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Supervisors put DTIS camera and website funds on hold amid questions over costs
Summary
At a June 28 Budget & Finance Committee meeting, supervisors agreed to reserve funds for ShotSpotter and a scaled website redesign while requesting DTIS and the budget analyst reconcile inconsistent line-item totals for community safety cameras and program maintenance.
City Chief Information Officer Chris Vien told the Budget and Finance Committee on June 28 that his department had negotiated about $642,000 in agreed cuts but remained at odds with the budget analyst over three items: $400,000 for ShotSpotter, a proposed website redesign, and $250,000 for digital‑inclusion funding. "We came up with about $642,000 in cuts that we did agree with," Vien said, adding that the website redesign would require both personnel and hardware/software work.
Supervisors pressed for limits and transparency. Supervisor Ross Mercarimi questioned a $971,331 general‑fund line for the community safety camera project and sought clarification on whether that figure duplicated ShotSpotter funding. "I can tell you that the 971,000 is not all for cameras," Vien replied, explaining the amount also covers maintenance for existing cameras, signage and upgrades. Vien later confirmed the 971k figure does not include the separate $400,000 ShotSpotter line.
After discussion, the committee agreed to place contested sums on committee reserve pending further hearings and reconciliation with the budget analyst. Supervisors proposed putting $400,000 for ShotSpotter on reserve and moving a reduced amount for new cameras into reserve pending a detailed accounting; the chair asked DTIS and the budget analyst to meet and return with a line‑by‑line reconciliation.
The committee also debated how much of the website redesign should proceed now. DTIS offered a reduced scope of about $810,000 that would cut functionality but preserve accessibility work; the department said a minimum of two full‑time staff and some equipment would be needed to implement the scaled plan. Susan Nissner of the mayor's Office on Disability emphasized the legal obligation under the Americans with Disabilities Act and said the redesign should include accessibility fixes: "We need to make sure that all of the websites that the city has are screen reader accessible for people who are blind and low vision," she said.
Supervisors indicated a compromise: place $800,000 on reserve for the website and have DTIS return with a spending plan and personnel justification. On digital inclusion, supervisors signaled support for the $250,000 appropriation while deferring final release until the committee could review specifics.
Next steps: DTIS will work with the budget analyst to produce a clarified cost breakdown for camera-related lines, explain the scaled website plan in detail, and return to the committee with a spend plan that includes the accessibility components and staff needs.
