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Board committee backs disaster-preparedness recommendations but conditions funding on budget process
Summary
Committee members praised a civil grand jury review that called for more authority and funding for coordinated disaster planning, directed the Department of Emergency Management to lead cross-department preparedness, and agreed to forward the response to the full Board while flagging budget constraints and separate environmental review for a proposed helipad.
The Government Audits and Oversight Committee considered a February 2007 civil grand jury report that examined San Francisco’s readiness for large-scale disasters and recommended clearer authority, better funding and improved coordination across departments, particularly the Department of Emergency Management and the Department of Public Health.
Julia Hanson, chair of the grand jury continuity committee, told the panel the jury concluded that authority to coordinate and monitor disaster preparedness "should rest with the Department of Emergency Management," and that EMSA/IMSA should be empowered and funded to develop mass-casualty plans. The jury emphasized that some recommendations will require budget commitments in future cycles.
"Authority to coordinate and monitor disaster preparedness across departmental lines should rest with the Department of Emergency Management," Hanson said, summarizing the jury’s central recommendation.
Director Phillips (Department of Emergency Management) told supervisors the department is engaged in a strategic planning process with ICF International, has conducted more than 100 interviews, and is pushing regional and neighborhood preparedness efforts including a community hub pilot. Phillips said the department has 14 funded positions (10 filled) and is integrating logistics and resource management planning.
Diane Cronenberg, Deputy Director of the Department of Public Health, said the health department comprises both operational and regulatory functions (including EMSA) and described plans to use primary-care centers as community hubs for neighborhood response. Cronenberg also announced the department received a HRSA grant of $787,000 to help implement the community hub effort.
Public commenters and emergency professionals urged increased grassroots surge capacity, better patient-tracking systems and planning for hospital surge beds and emergency-room availability. Speakers said community hubs may take days to activate and emphasized that immediate neighborhood-level response capacity will be critical at the outset of a large disaster.
Committee members said they broadly agreed with the report’s recommendations but insisted that any funding commitments be considered in the context of the annual budget process. The committee adopted language to "partially agree, subject to financial constraints, budget analyst review and budget priorities determined during the annual budget process." The jury’s recommendation that the mayor and board approve funding for a helipad at San Francisco General Hospital drew mixed responses; supervisors supported the concept but asked that helipad funding proceed only after environmental review and separate planning steps.
The committee forwarded the amended resolution responding to the presiding judge to the full Board of Supervisors and scheduled ongoing follow-up, including a six-month review of implementation progress and coordination with budget planning timelines.
