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Budget committee continues DPH grant items after brief presentations on HIV and primary care funding
Summary
Committee read three Department of Public Health grant ordinances (California HealthCare Foundation, NIH, Tenderloin Health/HRSA) and heard brief staff presentations; supervisors voted to continue the items for two weeks while the budget analyst prepares a report.
The committee considered four budget items (2–4 and 6) that would add grant-funded positions to the Department of Public Health and authorize retroactive acceptance of several grants. The clerk read each item: item 2 would add four positions and accept a California HealthCare Foundation grant of $241,225 for primary care disease-registry expansion; item 3 would add one position and accept an NIH grant of $373,619 for AIDS office research and authorize contracts with Isis Inc., University of Pittsburgh and PHFE Management Solutions; item 4 would add six positions and accept a $1,841,000 award from Tenderloin Health (to expand oral-health services for homeless residents infected with HIV disease); item 6 concerned a historical property contract at 1080 Haight Street.
Ronnie Marks, epidemiologist with the Health Department, described item 2 as funding to expand a fledgling disease registry to capture multiple chronic conditions, analyze patient data, liaise with other jurisdictions and inform the Health Access Program for planning and evaluation.
Tracy Brown of Tenderloin Health said the organization has a five-year HRSA grant for HIV services and will deploy dental staff several days a week at Tom Waddell Health Center to improve oral-health access for Tenderloin residents.
Henry Raymond of the AIDS Office described a multiyear NIH grant to study sero-sorting — choosing partners by HIV status — to determine prevalence and help shape future interventions.
Supervisor Ellsberg asked whether positions created as grant-funded would automatically become general-fund positions when the grant ends. Monique Smuda of the Controller’s Office explained that grant-funded positions are established separately and would only be converted to general-fund positions through a later budget transfer and Board of Supervisors approval; Harvey Rose of the budget office said positions would be flagged in the June budget if conversion were proposed.
Given the need for additional budget analysis, the committee voted without objection to continue items 2, 3, 4 and 6 for two weeks and requested a budget analyst report before further action.
