The Government Audit and Oversight Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors met on Thursday, September 17, 2026, convening at 18:15. Chaired by Supervisor Stephen Sherrill, with Vice Chair Supervisor Jackie Fielder and Supervisor Alan Wong, the committee considered 14 agenda items, including two ordinances, one resolution, five civil grand jury reports and related board responses, and a settlement authorization. The meeting featured extensive public testimony and detailed presentations from civil grand jury members, city officials, and department heads.
Maeve Skelly (President Mandelman's office) and Michael Canning (Ethics Commission) presented the ordinance. Since 2018, only seven candidates filed disclosures, with total reported fundraising of just $78.60 and no third-party spending. The Ethics Commission found the requirements burdensome, requiring candidates to open bank accounts even if no money is raised. Vice Chair Fielder raised concerns about eliminating Form 700 filings for trustees overseeing billions of dollars. Canning noted that Form 700 requirements could be retained through other code sections. The committee voted to forward the ordinance to the full board without recommendation (3-0).
Maeve Skelly presented a resolution authorizing the Film Commission to solicit donations and in-kind support from San Francisco Travel Association and hotels for six months to promote San Francisco as a film destination. The waiver is required because these entities are classified as restricted sources. Vice Chair Fielder praised the specificity of the waiver. The committee forwarded the resolution with positive recommendation (3-0).
Rob Chancellor presented the report, noting the system has been inoperable since 2019. Estimated replacement cost was $20 million (a few years old). DEM Executive Director Mary Ellen Carroll discussed challenges: sirens cannot provide specific instructions, geography affects sound, and they are monolingual without looping. Chair Sherrill proposed board responses partially disagreeing with findings F6 (any siren approach requires digital systems) and F9 (status quo produces costs without progress), and agreeing with findings F7 (sirens add complexity without actionable instructions), F10 (unresolved question consumes capacity), F11 (lack of clear public explanation), and F12 (negative implications). The committee adopted amendments and forwarded Item 4 with positive recommendation, and filed Item 3 (3-0 each).
Rob Chancellor presented that Alert SF has approximately 76,000 text and 62,000 WhatsApp subscribers, which is low relative to the city's population. DEM's Jackie (outreach lead) described promotional efforts: $10,000 in digital ads, 60 in-person events per year, and expansion to WhatsApp. DEM is working on criteria for wireless emergency alerts and multilingual messaging. Chair Sherrill proposed agreeing with findings F14 (no promotional plan), F15 (no strategy for visitors/commuters), and F16 (no unified mobile-first multilingual destination), and declining recommendation R6 (to determine resourcing via budget process). The committee adopted amendments and forwarded Item 6 with positive recommendation, and filed Item 5 (3-0 each).
Rick Carroll presented findings that aging eucalyptus groves pose a wildfire danger, with fragmented vegetation management across Rec & Park, DPW, PUC, and the school district. He noted that DPW's
Good morning. Um meeting will come to order. Welcome to the September 17th, 2026 regular meeting of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. I'm Supervisor Stephen Sherrill, Chair of the Committee, joined today by Vice Chair Supervisor Jackie Fielder and Supervisor Alan Wong. Our committee clerk today is Monique Creighton, and thank you to James Kwana of SFGov TV for staffing this meeting. Today we're going to keep public comment at one minute. Madam Clerk, do you have any announcements? Yes. 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 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. If you can submit public comment via email, 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 or Office and City Hall. Number one, Dr. Carlton B. 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 September 29th, 2026, unless otherwise stated. Thank you. Madam Clerk, can you please call item number one? Yes, item number one is an ordinance submitting the administrative code to eliminate statement of intention, disclosure and reporting requirements for candidates seeking election to the retirement board, health service board, and retiree health care trust fund board. Eliminate third-party disclosure requirements for persons or entities, make an independent expenditures to support or oppose such candidates, and delete corresponding training audit and enforcement provisions. Thank you. Today we are joined, I believe, by Grace Wong from President Raphael Mandelman's office, um, is a primary co-sponsor of this legislation, and I believe Michael Canning from the Ethics Commission is also here to answer questions. Thank you both. Um go ahead. Uh thank you, Chair Sherrill. Good morning, Chair Sheryl, Vice Chair Fielder, and Supervisor Wong. Um I'm here today on behalf of President Midleman. The item before you currently is an ordinance discontinuing campaign reporting requirements currently imposed on candidates for the retirement board, the health service board, and the retiree health care trust fund board. By way of background, these three boards help manage retirement and health care benefits for current and former city employees, and each is led in part by trustees that are elected by current and former city employees. These are not public elections in the traditional sense. Although they are administered by the Department of Elections, these candidates are not technically considered candidates under the Political Reform Act or the city's campaign and governmental conduct code. In 2018, following a particularly contentious retiree health care trust fund board election, the administrative code was amended to impose registration, disclosure, and termination filing requirements on candidates and third-party spenders in these elections. These requirements were essentially copied from the language from the Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code against Ethics Commission's recommendations at the time. President Manelman introduced the legislation last September, and this item was previously heard in this committee alongside two other pieces of legislation our office worked on with the Ethics Committee earlier this year. Today we're just moving forward with this one. Since these requirements took effect, the Ethics Commission found that only seven candidates have ever registered and filed disclosures. Of those, only one has ever reported raising money, just $78.60, and there has been no third-party spending reported at all. The very limited financial activity suggests that these requirements are more complicated and burdensome than necessary, given that candidates for these races rarely raise or spend any money. Trustee candidates, on the other hand, have to open a bank account even if they don't plan to raise or spend a single dollar. That can mean candidates having to pay bank fees out of pocket for an account that never gets used. These requirements also create a real administrative burden for ethics staff who spend time helping candidates navigate a compliance process that rarely involves any actual campaign activity. At a time when city resources are increasingly stretched, it is worth considering whether the staff time and resources required by this program are justified. The ethics commission does other important work to promote transparency, accountability, and integrity in government, and its resources are better focused on programs and requirements that have a meaningful impact. On behalf of President Midleman, I want to thank Michael Canning, Policy and Legislative Affairs Manager, Patrick Ford, Executive Director of the Ethics Ethics Commission, and the Ethics Commission staff as a whole for their work on this legislation. As Chair Cheryl said, Michael is here today, and we are available to answer any questions that you may have.