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Committee continues nonprofit performance audit hearing after broad public comment from providers
Summary
The committee moved the citywide nonprofit performance audit hearing to Feb. 16 after nonprofit representatives described underfunded contracts, capped indirect rates and burdensome, inconsistent monitoring across departments and urged streamlined processes.
The Government Audit & Oversight Committee voted Feb. 2 to continue a hearing on the 2022 citywide nonprofit performance audit to Feb. 16 after public comment from multiple nonprofit providers.
Vice Chair Stephanie moved to continue the item to Feb. 16, saying the hearing was not intended for today and that the Committee looks forward to a robust hearing then. The motion passed on a roll call with three ayes (Vice Chair Stephanie; Member Chan; Chair Preston).
Speakers from a range of nonprofit service providers described recurring problems in contracting and monitoring. Debbie Lerman of the San Francisco Human Services Network reminded the Committee of a prior nonprofit contracting task force and urged implementation of past recommendations. Kylan Fowler and Julian Johnson of the San Francisco Community Health Center said HIV and other DPH contracts have been flat-funded for years and that DPH’s capped indirect-rate policy does not cover necessary overhead, undermining compliance and monitoring capacity.
Ilsa Lund of Larkin Street Youth Services described a patchwork of department-specific monitoring, invoicing and portal systems across MOCD, HSH, DPH, OEWD and DCYF that favor larger nonprofits with dedicated administrative teams. Vita Lancang of the Chinese Culture Center urged standardizing and streamlining reporting to make city contracts sustainable for arts and cultural organizations. Andrew Tan of Safe and Sound and Natalie Austin of Richmond Area Multi-Services echoed concerns about contract costs, payment delays (contracts starting in July with payments often not arriving until April) and the need for mutual accountability between city departments and nonprofit partners.
Vice Chair Stephanie acknowledged the public comments, said committee staff and her office are engaged with nonprofits and city departments, and invited organizations to contact her staff to continue discussions ahead of the Feb. 16 hearing.
The Committee closed public comment for the item and scheduled a fuller hearing for Feb. 16, when staff from the city services auditor and city performance division are expected to report.
