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Committee hears IHSS contract extension; living-wage indexing likely to be suspended this year
Summary
Deputy Phil Arnold outlined a one-year extension to the IHSS Consortium contract. The mayor's office said projected budget shortfalls make funding the Minimum Compensation Ordinance (MCO) increase unlikely for January 2009; staff estimated the half-year local general fund impact to be roughly $2M after state/federal offsets, and dozens of IHSS providers urged supervisors to prioritize pay increases or midyear supplements.
The Budget & Finance Committee considered Item 2, a one-year extension of an existing contract with the IHSS Consortium for in-home supportive services. Phil Arnold, Deputy for Finance Administration at the Human Services Agency, said the amendment adds $21,679,795 for the extension, bringing the four-year contract total to $73,113,086 and continuing in-home services for roughly 1,200 elderly and disabled San Franciscans.
Separately, the committee held the required hearing on the Minimum Compensation Ordinance (MCO) process after the mayor filed a notice under Charter Section 12P. The mayor's office told the committee that with a projected discretionary shortfall of about $38.3 million the proposed FY08–09 budget could not include the MCO wage increase effective Jan. 1, 2009. Using the Consumer Price Index (about 3.2% in the briefing) the MCO wage would increase IHSS from $11.03 to roughly $11.38 per hour; the administration estimated the gross half-year cost at roughly $3.7 million for IHSS (10 million IHSS hours in the half year) but noted that state/federal reimbursements would cover about half, leaving a general-fund impact in the ~$2.0M range.
Speakers from SEIU and home-care worker groups gave public comment urging the Board to preserve MCO indexing or to prioritize a midyear supplemental appropriation if revenues improve. Juan Antonio Molina, an IHSS provider, said his work helps keep vulnerable residents at home and urged supervisors to "preserve the services" and support wage increases. Labor and community groups reminded supervisors that nonprofit and home-care workers are low-paid frontline staff and asked the committee to consider midyear revenue-based add-backs or ballot measures to raise revenue.
Ending: The committee filed the MCO item for now (no binding change to the ordinance) and directed staff to keep MCO as a priority for midyear review should revenues materialize; the IHSS contract extension was set for the Board vote later in the week.
