Budget committee advances budget cuts, approves COP refunding and frees reserve funds for project labor agreement staffing

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget & Appropriations Committee recessed on Aug. 19 after advancing a package of budget actions and accepting significant analyst recommendations ahead of final budget votes.

Chair Sandra Lee Feuer opened the rescheduled session by framing the week’s work as “focused on changes and reductions that the budget committee would like to make to department budgets,” and said her office had compiled an updated list of add-back requests totaling $364,000,000 in year one alongside a conservative spending plan to guide deliberations.

Office of Public Finance staff presented two linked proposals to authorize and appropriate refunding certificates of participation (COPs) of up to $97,500,000. Luke Brewer of the Office of Public Finance said the refundings identified in the office’s review could produce estimated gross general fund savings of approximately $13,800,000, with a net present-value savings in the range of $11.2 million (about 12% of the outstanding principal) if market conditions hold.

Brewer said the refundings would match the term of the original leases and that any projected savings must first be realized before being programmed into the budget. The committee voted to send items 8 and 9 to the full Board with a positive recommendation.

The committee also approved fee and administrative-code updates. Deputy City Administrator Ken Bukowski described an amended fee schedule for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner that would delete obsolete testing fees, add potential outside-lab billing authority and reflect allowable CPI adjustments; members approved an amendment and moved the item to the Sept. 2 committee meeting.

On item 10, the committee considered releasing $254,000 from the Budget & Finance Committee reserve to fund salary and fringe for two positions needed to implement the City’s Project Labor Agreement (PLA), which the presenters said went into effect July 14. Severn Campbell of the Budget Analyst’s Office identified the salary-and-benefit cost on page 10 of the BLA report and recommended approval. After discussion about a third compliance position remaining on reserve pending further review, the committee voted to release the requested funds and filed the hearing.

Throughout the hearing the committee recorded its intent to accept Budget and Legislative Analyst (BLA) recommendations across numerous departments, from the Controller and City Administrator to Technology, Public Works, Human Resources and the Library. Ben Rosenfield, City Controller, told the committee his office agreed with the analysts’ recommendations and had eliminated certain travel budgets at the committee’s request.

Library staff and the BLA debated a remaining work order with the San Francisco Police Department. The BLA recommended phasing out most SFPD overtime work orders associated with the main library while retaining the Sheriff’s Department agreement; library leaders asked for billing data and agreed to return with details on whether the SFPD work order can be further reduced in the first year.

Rec and Park officials warned of sharply reduced earned revenue and said they expect to use fund balance to maintain core services and emergency child and youth care programs. General Manager Phil Ginsburg described multiple revenue shortfalls and said the department is carrying many vacancies while filling a small number of mission-critical positions.

The Department of Children, Youth and Their Families outlined plans to stand up community learning hubs under a phased approach. Director Hsu said staff are aiming to field 60–70 sites with initial capacity to serve roughly 2,000 children and a longer-term goal of reaching as many as 6,000; supervisors pressed for active, regular testing for staff and children in those hubs, and Hsu said the Department of Public Health has assigned a team to coordinate testing logistics.

Supervisors also questioned election logistics and vehicle leasing costs. Department of Elections staff said the department leases roughly 300 vehicles per election under the city’s blanket contract and that March and November needs would be comparable; President Norman Yee urged more centralized oversight of city vehicle use and telematics to reduce inefficiencies.

Procedurally, the committee voted to excuse Supervisor Shamon Walton for the early portion of the meeting, moved multiple items to the full Board of Supervisors meeting on Sept. 15 (and certain items to the Sept. 2 committee meeting), and recessed the hearing until 10 a.m. the following day to continue consideration of the larger budget ordinances.

What’s next: The committee will continue budget hearings the next day; items the committee advanced will be scheduled for Board consideration, and staff said any realized savings from refunded COPs will be programmed only after the financing closes and market conditions confirm the projected savings.