States Office of Management and Budget starting October 1st, 2026. Require Board of Supervisors approval of a grant increase only if it raises the grant to the approval threshold for the first time or increases a previously approved grant to either 110% of or more of the previously approved amount or 200,000 or more above the previously approved amount. Authorize the controller to make rules governing the acceptance and expenditure of any grants or grant increases that do not require board of supervisors approval, exempt gifts of legal services and litigation related expert services from the requirement that department obtain Board of Supervisors approval to accept gifts valued above 10,000 and make other non-substantive organizational changes to the sections of code relating to cash revolving funds and acceptance and expenditure of grant funds. Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Clerk and colleagues. This is an item that we continue from the June 6 June 17th budget and finance committee due to the substantive amendments. Um I believe we did have presentation and we did have the budget and legislative analyst report. Um so with that I I don't see any name on the roster. I believe we could go to public comments on this item. Yes, we are opening public comment for this item number one. If we have any members of the public who wish to address this committee, Madam Chair, we have no speakers. Seeing no public comments, public comment is now closed. Colleagues, I would like to move this item without further discussion to full board with positive recommendation and a roll call, please. And on that motion, by Chair Chan, to refer this ordinance to the full board with a recommendation. Vice Chair Dorsey. Chan, aye, we have three ayes.
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