Budget and Finance Committee forwards 12 items — $40M housing bonds, SFPUC contract increase, multiple grants

The Budget and Finance Committee on Jan. 22 forwarded 12 items to the full Board of Supervisors with positive recommendation, each passing on 3–0 roll calls by Supervisor Connie Chan (chair), Supervisor Matt Dorsey and Vice Chair Rafael Mandelmann.

The committee advanced a mix of grant acceptances, contract amendments and financing actions. Key items included: a retroactive $410,000 state grant to the City Attorney’s Worker Protection Team to fund wage‑theft enforcement; a $9.5 million amendment to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) construction‑management contract for the Mountain Tunnel improvements to raise the AECOM contract ceiling to $34 million; a $496,684 (approx.) James Irvine Foundation grant to the Office of Economic and Workforce Development to scale worker‑owned cooperative programs; a $750,000 Metropolitan Transportation Commission grant for a Visitation Avenue bicycle and pedestrian safety project; and authorization to issue up to $40 million in general obligation (G.O.) bonds for affordable housing preservation and seismic safety.

Votes at a glance

- Item 1 — Resolution to retroactively accept a $410,000 grant from the California Department of Industrial Relations (Labor Commissioner’s Office) to the City Attorney’s Office for wage‑theft enforcement. Motion forwarded to full board with positive recommendation. Vote: Mandelmann — Aye; Dorsey — Aye; Chan — Aye.

- Item 2 — Resolution to approve Amendment No. 3 to SFPUC professional services agreement PRO 96 with AECOM Technical Services Inc., increasing the contract by $9,500,000 to a not‑to‑exceed $34,000,000 and extending the term five months through Dec. 30, 2027, for Mountain Tunnel construction‑management services. Motion forwarded to full board with positive recommendation. Vote: Mandelmann — Aye; Dorsey — Aye; Chan — Aye.

- Item 3 — Resolution retroactively authorizing the Office of Economic and Workforce Development to accept and expend approximately $496,684 from the James Irvine Foundation for the Public Workforce Capacity Fund (11/1/2024–11/1/2026). Motion forwarded to full board with positive recommendation. Vote: Mandelmann — Aye; Dorsey — Aye; Chan — Aye.

- Item 4 — Resolution to accept and expend $750,000 from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for the Visitation Avenue bicycle and pedestrian safety improvement project; RPD to operate and maintain the project for 20 years after completion. Motion forwarded with positive recommendation. Vote: Mandelmann — Aye; Dorsey — Aye; Chan — Aye.

- Item 5 — Resolution to retroactively accept and expend $750,000 from the California Department of Health Care Services (via Halona Health) to implement MATCH (Modular Approach to Therapy for Children) in community clinics. The Department of Public Health proposed non‑substantive amendments to remove duplicative references to Parent‑Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and to correct program numbers; the committee moved the amended resolution to the full board. Vote: Mandelmann — Aye; Dorsey — Aye; Chan — Aye.

- Item 6 — New citywide contract with Pitney Bowes for mailroom equipment, supplies and postage (initial term Feb. 1, 2025–Jan. 31, 2028, with two‑year extension option), not to exceed approximately $23,550,000. Motion forwarded with positive recommendation. Vote: Mandelmann — Aye; Dorsey — Aye; Chan — Aye.

- Item 7 — New citywide contract with Agardo Corporation (dba Pestech) for Integrated Pest Management services, five‑year term (Feb. 15, 2025–Feb. 14, 2030), not to exceed $15,500,000. Motion forwarded with positive recommendation. Vote: Mandelmann — Aye; Dorsey — Aye; Chan — Aye.

- Item 8 — Resolution authorizing the Police Department to accept and expend an approximately $23,400 distribution from the Margaret Seneshen Living Trust for the Police Department mounted unit. Motion forwarded with positive recommendation. Vote: Mandelmann — Aye; Dorsey — Aye; Chan — Aye.

