LAFCO approves $627,833 budget; SFPUC to take on two climate studies

The Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) approved a $627,833 final budget and work plan for fiscal year 2025–26 at its May 16 regular meeting, voting 3–0 to request the statutory $408,630 from the City and County of San Francisco general fund.

LAFCO Chair Commissioner Jackie Fielder introduced the item and staff presenter Khaled Samrai told commissioners the final budget is unchanged from the draft adopted in March except that an addendum to the work plan was removed after the LAFCO–SFPUC memorandum of understanding (MOU) will not be reinstated. "This budget is unchanged, from the draft budget you passed at the March LAFCO meeting with 1 exception. There was an addendum to the work plan that has been removed," Samrai said.

Nut graf: The removal of the MOU funding means the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) agreed to assume two studies LAFCO had planned: a natural gas decommissioning study and a green banking study. LAFCO approved the budget while noting questions about final accounting for fiscal year 2024–25, carryforward funds and removal of SFPUC MOU funding.

Commissioner Connie Chan pressed staff on the budget columns and on whether figures shown for 2024–25 represented proposed or actual spending. Samrai said the $627,833 is the total budget for 2025–26 and that the statutory request to the general fund is $408,630 (up from $396,196 the prior year). He also said the PUC funding line was removed from the 2025–26 column after SFPUC notified LAFCO it would not reinstate the MOU.

Samrai told the commission the PUC will instead take on the natural gas decommissioning and green banking studies and report back through regular Clean Power SF updates to LAFCO. He said that decision does not preclude LAFCO from having a role but that the PUC will carry out those particular studies.

On the commission's questions about actual spending for fiscal year 2024–25, Samrai said the final actuals were not yet finalized because work orders submitted to the PUC could change totals before the MOU expires on June 30. He said some planned work — a roughly $100,000 Clean Power SF consultant study — was not completed after SFPUC withdrew from the MOU on February 21 and directed that studies be completed by June 30, a timeline that made that study infeasible.

A member of the public, Susan Green of the San Francisco Climate Emergency Coalition, thanked the commission for its work on the city’s climate action plan and on green banking. "Thank you very much for your work so far, in supporting the implementation of the city's climate action plan, and in particular the work on the public bank and the Green Bank," Green said during public comment.

After public comment, Commissioner Isaac Sevier moved to approve the budget and work plan; Commissioner Connie Chan seconded. Commissioners Sevier, Chan and Fielder voted aye and the motion passed.

The commission also approved the minutes for the March 21, 2025 regular meeting during the same session; that motion likewise passed 3–0. Several agenda items (Clean Power SF updates; acting executive officer report; general public comment; future agenda items) were continued to a future meeting because of quorum constraints.

LAFCO adjourned after taking the actions above.