Government Audit and Oversight Committee Hearing – July 18, 2024
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Government Audit and Oversight Committee Hearing – July 18, 2024
The Government Audit and Oversight Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors met on July 18, 2024, chaired by Supervisor Dean Preston, with Supervisor Connie Chan and Supervisor Joel Engardio (appointed to the committee during the meeting). The committee considered two main items: an amendment to a Memorandum of Understanding with SEIU Local 1021 regarding registered nurses and public health nurses, and a hearing on the San Francisco Housing Authority’s Faircloth to RAD plan. The committee also held a closed session to discuss litigation settlements and approved forwarding those items to the full board.
Discussion Items
- Item 1 – MOU Amendment (SEIU Local 1021 – Staff and Per Diem Nurses): Jonathan Wright from the Department of Human Resources presented the first amendment to the 2024-2027 MOU. The amendment addressed a last-minute adjustment to a staffing position in a side letter, with no additional financial impact. The committee voted to forward the item to the full board with a positive recommendation as a committee report.
- Item 2 – Hearing on San Francisco Housing Authority’s Faircloth to RAD Plan: Chair Preston opened the hearing with remarks on the background of the program, noting that public housing residents, tenant organizers, and the National Housing Law Project had pushed for two years to utilize the Faircloth to RAD program. Dr. Tanya Ledajou, CEO of the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA), and Daniel Adams, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD), presented the plan. They explained that the program allows housing authorities to use their Faircloth Authority (the gap between current public housing units and the federal cap) to produce new public housing and convert it to RAD units with 20-year renewable operating subsidies. The baseline RAD rents are low (about 35% of Area Median Income), but a rent augmentation pilot program (expiring September 30, 2024) can increase subsidies to 110% of Fair Market Rent. The city plans to submit placeholder applications for the full 3,667 units of Faircloth Authority by the deadline to reserve the rent augmentation option. An initial cohort of 750 units (new construction and preservation) has been identified, with a kickoff meeting with developers scheduled for the following week. Challenges include the complexity of the application process, the need for local Housing Authority reserves to fund the augmentation, and the uncertainty of the pilot’s extension. The committee discussed the timeline, the flexibility to transfer reserved authority to other projects, and the need for coordination with other funding sources like Proposition 1. Chair Preston emphasized the importance of public transparency and collaboration. Supervisor Chan raised questions about the nexus between Faircloth to RAD and other programs (e.g., Homekey) and the need for a clear strategy to serve extremely low-income households. The committee voted to continue the item to the call of the chair.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 2: Charlie Shamus, representing the Council of Community Housing Organizations, expressed support for the plan to request rent augmentation for the full Faircloth Authority. He urged the city to leverage the maximum allowable 3,688 units and stated that community housing organizations, preservation organizations, and land trusts are eager to partner with the city.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1 (MOU Amendment): Forwarded to the full Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation as a committee report (2 ayes: Preston, Chan; Vice Chair Stephanie absent).
- Item 2 (Faircloth to RAD Hearing): Continued to the call of the chair (3 ayes: Preston, Chan, Engardio; Vice Chair Stephanie excused). The committee intends to receive an update after the September 30, 2024 deadline.
- Items 3-7 (Litigation Settlements): After closed session, the committee voted to forward all five settlement items to the full board with a positive recommendation (3 ayes: Preston, Chan, Engardio; Vice Chair Stephanie excused). The committee also voted not to disclose the closed session discussions (3 ayes).
- Closed Session Discussions: Not disclosed as per the motion.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. The meeting will come to order. Welcome to the July 18, 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 by Supervisor Connie Chan and Supervisor Joel Ingardio, who is visiting with the committee until we receive the official memo to appoint him to be able to vote with us today. So thank you, Supervisor Ingario, for being here today. Our committee clerk is Monique Creighton and our thanks to SFGov TV for uh staffing this meeting. I believe Corwin Cooley from SFGov TV. Thank you. Um Madam Clerk, any announcements? 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 oversight committee clerk at M O N I Q U E dot C R A Y T O N at SFgov.org. If you can 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. Number one, Dr. Carlton B goodlit Place, Room 244, San Francisco, California 94102. If you have 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 July 30th, 2024 unless otherwise stated. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Please call item one. Item one is an ordinance adopting and implementing the First Amendment to the 2024 2027 memorandum of understanding between the city and county of San Francisco and Service Employees International Union Local 1021 staff in Perdim nurses to address staffing and hiring of 2023 2320 registered nurses and 2830 public health nurses. This item will be presented as a committee report at the July 23rd Board of Supervisors meeting. Thank you, uh Madam Clerk. And do we have someone from uh DHR here to address this? I don't see oh, Mr. Tugbenya, but oh here. Welcome. Mr. Wright. Good morning, Supervisors Jonathan Wright, uh Assistant Employee Relations Director from the Department of Human Resources Employee Relations Division. This is an amendment to the recently adopted memoranda of understanding with uh SCIU Local 1021RN. It was a last minute adjustment. It is it does not create an additional financial encumbrance. It um affects one agreed upon staffing position in a side letter at the very end of the MOU. And we felt that this was a significant enough change in the language to warrant um an amendment, an official amendment in front of the board, which requires approval per the ordinance submitted by um by DHR or the mayor previously. Thank you very much. And thanks for your work on on this and your team, and thanks to uh the team at 1021 and um makes good sense to me. And uh so unless there are any comments or questions uh from colleagues, let's go ahead and open this up for public comment. Thank you. Yes, members of the public who wish to speak on this item should line up now along the side by the windows. All speakers will have two minutes. It appears we have no public comment. Thank you. Public comment on this item is closed. Um, and I would like to make a motion to um send this item to the full board uh with positive recommendation as a committee report. On the motion to forward this item to the full board with a positive recommendation as a committee report. Um member Chan.
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