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Supervisors split on OEWD loan fund; motion to defer additional funds fails 2–3
Summary
Supervisors debated whether to immediately allocate OEWD's proposed $2M revolving loan fund and $1M loan-loss reserve to unlock Section 108 loans; a motion to scale back the immediate allocation per the budget analyst failed on a 2–3 roll call.
Jennifer Matz, director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, asked the committee for an immediate $2,000,000 allocation to a small‑business revolving loan fund and proposed a $1,000,000 loan‑loss reserve intended to unlock access to $23,000,000 in federal Section 108 financing for larger catalytic loans.
The budget analyst recommended trimming the first‑year allocation, arguing past under‑expenditure and the existence of an available fund balance meant the city could move more cautiously and let priorities drive future supplemental requests. The analyst said a $1,000,000 reduction would still leave $2,000,000 available for the small‑business revolving loan program.
Supervisors split along implementation and equity lines. Supervisor Avalos moved to follow the budget analyst's recommendation and delay additional allocations until program rollout and demonstrated need. Supervisor Cohen forcefully opposed the motion, saying merchants in Southeast neighborhoods and the waterfront face urgent needs and would benefit from immediate deployment: "I just wanted to, vehemently disagree with the motion that's on the floor." The motion was defeated on roll call: Avalos and Kim voted aye; Cohen, Wiener and Chair Chu voted no.
The committee asked OEWD to provide additional accounting of existing fund balances and clearer plans for deployment, outreach and metrics before reallocating or expanding the fund. Chair Carmen Chu said the committee would revisit the policy item after receiving that information.
Speakers quoted here are those who appeared on the record and addressed the loan‑fund proposal.
