Board of Appeals adopts FY2016–17 budget proposals, projects modest surplus

The San Francisco Board of Appeals voted 4–0 on Feb. 18 to adopt its fiscal-year 2016–17 budget proposals and prepare the package for submission to the Mayor as required by city law.

Cynthia Gold Steen, the Board's executive director, told commissioners that surcharge revenue accounts for roughly 95% of the Board’s budget while filing fees represent about 5%. She projected the Board would end the current year with a surplus of about $33,000, and said expenditure savings (including about $85,000 from reduced processing costs and a vacant clerical position) would yield roughly $118,000 in combined savings to be placed in a rainy-day fund.

Gold Steen described the Board’s workload trends, saying appeals spiked the prior year largely because of 41 AT&T-related appeals but that overall appeal volume looks to return to a 160–170 appeals-per-year range. She recommended working with the Controller and the Mayor’s office in April to evaluate surcharge rates so they better match department workload (for example, DBI appeals appear to represent about 60% of the Board’s workload).

Commissioners asked about discretionary control of major line items (salary and fringe are largely set by labor agreements), rent, contract services and opportunities to shift to electronic packet distribution. Gold Steen noted limits tied to contracts and labor agreements and said she is working with the Department of Technology on internal improvements and that the Board negotiated a three-year contract for address-notification services.

Commissioner Frank Fung moved to adopt the budget proposals; President Anne Lazarus, Vice President Darrell Honda and Commissioner Bobby Wilson voted "Aye." The Board adopted the proposals by a 4–0 vote. Gold Steen said the Board will finalize materials for submission to the Mayor by the required deadline.