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Committee forwards $4 million amendment for Mid-Market/Tenderloin safety program to full board without recommendation
Summary
The committee voted to send to the full Board of Supervisors, without recommendation, a proposed $4 million amendment to the Mid-Market Foundation grant that funds community-based outreach and ambassador deployments in the Mid-Market and Tenderloin neighborhoods amid budget and oversight concerns.
The Budget and Finance Committee on Feb. 12 voted to forward, without recommendation, an amendment adding $4 million to the Office of Economic and Workforce Development's grant with the Mid-Market Foundation to continue the Mid-Market/Tenderloin community-based safety program through June 30, 2025.
OEWD and the Department of Emergency Management said the additional funding would maintain current ambassador staffing levels through the end of the grant term. Sam Dodge of the Department of Emergency Management cited data from recent deployments showing reductions in 911 calls in several pilot locations following ambassador rollouts.
"We do see these kinds of results and this validates some of the findings ... about large decreases in 911 calls for service," Dodge said, describing declines of 35% on a block of Ellis Street and 49% on Willow following deployment.
Budget and Legislative Analyst staff recommended the amendment for approval but flagged operational concerns with the grantee. The BLA reported the Mid-Market Foundation has failed to meet several city nonprofit standards, including late or missing monthly activity reports; those missing deliverables have required the city to advance funds to a subcontractor (Urban Alchemy) to maintain payroll.
Supervisor Connie Chan expressed concern about the contract structure and disappointed reporting practices, and framed the decision in the context of the city's broader budget shortfall. "For that $25,000,000 ... instead of having ambassador staring down, individuals on our street suffering homelessness, mental health crisis, or drug addiction, with that very same $25,000,000, these are things that we could also fund," Chan said, summarizing competing priorities.
Other supervisors, including Vice Chair Matt Dorsey, supported continuing the program for public-safety reasons but emphasized better performance measurement and metrics are needed. Dorsey said he supported the amendment while urging improved reporting and evaluation.
Because of outstanding questions about governance, reporting and fiscal stewardship, Chair Chan moved and the committee voted to forward the item to the full board without recommendation so the full board could review the tradeoffs and oversight issues.
The proposed amendment would increase the total not-to-exceed grant amount to approximately $68.85 million and leave the program in place through June 30, 2025. The item will be considered by the full Board of Supervisors, where supervisors requested additional review of governance, deliverables and alternatives for comparable public safety services.
