Government Audit and Oversight Committee Meeting – February 1, 2024
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Government Audit and Oversight Committee Regular Meeting – February 1, 2024
The Government Audit and Oversight Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors held a regular meeting on Thursday, February 1, 2024, at 6:15 PM. The meeting was chaired by Supervisor Dean Preston, joined by Supervisor Matt Dorsey, and later by Supervisor Myrna Melgar for items 2 and 3. The committee considered a retroactive MOU with the U.S. Capitol Police, an audit of the Ocean Avenue Association, and annual reports for seven community benefit districts (CBDs) and two business improvement districts (BIDs).
Public Comments & Testimony
- A single member of the public spoke on item 1, placing a U.S. passport on display and referencing Arizona State University, but made no substantive comment on the agenda item.
- No public comment was offered on items 4 through 9.
- During items 2–3, Mary Harris, President of My Neighbors in Action, expressed support for the Ocean Avenue Association's progress, noting improved cleanliness and hanging baskets, while requesting more prominent celebration of new business openings and enhanced Small Business Week activities.
Discussion Items
Item 1: Retroactive MOU with U.S. Capitol Police
- Diana Oliva Aroce (SFPD Director of Policy and Public Affairs) and Patrick Liang (former SFPD CFO) presented a resolution authorizing a retroactive MOU with the U.S. Capitol Police for supplemental law enforcement services (January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2023). The MOU covers off-duty officers providing security at the Pelosi residence. The originally projected reimbursement of $1 million has grown to approximately $1.8 million based on actual overtime hours. The committee expressed preference for future MOUs to be brought forward before services commence. The item was approved unanimously (2-0) and sent to the full Board of Supervisors.
Items 2 & 3: Ocean Avenue Association Audit and Annual Report
- The Controller's Office (Mark De La Rosa and Helen Voe) presented findings from an audit of the Ocean Avenue Association (OAA) covering FY2018-2022. Four overarching findings identified lack of internal controls, non-compliance with the management agreement, incomplete implementation of the strategic plan, and poor grant administration. Nineteen recommendations were issued, all of which OEWD concurred with. As of January 2024, 12 recommendations have been implemented; 7 remain open pending submission of the FY2022-23 annual report (expected mid-February 2024).
- OEWD (Jackie Hazelwood) and OAA Executive Director Christian Martin reported on corrective actions taken: new board training, improved policies, a new CPA firm, successful leadership transition, and enhanced corridor services (e.g., cleaning, beautification, traffic calming). A missed vendor payment ($10,000) for a cancelled event (Phoenix Day) was noted; the vendor is not on the city’s debarred list but is being pursued for recovery. The committee voted unanimously (3-0) to file the hearing (item 2) and send the annual report (item 3) to the full board with a positive recommendation.
Items 4–9: Annual Reports for Seven CBDs/BIDs
- OEWD presented summaries of annual reports for FY2021-22 for: SoMa West CBD, Fisherman’s Wharf CBD, Lower Polk CBD, Union Square Alliance, Tourism Improvement District (TID) & Moscone Expansion District (MED), and Downtown Community Benefit District (now Downtown SF Partnership).
- Most districts met all four benchmarks. SoMa West missed benchmark 2 (non-assessment revenue) and benchmark 4 (reporting error) due to its first full year of operations and COVID-19 impacts; Lower Polk met all benchmarks but submitted its report late due to vendor delays. All other districts met all benchmarks.
- Key achievements highlighted: SoMa West cleaned 825,000 pounds of trash; Fisherman’s Wharf saw a 143% increase in website users; Lower Polk expanded its ambassador program; Union Square Alliance rebranded and launched new public realm projects; TID/MED reported 17 million visitors (40% below 2019) and 7 Moscone events (down from 58 pre‑pandemic); Downtown SF Partnership reported a 94% reduction in litter and launched Let’s Glow SF (67,000 attendees in 2023).
Key Outcomes
- Item 1: Approved (2-0) to send to the full Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation.
- Items 2 & 3: Hearing filed (3-0); annual report sent to full board with positive recommendation (3-0).
- Items 4–9: All six resolutions approved (2-0 with one member excused) and sent to the full board with positive recommendations.
- The committee excused Supervisors Chan and Stephanie from the meeting.
- Supervisor Melgar was appointed as a member of the committee for items 2 and 3.
Meeting Transcript
The meeting will come to order and welcome to the February 1st 2024 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, joined today by Supervisor Matt Dorsey. Our committee clerk is Monique Creighton. And our thanks to Colina Mendoza from SFGov TV for staffing this meeting. I also uh before we get into business, uh, understand that some uh uh recognition of my colleagues uh birthday are in order. So happy birthday, uh Supervisor Dorsey, and thank you for of all things on your birthday uh agreeing to uh sit in for our usual uh vice chair uh Stephanie. So happy birthday. Uh Madam Clerk, any announcements other than that one. Yes, public comment will be taken on each item on this agenda. When your item of interest comes up and public comment is called, please line up to speak on your right. Alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing in either of the following ways. Email them to the government audit and committee clerk at M-O-N-I-Q-UE dot C R A Y T O N at SFgov.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 in City Hall One, Dr. Carl Carlton B. Goodlit Place, room 244, San Francisco, California 94102. If you have any documents you would like to be included as part of the file, please submit them to me before the end of the meeting. Please make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices to prevent any interruptions to today's proceedings. Finally, items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda of February 13th, 2024, unless otherwise stated. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Um, and I'd like to make a motion to excuse Supervisors Stephanie and Chan from today's uh GAO meeting. Madam Clerk, please call the roll on that. And on that motion to excuse uh members Chan and Stephanie. Member Dorsey. Member Melgar. So I I think my understanding is the president um appointed uh supervisor Melgar for items two and three. So uh Supervisor Melgar is visiting with us for I for item one, but for roll call purposes, I believe it's just uh supervisor Dorsey and myself on the first item. Vice Chair Chair Preston. Aye and Vice Chair Vice Chair Dorsey. No. I have two ayes. Thank you. That motion uh passes. Um, and uh let's go ahead and call item one. Item one is a resolution retroactively authorizing the San Francisco Police Department to enter into a memorandum of understanding agreement with the United States Capitol Police to provide supplemental law enforcement services for the period beginning on January 1st, 2021 through December 31st, 2023. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Uh, this item is uh sponsored by the mayor, and I understand we have uh Diana Oliva Aroce, Director of Policy and Public Affairs for San Francisco Police Department, uh, who will be speaking to this item and thank you for the information provided before the hearing. Welcome. Floor is yours. Please proceed. Thank you, um, Chair Preston. Again, my name is Diana Roche, and I'm the director of policy and public affairs for the San Francisco Police Department. I'm also accompanied by our former CFO, Patrick Liang, who's currently right now the sheriff's CFO, uh, to speak to the matters of just historical context related to the budgetary item. Uh, just a couple of areas to introduce. I'll be very brief. We are moving forward with asking a request to support a resolution that allows us to be able to look at a reimbursement for the relationship with the United States Capitol Police. Currently, right now we have officers that are off duty that are providing support to the Pelosi residents. We'd like to ensure that the 1.8 million dollars currently today get reimbursed so that we can offset some of that cost to the general fund. Um, what we would like to do is to move forward with the existing resolution in terms of the support to then uh move into alignment with the MOU signatures, which then will need to get brought back to the U.S.
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