San Francisco budget committee hears wide-ranging department requests; key fee proposals, homelessness reallocations and street response plans debated

The Budget and Appropriations Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors met June 20 to continue second-round hearings on departmental responses to proposed reductions and trailing legislation in the mayor’s budget. Chair Supervisor Connie Chan convened the session and members present included Vice Chair Supervisor Matt Dorsey, Supervisor Joan Gallardo (Guardio), President Rafael Mandelman, Supervisor Jackie Fielder (substituting for Supervisor Walton) and Supervisor Danny Sauter. The committee heard return presentations and public comment on items ranging from fee changes at Recreation and Parks to a revised Our City Our Home spending plan and the Department of Emergency Management’s new neighborhood street teams.

The committee’s work is part of a multi-day budget review: departments that accept recommended reductions generally did not return; those that dispute recommendations or propose trailing legislation did. Departments with substantive appearances June 20 included the San Francisco Police Department (trailing legislation on vehicle-registration fees), the Asian Art Museum (director’s introduction and a manager vacancy dispute), San Francisco Public Library (dispute over two management positions), Department of Early Childhood (positions and grant-making capacity), Department of Building Inspection (fee adjustments), Department of Emergency Management (neighborhood street teams and ambassadors), Office of Economic and Workforce Development (CityBuild and legacy business programs), Human Services Agency (multiple management vacancies and transfers), Recreation and Parks (four-item fee package), and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (revised Our City Our Home reallocations). Public comment was heavily attended for the Recreation and Parks item.

Recreation and Park fees: proposals and public concern The committee heard the department present four related actions to raise revenue: (1) authorize paid parking in Golden Gate Park, (2) allow the department to charge for tennis and pickleball court reservations at many locations, (3) adopt a utility-cost recovery surcharge on golf, athletic fields, picnic areas and outdoor event venues, and (4) update the department’s recreation program fee model and codify an expanded scholarship policy. General Manager Phil Ginsberg told the committee that rapidly rising utility costs (water, power and stormwater fees) and a structural gap in the department’s budget required new revenue to avoid layoffs and cuts to pools, rec-center hours and programs. Ginsberg said the package as presented would generate revenue in the first and second years of the two-year budget cycle and that updated golf fees plus a utility surcharge would replace an earlier plan to seek private maintenance contracts for municipal golf.

Public comment numbered more than one hundred speakers. Labor leaders, Rec and Park staff and dozens of local nonprofits urged the supervisors to approve the revenue measures to avoid layoffs and service cuts; many gardeners, mechanics and golf-course employees also warned that contracting out course maintenance would harm city workers and local control. At the same time, representatives of large community tennis and pickleball groups, plus youth and senior advocates, opposed reservation fees for neighborhood courts, arguing fees would restrict spontaneous, low-cost access for children, seniors and low-income residents. Advocates for partnerships and for the department’s small “partnerships” staff warned that the proposed budget cuts to the partnerships division would eliminate staff who leverage private funds and manage community-led projects (the department said the partnerships team generates millions in philanthropic and grant support annually). The committee reserved final adjudication of the fee items for a future date and instructed the department to return with final ordinance language and details.

Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing: revised OCO spending plan Executive Director Shereen McSpadden presented a revised Our City, Our Home (OCO) spending plan that she said preserves mayoral priorities while directing more funds to families and transitional-age youth (TAY). In brief, the revised plan would: reprogram approximately $34.7 million in unallocated OCO resources and interest earnings to expand interim housing and rapid rehousing; preserve or expand family and youth subsidies and prevention services; and add new non-congregate beds and hotel vouchers tied to regular exit-to-housing strategies.

McSpadden and HSH staff described a package that, as presented to the committee, would fund new family rapid rehousing slots, shallow subsidies, youth rapid rehousing, adult rapid rehousing targeted to the RV strategy, additional hotel vouchers, prevention dollars for families and youth, and new restore (SUD treatment-linked) interim beds. The department said the reallocation uses available interest and unprogrammed balances and that the proposed trailing legislation would temporarily relax percentage limits in the ordinance (which the voters approved) so funds may be used in the shelter/hygiene categories in the near term; HSH representatives said they would return draft ordinance language for committee consideration. Several advocates and provider organizations testified in support of the revised direction, urging particular protection for family and TAY set‑asides and continuity of prevention funding.

