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Fire Commission approves budget submission, directs more grant-writing capacity
Summary
The Fire Commission voted 4—1 to adopt the department operating budget submittal and added a codicil: the vacant analyst position (1823) should dedicate a majority of its time to grant writing and the commission will press the mayor's office for a separate full-time grant writer.
The San Francisco Fire Commission on Feb. 14 voted to adopt the Fire Department's draft operating-budget submission for FY2018—FY2020 while directing staff to prioritize grant-writing capacity and pursue other department enhancements.
Vice President Nakaju moved to adopt the budget as presented and Commissioner Franci Covington offered a friendly amendment to designate the vacant analyst position (classification 1823) to perform grant-writing work for at least half of the position's time. After discussion about the practicality of training and a request from Corso to include the change in the formal submittal, the commission expanded the codicil: the department will advertise the 1823 vacancy as a half-time grant-writing role and the commission will send a letter to the mayor's office asking for a separate, full-time grant-writer position.
The motion to approve the budget and the Covington codicil passed 4—1. President Ken Cleveland, Vice President Nakaju, Commissioner Franci Covington and Commissioner Joe Alioto Veronese voted aye; Commissioner Michael Hardiman opposed the amendment and recorded the lone no vote on the combined motion.
Commissioners spent substantial time reviewing budget details during the meeting, including a long discussion of ambulance billing and the large contractual write-offs that reduce net ambulance revenue. Director Mark Corso explained the accounting: the gross ambulance charges represent total billed amounts while a separate line shows contractual adjustments, Medicare/Medi—Cal payment differentials and write-offs; the resulting net revenue is substantially lower. Corso and commissioners discussed state-level relief programs such as the Ground Emergency Medical Transport (GEMT) program that can supplement reimbursement.
Commissioners also requested follow-up analyses on ambulance-revenue write-offs, the feasibility and timeline for filling the proposed grant-writing role, and the capital requests included in the department's packet.
The adoption is a submittal to the mayor's office and does not itself appropriate new general-fund positions; commissioners asked staff to continue negotiating with the mayor's budget team during the upcoming months.
