Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission approves Department of the Environment draft budget for FY 2019–20
Summary
The San Francisco Commission on the Environment reviewed and approved the Department of the Environment's draft FY 2019'20 operating budget (about $27.2 million), heard staff explain a $166,903 revenue shortfall tied to energy and biodiversity programs, and was told grant increases are largely pass-through project funds.
The San Francisco Commission on the Environment voted to approve the Department of the Environment's draft operating budget for fiscal year 2019'20 at its Jan. 22 meeting.
Joe Salem, the department's fiscal manager, told commissioners the operating budget currently stands at approximately $27.2 million and that the city is projecting a $107 million shortfall for fiscal 2020 and a $163 million shortfall for fiscal 2021, prompting mayoral directives to limit general-fund increases. Salem said the department's revenue mix for FY 2019'20 is roughly 44% impound, 46% grants and 10% work orders and fees, and that a $166,903 shortfall is driven mainly by energy and biodiversity program revenue timing. "We do believe that we can close this gap between now and February 21 and we expect to submit a balanced budget to the mayor," Salem said during his presentation.
Commissioners pressed staff on how grant increases will appear in the city's annual appropriation ordinance (AAO). Salem explained that the large year-over-year revenue increase is almost entirely tied to project grants (BayREN and a California Air Resources Board grant for battery-electric medium and heavy-duty trucks) and that the bulk of those funds are pass-through project costs rather than operational increases. He also said the mayor's office has required no new positions in departmental budget submissions.
Commissioner discussion focused on perception and timing: one commissioner asked whether presenting a budget with large grant figures at a moment of citywide shortfalls would appear problematic; staff replied that most grant funds will be added via the acceptance-and-expend process and will not show in the AAO. Commissioners also asked about lease and space costs; staff said an anticipated space/lease increase through March 2020 had been factored into the figures shown.
After discussion, Commissioner Heather Stevenson moved to approve the draft budget as presented; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote.
The department will submit a balanced budget to the mayor's office on Feb. 21 and return to the operations committee in May with final AAO numbers for the Board of Supervisors hearings.
