Government Audit and Oversight Committee Meeting - December 2, 2021
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Government Audit and Oversight Committee Meeting - December 2, 2021
The Government Audit and Oversight Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors met on December 2, 2021, at 6:15 PM UTC. The meeting was chaired by Supervisor Dean Preston, with Vice Chair Connie Chan and Supervisor Hillary Ronen present (Supervisor Mandelman was excused). The committee considered several items, including a labor MOU amendment, a Mills Act historical property contract, a Treasure Island infrastructure financing plan amendment, a hearing on the city's financial audit, and a hearing and resolution on the criminal trials backlog in San Francisco Superior Court.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1 (Ordinance adopting first amendment to MOU with Operating Engineers Local 39): Recommended as a committee report to the Board of Supervisors for the December 7, 2021 meeting. The amendment eliminates mandatory annual shift bidding at the Wastewater Enterprise, introduces voluntary semiannual shifts, affirms management rights to adjust staffing with notice, and expands the joint labor-management committee from two to four members. (Unanimous vote: Chan aye, Ronen absent, Preston aye; later Ronen present but no further vote recorded; motion passed.)
- Item 3 (Resolution approving addition of territory and amendments to the infrastructure financing plan for Treasure Island IRFD No. 1): Recommended as a committee report to the Board of Supervisors. This step finalizes the legislative process for the amended IFP, with a scheduled January 11, 2022 hearing. (Unanimous vote: Chan aye, Ronen aye, Preston aye.)
- Item 4 (Hearing to receive and file the comprehensive annual financial report, single audit, and management letters for FY 2019-2020, and external audit plans for FY 2020-2021): Filed. The controller's office presented, noting a clean audit opinion and 24 findings (including 6 repeat findings). (Unanimous vote to file.)
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 2 (Mills Act contract for 714 Steiner Street): One public commenter, a neighbor, spoke in strong support of the property owner’s rehabilitation efforts, praising the owner's commitment to preserving the historic Painted Lady row and cooperating with the community.
- Items 5 & 6 (Hearing and resolution on criminal trials backlog):
- Victim's family member (Ms. Natividad): Described her brother Robert’s case – he spent 259 days in jail as an innocent man, missing his best friend's death and unable to care for his terminally ill grandfather, because the court could not find a space for trial. She demanded the court prioritize criminal trials.
- Marshall Klein, Managing Attorney, District Attorney's Office: Expressed general support for the resolution’s goals but noted the DA’s office was not the primary actor; they favored the amendment to specify “non-urgent” civil trials. He urged collaboration between the city and courts.
- The Presiding Judge of the Superior Court did not attend the hearing, despite being invited. Chair Preston expressed disappointment, stating the court’s absence prevented necessary problem-solving.
Discussion Items
- Item 2 (Mills Act contract for 714 Steiner Street): Chair Preston recused himself because the property is within 500 feet of his residence. Vice Chair Chan presided. Planning and Assessor's staff presented the contract, which provides a property tax reduction in exchange for a 10-year maintenance and restoration plan for the historic Painted Lady. Supervisor Peskin moved to continue the item to the call of the chair to allow further discussion with the owner. (Motion passed: Chan aye, Ronen aye, Preston recused.)
- Items 5 & 6 (Hearing on criminal trials backlog and accompanying resolution): Chair Preston made opening remarks, stating that over 200 people are in jail awaiting trial, and that the court has failed to uphold speedy trial rights. He noted a discrepancy in numbers: the agenda cited 437 felony cases and 248 untried defendants in custody, while he cited 451 criminal cases with 218 in custody. The resolution originally urged the Superior Court to prioritize criminal trials and open more courtrooms; an amendment was offered and passed to insert “non-urgent” before “civil” on page 4, line 2, to clarify that civil trials necessary for safety or other urgent reasons should not be halted. After the amendment, the resolution was forwarded to the full board with a positive recommendation. (Unanimous votes on amendment and on forwarding as amended.)
Key Outcomes
- Item 1: Passed and sent to full board as a committee report for December 7, 2021.
- Items 7-9 (Closed session litigation settlements): The committee convened in closed session to discuss three lawsuit settlements: Judy O’Neil ($2,500,000), Steven D. Lee ($600,000), and Andrea Gansheimer ($315,000). The committee voted unanimously not to disclose the closed session deliberations.
- Item 3: Passed and sent to full board.
- Item 2: Continued to the call of the chair for further discussion with the property owner.
- Item 4: Hearing filed.
- Item 5: Hearing held; the hearing was not separately filed but was subsumed into the action on Item 6.
- Item 6: Resolution amended (adding “non-urgent” before “civil”) and forwarded to the full Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation. Supervisors Chan and Preston added themselves as co-sponsors.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. This meeting will come to order. Welcome to the December 2nd, 2021 regular meeting of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. I'm Supervisor Dean Preston, Chair of the Committee. I'm joined today by Vice Chair, Supervisor Connie Chan. Supervisor Hilary Ronan. I will be substituting in for Supervisor Mandelman today on the committee. She will be joining us later in the hearing. Our committee clerk is John Carroll. And our thanks to Colina Mendoza and Maria Pena from SFGov TV for staffing this meeting. Mr. Clerk, do we have any announcements? Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. The minutes will reflect that committee members are participating in this remote meeting through video conference to the same extent as though they're physically present in their committee room. The board recognizes that public access to city services is essential and invites your public participation in the following ways. First, public comment will be available for each item on this agenda. Either cable channel 26, 7899, uh, as well as SFGov TV are streaming the public comment call-in number across the screen at this time. Each speaker will be allowed two minutes to speak unless stated otherwise by the chair. Comments or other opportunities to speak during the public comment period are available to you via phone by calling 415-65501. The meeting ID for today's meeting is 2497 647 8686. Following that, you will press the pound symbol twice to connect to the meeting. When you're connected, you will hear the meeting discussions, but your telephone line will be muted and in listening mode only. When your item of interest comes up on our agenda, please dial star, followed by three to be added to the speaker line for that item. Best practices are to call from a quiet location to speak clearly and slowly and to turn down your television, your radio, your streaming device, or whatever else you may be using to access today's proceedings. Alternatively, you submit your you may submit your public comment in writing either by emailing them to me. I'm the government audit oversight committee clerk, and my email address is J-O-H-N, period C-A-R-R-O-L-L at SFGOV.org. Or you can send your written comments to our office in City Hall, that is the clerk's office, room 244. Cities all city hall's addresses one, Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, California 94102. And finally, Mr. Chair, items acted upon on today's agenda are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors Agenda of December 14th, 2021, unless otherwise states. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. And before we get started with our agenda, I would like to make a motion to excuse Supervisor Mandelman from today's GAO meeting. Mr. Clerk, please call the role. On the motion that Supervisor Mandelman be excused from today's proceedings, offered by Chair Preston. Vice Chair Chan. Aye. Chan, I. Chair Preston. Aye. Mr. Chair, there are two ayes and uh Supervisor Ronan is absent. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. The motion passes. Um and uh Mr.
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