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Rules Committee adopts amendments to Prop B restructuring; combines Sanitation & Streets back into Public Works and continues item
Summary
The committee approved sponsor amendments that revise parts of Proposition B by keeping a single Department of Public Works (rather than splitting into separate departments), adding desirable qualifications for commission members, and deleting a redundant controller review; the amendment was adopted and the item continued to the call of the chair.
Chair Peskin introduced a first‑draft charter amendment intended to revise aspects of Proposition B so the city would keep a single Department of Public Works rather than permanently splitting Sanitation & Streets (SAS) away. Sponsor language circulated amended the draft to retain most existing commissions’ members in transition, add a desirable‑qualifications provision for commission appointees (experience in urban forestry, skilled trades, construction, engineering, audits, etc.), and remove a now‑redundant controller reporting requirement.
Interim Public Works Director Carla Short described operational "points of connection" across bureaus—structural engineering, building repair, operations and street services—and cautioned that splitting departments can dilute institutional collaboration and risk contracting changes over time. The Controller’s Office estimated one‑time and ongoing administrative savings from recombining departments (approximately $3.5M in FY23, decreasing to ~$2.55M in FY24). The committee adopted the sponsor amendments by roll call and then continued the matter to the call of the chair for a subsequent hearing.
