Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Workforce Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Supervisors press OEWD on high African American unemployment and proposed funding changes
Summary
OEWD presented workforce and small-business programs and a proposed FY17–18 budget that reduces one-time federal grants. President Breed and other supervisors expressed concern about high African American unemployment and questioned allocation decisions affecting African American–serving organizations.
The Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) briefed the Budget & Finance Committee on its FY17–18 budget and workforce initiatives, and supervisors raised concerns about racial disparities in employment outcomes.
Director Todd Rufo described OEWD’s FY17–18 proposed budget of about $45 million (a decline from the prior year driven by one-time federal grants), and highlighted key programs: CityBuild, TechSF, hospitality and healthcare academies, a new tech apprenticeship model, and $3 million in acquisition and long-term lease assistance to help nonprofits secure permanent space. OEWD also described its Chapter 30 workforce planning effort to coordinate citywide workforce funding.
During public comment and a subsequent exchange on the dais, President London Breed and other supervisors said African American unemployment in San Francisco remains unacceptably high (figures cited in the briefing were 17–19% for the African American community), and they questioned OEWD’s competitive funding decisions that appeared to reduce funding for some African American–serving organizations. President Breed asked OEWD to reconsider allocations and to work with the Board on restructuring or re-prioritizing funds before the budget is finalized.
Director Rufo said the solicitation process was ongoing and no final awards had been made; he pledged to work with supervisors to ensure programs serve populations with greatest need and to finalize funding recommendations in the context of the full budget process. The committee filed the hearing.
