SF supervisors’ audit committee forwards wage ordinance, mental‑health tech extension, I&Q and other contract recommendations to full Board

The Government Audit and Oversight Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors met June 11, 2021 and voted to forward a slate of ordinances, resolutions and contract amendments to the full Board for consideration on June 15 and June 22.

Chair Dean Preston opened the remote meeting and moved several items to be recommended as committee reports. The committee voted, consistently by 3 ayes (Mandelmann, Walton and Preston), to forward: an ordinance addressing pay adjustments for unrepresented city employees; an amendment to a memorandum of understanding to allow carryover and increased tuition reimbursement for SEIU Local 1021 staff and per‑diem nurses; an extension and budget ceiling for a statewide Tech Suite mental‑health innovation participation agreement; an amendment to the DPH isolation‑and‑quarantine contract with HealthRight 360; two Medline prime‑vendor supply agreements (amended per the Budget Legislative Analyst); an HSH grant amendment with Saint Vincent de Paul for the Division Circle Navigation Center; and a 10‑year cellular service lease for San Francisco International Airport.

The most contested procedural question was a legal deadline tied to the unrepresented wage ordinance. Supervisors asked whether the committee should act as a committee report or allow the matter to move through the regular legislative process. Deputy City Attorney Brad Russi advised the committee that "it needs to be approved by June 30" for the increases to apply to the current fiscal year. That clarification framed the committee's timing choice; Chair Preston said he preferred to send the item to the full Board without using a committee report for greater flexibility to gather additional information about why many unrepresented positions sit in the mayor's office.

On the Tech Suite mental‑health initiative, Teresa Yu of DPH said the program pilots digital solutions (peer chat, Headspace licenses and other apps) funded through the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) innovation set‑aside and administered via a joint powers authority. Yu said the participation agreement's term extension and budget ceiling were sought to allow the county to continue piloting and to avoid returning to the Board unless the budget exceeds $10,000,000. "The goals of this initiative are to increase access to mental health care, promote early detection of mental health symptoms, and predict the onset of mental illness," Yu said.

DPH also requested the first amendment to its agreement with HealthRight 360 to maintain rapid access to isolation‑and‑quarantine (I&Q) capacity if needed. DPH staff said the current request would keep one hotel I&Q site (64 beds) on standby, expand staffing support, and permit early termination with notice if the city winds down the contract. The Budget Legislative Analyst confirmed the department expects FEMA reimbursements to cover the costs.

Two callers spoke during the HealthRight 360 item: one questioned the need for the amendment given high vaccination rates and urged reallocating funds to overdose prevention; another emphasized that FEMA funds back the contract and urged outreach to under‑served communities.

On procurement, DPH presented two six‑year prime vendor agreements with Medline for bulk and low‑unit distribution of medical and laboratory supplies. The Budget Legislative Analyst recommended removing a separate "holdover" set‑aside and reducing the not‑to‑exceed amounts accordingly; the committee amended the resolutions per that recommendation and voted to forward them as committee reports.

HSH presented a first amendment to a grant with Saint Vincent de Paul to operate the Division Circle Navigation Center (224 South Van Ness), extending the term through June 2025 and increasing the not‑to‑exceed amount to approximately $40 million. The committee recommended the amendment to the full Board.

San Francisco International Airport staff described a proposed 10‑year cellular service provider lease with New Cingular Wireless (AT&T) to consolidate airport cellular infrastructure. Key terms include $2.4 million base rent in year one (with annual escalators) and a one‑time $28.6 million reimbursement to the airport for distributed antenna system improvements at Harvey Milk Terminal 1 and the Grand Hyatt; AT&T will apportion costs among partner carriers under a partnership arrangement. The BLA recommended approval.

Votes at a glance: - Agenda item 1 (Unrepresented wage ordinance): recommended to Board (06/22/2021) — vote: Mandelmann Aye; Walton Aye; Preston Aye (3 ayes). - Agenda item 2 (SEIU MOU tuition reimbursement MOU amendment): recommended as committee report (06/15/2021) — 3 ayes. - Agenda item 3 (Tech Suite MHSA participation agreement extension): recommended as committee report (06/15/2021) — 3 ayes. - Agenda item 4 (HealthRight 360 I&Q amendment): recommended as committee report (06/15/2021) — 3 ayes. - Agenda items 5 & 6 (Medline warehouse and low‑unit contracts): amended per BLA and recommended as committee reports — 3 ayes. - Agenda item 7 (Saint Vincent de Paul navigation center grant amendment): recommended as committee report (06/15/2021) — 3 ayes. - Agenda item 8 (SFO cellular lease with New Cingular/AT&T): recommended as committee report (06/15/2021) — 3 ayes.

What happens next: all recommended items will appear on the Board of Supervisors' upcoming agendas (June 15 or June 22 as noted). Committee members requested additional background on how pay rates for unrepresented employees are set and why many such positions are concentrated in the mayor's office; Chair Preston said he would gather more information before the Board vote.

The committee adjourned at the end of the scheduled business.