San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Special Meeting - January 14, 2022
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San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Special Meeting - January 14, 2022
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission held a special meeting on January 14, 2022, via teleconference, to discuss the FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24 operating budgets and capital plans for the Water, Hetch Hetchy Water, and Wastewater Enterprises. The meeting included a review of questions from the prior budget hearing, staff presentations, commissioner deliberation, and public comment. No formal votes on the budgets were taken; the meeting was continued to January 20, 2022.
Public Comments & Testimony
- David Pilpel commented on the water enterprise budget, expressing support for new positions but urging trade-offs with vacant positions. He requested organization charts and better communication of asset conditions. On the Hetch Hetchy budget, he suggested eventually moving Hetch Hetchy Water and Power under the Power Enterprise. On the wastewater budget, he advocated for reducing vacant positions, reexamining the relationship with DPW, and updating CIP pages with zero totals.
- Nicole Sandkulla (Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency) emphasized the importance of reliable water supply and urged the commission not to return to pre-Wholesale System Improvement Program (WSIP) days. She supported using previously appropriated funds but cautioned against long-term reliance.
- Multiple callers alleged corruption, nepotism, and mismanagement at the PUC, claiming that hiring practices and sole-source contracts have hindered project delivery.
Discussion Items
- Item 3: Summary of January 7, 2022 Budget Hearing Questions – Staff responded to prior questions. Commissioners debated the unfunded portion of the capital plan (10–15%) and deliverability. Commissioner Harrington noted the water capital plan alone is off by $200 million, making detailed project prioritization difficult. Chair Ajani suggested exploring alternative financing methods (e.g., WIFIA loans at 1.5% interest). Commissioner Maxwell acknowledged tension between planning and fiscal responsibility and recommended a fully funded capital plan as a priority.
- Item 4: Water Enterprise Budget and Capital Plan – Presented by Assistant General Manager Steve Ritchie. The budget proposes no retail rate increase for FY 2022-23. Key capital projects include the Lab and Shops project ($47.7 million in FY 2023-24), dam safety improvements (e.g., Pilarcitos and San Andreas dams), and alternative water supply studies (e.g., purified water). Commissioner discussion focused on deliverability constraints, the need to staff critical positions, and the impact of climate variability on supply. Public comment supported the budget but questioned project trade-offs.
- Item 5: Hetch Hetchy Water Enterprise Budget and Capital Plan – Presented by AGM Ritchie. The budget addresses wildfire mitigation, dam safety, and staffing for the Hetch Hetchy system. Commissioner questions were minimal. Public comment reiterated organizational structure concerns.
- Item 6: Wastewater Enterprise Budget and Capital Plan – Presented by Assistant General Manager Greg Norby and Steven Robinson. The operating budget shows a ~2% change from current levels. Staff proposes one new operating position for green infrastructure scaling and several capital-funded positions for GIS transition from DPW. Commissioner Harrington inquired about reabsorbing functions from DPW; General Manager Dennis Herrera confirmed discussions have begun. Commissioner Ajani asked about cost per gallon and energy use. Public comment suggested reducing salaries and reexamining DPW overhead.
Key Outcomes
- Motion to Continue Meeting – A motion to continue the meeting to Thursday, January 20, 2022, was made by Commissioner Maxwell, seconded, and approved unanimously (5 ayes). The commission will reconvene to continue budget deliberations.
- Directives to Staff – Staff will explore a fully funded capital plan option, provide additional information on alternative financing and organizational capacity, and initiate discussions with DPW on potential transfers of responsibilities. Commissioners requested updated organization charts and clearer connection between asset conditions and capital program needs.
Meeting Transcript
Yeah. Commissioner Maxwell. Here. Commissioner Paulson. He was having some technical difficulties. He'll probably uh join us briefly. Commissioner Harrington. Here. And you have five uh you have a quorum. Due to the ongoing 19 COVID-19 health emergency, and given the public health recommendations issued by the San Francisco Department of Public Health and the emergency orders of the governor and the mayor concerning social distancing and lifting the restriction on teleconference. This meeting is being held via teleconference and is being televised by SFGTV. I would like to extend our thanks to SFGTV staff and SFPUCIT staff for their assistance during this meeting. You wish to make public comment on an item 2014 65501, meeting ID 249501 4287 pound pound. To raise your hand to speak, press star three. Since this is a special meeting of the SFPC, there will be no general public comment period. Public comment will be called at the conclusion of the items noted on the agenda. Please note that you must limit your comments to the topic of the agenda item being discussed and to remind you that if you do not stand the topic, the chair can interrupt and ask you to limit your comment to the agenda item. We ask that public comment be made in a civil and respectful manner and that you refrain from the use of profanity. Please address your remarks to the commission as a whole and not to individual commissioners or staff. And like to note that Commissioner Paulson has joined. Also recognizes that every citizen residing within the Greater Bay Area has and continues to benefit from the use and occupation of the Moacama Alone tribe abortional lands since before and after the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's founding in 1932. It is vitally important that we not only recognize that history the history of the tribal lands on which we reside, but also we acknowledge and honor the fact that the lands on UTW reside, but also we acknowledge and honor the fact that Moachma Alone people have established a working partnership with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and are productive and flourishing members within the many greater San Francisco Bay Area communities today. Madam President, please call the first item. Sorry, Madam Secretary, please call this item. I knew what you meant. I knew it was correct. Thank you. Include these um the summary of these questions if people uh want to review that. Thank you. And this will be presented by um introduced by GM Herrera. Uh thank you, Donna. Uh, thank you for uh posting the responses to the questions. And this item will be discussed with you, commissioners by uh Charles Pearl and Laura Bush. Good morning, everybody. Hope you're doing well. Um, ready for a good another good hearing this morning. Um as uh Donna and uh uh GM Herrera mentioned, uh the the questions have been provided to the commissioners by email and also in the agenda um that's posted online for the public. Uh we took a note of all the questions that were asked in the uh last last Friday's hearing, and we have provided responses um in the form of a table. Um any information that um is it's is uh required to be attached, we've attached in a separate attachment. Uh so you can see all that information there. There are a few questions uh that have uh that will be responded to in the um forthcoming 10-year financial plan that will be presented at the first meeting in February. Um we I'm not gonna go run through the questions in detail right now. We'd like to just get moving with the wats of presentation. But if there's any follow-up questions on these questions, we'd be uh definitely pleased to answer them and look forward to the discussion. Commissioner Harrington? Yeah, I I was gonna plan to have this discussion as part of the water thing, but I think it's more important to have it here. I I had asked what the effect, what's the effect of not having a rate increase for this next year would be. And I guess the strangest thing to me is in the response, it said that the retail rate increase is not directly tied to a specific impact on the capital plan. And that's because we've chosen to have an unfunded capital plan. So if you're looking at the budgets of the PUC, the single biggest things that happen are rates and capital.
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