Commission on the Environment urges mayor, supervisors to restore $346,000 and seek stable climate funding

The San Francisco Commission on the Environment on March 1 voted unanimously to ask the mayor and Board of Supervisors to restore $346,000 in interdepartmental work‑order funding that the department says was reduced by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

President Stevenson opened the special meeting saying the Commission called the session so "the commissioners and the public can be briefed and updated" after the Department of the Environment learned about the work‑order reductions. The resolution the Commission adopted requests that the mayor and board "make the department whole" for the reduction and "acknowledge the importance of increasing funding for climate and EV initiatives," and it directs staff to work with elected leaders on next steps.

The department's finance manager, Joe Salem, told commissioners the cuts are material to the department's budget and operations. "We'll be receiving $248,000 less than expected from the PUC," he said, and the department anticipates losing another $98,000 from SFMTA, "reflecting a reduction in funding to our climate and EV work" of $346,000 across fiscal years 2021‑22 and 2022‑23. Salem…