Committee forwards performance audit of San Francisco Sheriff’s Office after questions on overtime and staffing
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Summary
The Government Audit and Oversight Committee voted 2–0 on April 16 to forward a motion directing the Budget and Legislative Analyst to initiate a 2026 performance audit of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office, highlighting overtime as a central focus and noting staffing constraints in the department.
On April 16, 2026 the Government Audit and Oversight Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to forward to the full Board a motion directing the Budget and Legislative Analyst (BLA) to initiate a 2026 performance audit of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office.
Frances Shea of Supervisor Connie Chan’s office asked the committee for support for the motion, saying, “I am here to request the committee's support on this motion, directing an amendment to the audit schedule for the budget and legislative analyst to perform a performance audit on the sheriff's office.” Dan Goncher of the BLA told the committee the office provides the Board with a proposed audit schedule annually and that audits are often department-wide; he noted that a primary driver for placing the sheriff’s office on the schedule was overtime and related budgetary risk. Goncher said the last performance audit on the sheriff’s office in BLA records dated to June 2015 and that audits typically narrow scope after an initial risk assessment.
Committee members asked how an audit would affect department resources. The Sheriff said staffing minimums mandated by collective-bargaining agreements with the Deputy Sheriffs Association and the Managing Supervisors Association are the main driver of overtime, and that the department had recently reduced overtime. “Our internal projections are that we're going to come out even, and close to being within budget,” the Sheriff said. The Sheriff also told the committee the department is short 29 supervisorial positions (lieutenants and sergeants), which limits staff availability to support an audit.
No members of the public spoke on the item. Vice Chair Supervisor Sauter moved to forward the audit motion to the full Board with a positive recommendation; roll call recorded two ayes (Member Sherrill and Vice Chair Sauter) with Chair Felder excused. The committee’s action forwards the BLA motion to the full Board for consideration; the committee did not itself complete an audit.