Department of Emergency Management: neighborhood street teams and ambassadors DEM Director Anne Carroll described a new organizational model for neighborhood street teams that the mayor’s office and DEM have been piloting since March. Carroll said the citywide reorganization consolidates multiple ambassador contracts under DEM, integrates ambassadors into neighborhood street teams (to help ‘hold’ space after cleanups and provide follow-up services), and funds five neighborhood teams plus a citywide team. Carroll and Deputy Director Adrienne Bikelli said the teams have produced measurable results in outreach and shelter placements since launching and that consolidating operations should improve coordination, data collection and follow-up services. DEM stressed the effort is collaborative across DPH, DPW, and other agencies. Several supervisors pressed DEM on metrics and agreed with DEM staff that establishing robust, repeatable metrics across neighborhoods (beyond tent counts) requires controller‑office support and further data work; DEM said it is actively working with the Controller’s Office and DMACC on those measures.

Human Services Agency, Early Childhood and Public Library: management positions and fund rules Several department presentations focused on policy recommendations to delete or substitute vacant managerial positions. The Human Services Agency, Department of Early Childhood, and the San Francisco Public Library each disputed budget and legislative analyst recommendations to remove certain management posts; departments argued some vacancies have become operational bottlenecks and said cuts would slow grant‑making or compromise service delivery. The BLA staff reiterated the committee’s stated priority this cycle of re‑examining growth in managerial positions; supervisors acknowledged the services these departments perform while maintaining a consistent committee concern about management growth and the need to preserve general‑fund savings where possible.

Asian Art Museum: new director, exhibition cancellation and one contested manager position The committee received an introductory presentation by Dr. Soyoung Lee, the museum’s newly appointed director, who outlined a five‑point vision emphasizing the museum’s role in education, community engagement and Pan‑Asian collections work. Dr. Lee told supervisors the museum canceled a planned Forbidden City exhibition for fiscal reasons shortly after her arrival because the show’s cost could not be supported within the museum’s then‑available resources; she said the museum is actively maintaining cultural ties with the Palace Museum and exploring future collaborations. Separately, the Budget and Legislative Analyst recommended deleting a vacant manager position the museum considers essential to exhibit production; the museum said the duties have been absorbed temporarily by curatorial leadership but argued the vacancy reduced capacity for safe, code‑compliant installation work.

Police vehicle registration fee: trailing ordinance introduced The committee heard from SFPD Chief Financial Officer Kimmy Woo about a trailing ordinance to amend the Administrative Code under California Vehicle Code Section 9250.19 to accept state vehicle‑registration fee revenue for fingerprint identification programs that support automated fingerprint identification. The mayor’s ordinance would authorize the Police Fingerprint Identification Fund and adopt the higher state fee level for registration renewals; the department said the revenue would fund ABIS and related equipment and maintenance. Supervisors asked whether statutory fee caps allow full cost recovery; SFPD staff said the fee revenue helps cover systems, maintenance and partial salaries but that California law limits how and what can be charged and thus limits full cost recovery.

Other departmental matters - Department of Building Inspection: Director Patrick O’Riordan reported DBI has agreed with the BLA’s budget recommendations but presented trailing ordinance language to align DBI’s fee schedule with a recent fee study and to recover costs over time. DBI will continue to refine fee adjustments with the department and the committee. - Office of Economic and Workforce Development: OEWD said it has agreed with most BLA recommendations and stressed continued support for CityBuild training programs; supervisors pressed the department about legacy business support and whether the program should have a dedicated staff member to administer legacy‑business grant and designation work.

Committee process and next steps Chair Chan and the committee agreed to continue deliberations and reserved final action on the major revenue and trailing‑legislation items for a later meeting; the committee will reconvene for public comment on Monday, June 23 and planned deliberations and votes on Wednesday, June 25. Several supervisors asked for final ordinance drafts and underlying budget line‑item updates (the controller’s office and HSH confirmed the revised OCO allocations will be loaded into the budget system for review). The committee opened the door to limited technical changes to ordinance language and asked DEM, Rec and Park, HSH and other departments to return with details requested by supervisors.

Votes at a glance - Motion to excuse Supervisor Walton from the June 20 meeting: moved by President Mandelman, seconded by Vice Chair Dorsey; outcome: passed (5 ayes). - Motion to recess and carry pending agenda items to the committee meeting of June 23 (and to continue deliberations into the next calendar meetings): moved by Chair Chan, seconded by Vice Chair Dorsey; outcome: passed (5 ayes).

Ending The committee’s next steps are procedural: finalize written ordinance language for trailing legislation (Rec and Park fees; DBI fees; HSH OCO reallocation) and load revised OCO allocations into the controller’s budget tool so supervisors and staff can examine line‑by‑line amounts before Wednesday’s deliberations. Departments were asked to return with clarifications requested by supervisors (evidence of partnership gift/grant history for Rec and Park’s partnerships office; details on HSH interim‑housing per‑bed unit costs; DEM performance metrics proposals). The public may make additional comments at the Monday, June 23 public‑comment session beginning at 10 a.m. in the chamber.