CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCOCOMMISSION ON THE ENVIRONMENTOPERATIONS COMMITTEE
REGULAR MEETING APPROVED MINUTES
Wednesday, April 19, 2006, 4:00 P.M.Department of the Environment11 Grove Street, Ground Floor Conference RoomSan Francisco, CA 94102
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Commissioners Alan Mok (Chair); Paul Pelosi Jr. and Angelo King
Commission Secretary: Monica Fish
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Public comment will be taken before the Committee takes action on any item.
1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
The meeting was called to order at 4:05 p.m. Present: Commissioners Mok and Pelosi Jr. Absent: Commissioner King.
2. ACTION: Adoption of Minutes of the January 18, 2006 Regular Meeting. Upon Motion by Commissioner Pelosi Jr. and second by Commissioner Mok, the January 18, 2006 minutes were approved with no objection (Absent: Commissioner King). There was no public comment at this time. (Explanatory Document: Approved Minutes of the January 18, 2006 Regular Meeting.)
3. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Members of the public may address the Committee on matters that are within the Committee’s jurisdiction and are not on today’s agenda. There was no public comment at this time.
Staff: David Assmann, Deputy Director
Deputy Director Assmann explained that the Mayor’s Office had advised City Departments of their responsibility to contribute to Full Time Employee (FTE) retirement health benefits. The Department is required to pay an additional $201,832 to cover retirement health benefits resulting in having to rebalance the existing budget by making cuts to program area expenditures. 2006-2007 Budget documents for General, Impound and Grant accounts were distributed in the Committee meeting. Main points discussed:
§ Budget-General: the Integrated Pest Management Program (IPM) expenditures were the most effected because of a revenue shortfall, and the Energy, Commuter Benefits, and Environmental Justice program areas either received additional funding by increasing revenue through grants, program cost reimbursements, or by making revisions to cover shortfalls.
§ Budget-Grants: Grants were balanced without many cuts and services.
§ General Fund and Grants accounts balance.
§ Budget--Impound Account: Adjustments are not yet complete--$117,092 has to be cut from expenditures for the budget to balance. Discussions will be held with program managers to help balance the budget and meet the objectives of the Five-Year Plan. The possibility of cutting professional services expenditures and postponing a future FTE position were discussed.
Public Comment: Ms. Nancy Wuerfel inquired about the methodology the Mayor’s Office used to determine the $201,000 figure and discussed potential Department savings when Norcal takes over the hazardous waste pickup from Curbside Inc. Ms. Wuerfel suggested cutting impound account funds from the environmental justice program and expressed her concern with the $100,000 figure reflected in the December 5 budget that she indicated was allocated to lobbying the Board of Supervisors. Commissioner Pelosi Jr. requested a copy of the December 5 budget documents for review and requested that a line item analysis be provided.
Deputy Director Assmann reported that the Mayor’s Office indicated the retirement bill was based on FTE count, and the Department would be inquiring how the figure was determined to budget for future costs.
Staff: David Assmann, Deputy Director
Deputy Director Assmann gave an update on the Department’s move to 25 Van Ness Avenue and presented the EcoCenter Phase 2 Project Master Budget (distributed in Committee meeting). Main topics discussed:
§ Fourteen staff members would be moving to 25 Van Ness at the end of May 2006, the balance in June 2007.
§ Total costs for the move are approximately 2 million dollars. Fund sources are divided between public and private funds. Public funds include Department funds, City funds and City In-Kind contributions; private funds include in-kind donations, foundation grants, private donations fundraising, and fundraising events.
§ Department staff will be fundraising 1.25 million dollars from the private sector, half of which includes products and the other half in dollars. The City’s contribution is committed along with a $5,000 foundation grant. The Department is also a finalist for a $138,000 foundation donation.
Public Comment: Ms. Nancy Wuerfel inquired whether the $220,000 Department allocation amount is shown on the Budget. Deputy Director Assmann advised that it was incorporated into the rent budget. Ms. Wuerfel asked about the status of the United Nations office potential move to 25 Van Ness and whether it would be brought to the Commission for approval. Deputy Director Assmann advised that legal aspects of the move are being reviewed and a report would be made at the Commission meeting in May.
Staff: David Assmann, Deputy Director
Deputy Director Assmann reported that the Controller’s Office had not yet issued a new report, and an update would be scheduled for the May Commission meeting. 7. INFORMATION: New Business. Commissioner Mok inquired about the status of the bag fee study. Deputy Director Assmann reported that the study was a one-year pilot that started at the end of November 2005 and a report would be due in November 2006. Commissioner Pelosi Jr. discussed the analysis of consumer costs being less than the projected 17 cents per bag and requested a copy of the nexus report.8. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: Future agenda items discussed included: a discussion on outgoing grants and procedures, Outreach and Fundraising staff presentation of fundraising plan for Department’s move to 25 Van Ness, Environmental Justice staff report on the Farmers Market, and School Education program plans for the following year and previous year’s accomplishments.
Public Comment: Ms. Nancy Wuerfel inquired whether the grants procedure review discussion would include comments from the Controller’s Audit and TechLaw reports. Deputy Director Assmann indicated that the Controller’s Audit Report and TechLaw reports would be addressed.
9. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Members of the public may address the Committee on matters that are within the Committee’s jurisdiction and are not on today’s agenda.
Public Comment: Ms. Nancy Wuerfel recommended that budget funds that are carried forward from year to year be reevaluated and that the Commission be kept apprised of available funding once contracts have met their requirements. Deputy Director Assmann advised that there was a formal application process to carry over funds and programs are reviewed monthly for fund allocations.
10. ADJOURNMENT. The Operations Committee meeting adjourned at 4:55 p.m.
Monica Fish, Commission Secretary TEL: (415) 355-3709 FAX: (415) 554-6393
** Copies of explanatory documents are available at (1) the Commission’s office, 11 Grove Street, San Francisco, California between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., (2) on the Commission’s website; (3) upon request to the Commission Secretary, at telephone number 415-355-3709, or (4) via e-mail at [email protected].
Adopted: July 19, 2006 |
Operations Committee > 2006 Meetings >