- Items 9 & 10 — Ordinance and resolution relating to up to $40,000,000 in General Obligation bonds (Affordable Housing Preservation and Seismic Safety Series 2025E): (9) ordinance to appropriate bond proceeds to the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) for acquisition, improvement and rehabilitation of at‑risk multi‑unit residential buildings, and (10) resolution authorizing issuance and sale of the bonds. The Budget and Legislative Analyst recommended a correction in the ordinance to refer to sale of general obligation bonds (not certificates of participation); the committee approved the amendment and forwarded both items. Vote: Mandelmann — Aye; Dorsey — Aye; Chan — Aye.

- Item 11 — Resolution authorizing MOHCD to submit an application for up to $1,500,000 under the State’s Pro Housing Incentive Program to support development of approximately 95 affordable senior units at 976 Mission; motion forwarded with positive recommendation. Vote: Mandelmann — Aye; Dorsey — Aye; Chan — Aye.

- Item 12 — Resolution approving a first amendment to an MOHCD loan agreement for acquisition takeout at 2530 Eighteenth Street (project to become 100% affordable, increased loan amount not to exceed $6,900,000 for acquisition takeout and aggregate project funding to $11,800,000). The committee forwarded the amendment with a positive recommendation. Vote: Mandelmann — Aye; Dorsey — Aye; Chan — Aye.

Major discussion points and context

City Attorney wage‑theft grant (Item 1): Matt Goldberg, Chief Worker Protection Attorney, described the state grant as a new, one‑time allocation to local prosecutors to support wage‑theft enforcement. “This grant is sort of unique and a first time effort where the state legislature has actually allocated money to combat wage theft to local public prosecutors,” Goldberg said, adding the state program’s first‑year allotment allowed the office to apply for $410,000 and that staff expect to seek a larger award in year two.

SFPUC Mountain Tunnel construction‑management amendment (Item 2): Randy Anderson, SFPUC project manager, described the Mountain Tunnel as a century‑old, critical component of the Hetch Hetchy system carrying water and supporting hydroelectric generation. Anderson said the amendment increases the AECOM contract by $9.5 million, largely to cover extended inspection hours and overtime during outages. “The mountain tunnel is a critical and non redundant component of the system,” Anderson said. The committee heard the work is funded via a low‑interest Drinking Water State Revolving Fund loan and that contract increases reflect greater-than‑anticipated lining and grouting work, environmental compliance costs and rebidding of some scope.

Affordable housing bonds and MOHCD programs (Items 9–12): MOHCD Director Dan Adams and Bond Program Manager William Wilcox described the $40 million bond authorization as a repurposing of a 1992 preservation/seismic safety program. Wilcox said proceeds will be used for seismic retrofits, acquisition and rehabilitation of affordable units (including SROs) and that MOHCD has identified projects that would receive funding (for example, Larkin Pines senior housing and 2901 16th Street). “This $40,000,000 represents likely the second to last issuance that we’ll be seeking authorization for,” Adams said, noting the city will return for additional issuances to meet ongoing preservation needs. Office of Public Finance representative Vishal Trivedi presented preliminary financing terms and modeled an estimated total debt service based on current pricing assumptions.

Other items: Department presenters described program purpose and budgets for the James Irvine Foundation grant supporting worker‑owner cooperative scaling (OEWD), MATCH training and provider certification (Department of Public Health), the Visitation Avenue safety project (Rec and Park), citywide mailroom services (Pitney Bowes umbrella contract) and a new integrated pest management contract (Pestech). The Police Department explained the roughly $23,400 trust distribution is intended to supplement care costs for the mounted unit.

What’s next

Committee members moved each item to the full Board of Supervisors with positive recommendations; most items are expected to appear on the Board agenda Jan. 28, 2025, except bond sales and financing schedules that will follow the city’s capital plan and public sale timeline. Several items (the state wage‑theft grant and the Irvine Foundation grant) were retroactive acceptances where departments requested approval after grant start dates. The SFPUC contract amendment and the MOHCD bond/loan items will require standard execution steps and, for the bonds, pricing and sale calendar coordination.