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Committee recommends adding Bay Area Law Enforcement Assistance Fund to city payroll-deduction list
Summary
The Rules Committee voted to forward a recommendation to allow city employees to donate by payroll deduction to the Bay Area Law Enforcement Assistance Fund (BayLeaf), an organization that provides financial assistance and mental-health support to law enforcement members, retirees and families.
The Rules Committee on Monday voted to forward a measure adding the Bay Area Law Enforcement Assistance Fund (known as BayLeaf) to the city's list of organizations eligible for employee payroll-deduction charitable donations.
Sergeant Art Howard of the San Francisco Police Department, who told the committee he is the executive director of BayLeaf, described the organization's peer-driven, regional assistance work, which includes immediate financial checks to families after line-of-duty deaths and support for widows, retirees and families with mental-health needs. Howard said BayLeaf is a 501(c)(3) in good standing with state and federal agencies and that historically it received substantial funding through combined-charities workplace campaigns until those programs were discontinued; the group seeks payroll-deduction access as a stable fundraising mechanism to continue its work.
A BayLeaf board member and a resident who serves as a longtime civilian volunteer with SFPD also spoke in support. A separate public commenter said she opposed relying on donations to provide services to families in need, saying it reflected broader failures in public services.
The committee voted unanimously to forward the payroll-deduction authorization to the full Board of Supervisors with a recommendation. The committee record includes BayLeaf's organizational materials and a statement of status with state and federal charity registries.
