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Supervisors approve trimmed funding for Treasurer's Small Business Assistance Center, place $150,000 on reserve
Summary
After debate about overlap with existing neighborhood programs and incomplete staffing details, the Board's finance committee approved $456,064 for a Treasurer's Office small-business assistance pilot and put $150,000 on reserve for further planning and interdepartmental commitments.
The Finance & Budget Committee on June 27 approved a reduced funding package to start a Small Business Assistance Center in the Treasurer's Office, while placing $150,000 on reserve so the office and the mayor's economic development staff can firm up staffing and interdepartmental commitments.
Treasurer Jose Cisneros told the committee the center would offer one-on-one case management to help small and medium-size businesses navigate licensing, permitting and regulatory requirements. He said the office expects the center to field 50 to 100 daily client contacts and requested four positions and startup build-out and outreach dollars that the budget analyst estimated at about $606,064; Cisneros and the budget analyst exchanged line-item detail on travel, training and a roughly $90,000 outreach/build-out subobject.
Why it mattered: Several supervisors said existing city investments in neighborhood economic development organizations and online services must be fully inventoried before approving a new, ongoing center. Supervisor Dufty urged more empirical data and suggested a reduction and reserve strategy; Supervisor Ellsberg and others said they did not want to cut off support for small-business owners who had testified in favor of the center.
What the committee did: After competing motions to cut $300,000 and to appropriate $150,000, the panel accepted a compromise that accepts the budget-analyst's net reductions and reallocations but sets aside $150,000 as a project reserve. Chair Aaron Peskin announced the committee's action without objection and instructed the Treasurer's Office and budget staff to return with fuller detail on staffing (case managers, manager, travel/training lines), expected annualized costs, and which departments (DBI, Fire, DPW, DPH, Purchasing, Human Rights Commission) will commit staff time to an "expert help desk." Treasurer Cisneros said the initial appropriation will fund initial staffing and outreach; the committee directed follow-up reporting before any mid-year or supplemental appropriation.
Attribution: Jose Cisneros, Treasurer and Tax Collector, presented the proposal and described the model; budget analyst staff provided line-item calculations and flagged the item as a policy matter. Supervisors Dufty, Ellsberg, Mercarini and Ammiano led the questioning and motions.
Next steps: The Treasurer's Office will return with the department-level commitments and a more detailed budget breakdown; the $150,000 reserve will remain until the committee receives that follow-up.
