Bored of Supervisors - 7/16/08

Peaker Plants Postponed

Supervisor Maxwell moved to postpone the vote on agenda items 24 through 27 which relate to the building of peaker plants. According to Maxwell, Mistermayor’s office had previously requested that the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) prepare a study on the efficacy of retrofitting the current Mirant plant as an alternative to the proposed combustion turbine peaker plants. Apparently, at the midnight hour last night, Mistermayor’s office handed Maxwell a report prepared by a Mirant consultant on the issue of retrofitting. She wants more time to study the…um, study. The PUC should prolly check it out, too. The items will be heard (or continued again) on August 12.

Conduct Unbecoming

The proposed Charter Amendment to increase the number of signatures required to recall a member of the Board of Supervisors (and other hoidy-toidy officials) from 10% to 20% was passed yesterday and will be on the ballot in November.  I already wrote about this measure and admonished the Board to exclude current Supes from the effect of the law. Legislators endorsing a measure to make it harder to remove themselves from office looks at best douchy, and at worst, unethical.

Now, Supervisors Ammiano, McGoldrick, Peskin, and Sandoval are termed out and their replacements will be elected in November, so let’s put them aside because they won’t benefit from the Charter Amendment. (Note that Peskin and Sandoval voted against the amendment.) Supervisors Alioto-Pier, Daly, Dufty, and Maxwell and Mirkarimi each earned themselves some Sketch Points for voting in favor of the amendment whose benefits they can enjoy. (Mirkarimi is up for re-election this November but everyone knows he’s gonna win.) Supervisors Elsbernd and Chu, who are both up for election this November (and also fixin' to win) wisely voted against the Amendment. 

Set-Aside Amendment Gets...well...Set Aside

Mistermayor submitted an  a Charter amendment to the Board making it the policy of the citizens of San Francisco that no new budgetary set asides will be approved unless independent funding is identified at the same time. Currently, there are a bunch of Charter provisions that do things like require a certain percentage of property tax revenues be spent on libraries.

The cumulative effect of these set-aside provisions is that the Board and the Mayor only have 39 percent of the General Fund portion of the annual budget and 18 percent of the overall City budget to fund every other cost to run the City. This both requires substantial financial wizardry and results in bare-knuckled brawls over every dollar. 

When this amendment was before the Rules Committee on July 9, Supervisor Daly had a field day with it - pointing out Mistermayor's history of supporting set-asides and the fact that this amendment would be legally useless. (Daly, mind you, has his own November ballot measure that would create a huge set-aside for affordable housing.)

At the full Board yesterday, Daly introduced an amendment that would strike all set-asides from the City Charter. That's right. All of 'em! I gotta tell ya - I could've hugged Daly right then and there. I agree that some set-asides oughta be removed. However: other members of the Board recognized that eliminating things like the Rainy Day Fund and minimum police staffing requirements might not be the most prudent move and voted down Daly's amendment. Ultimately Mistermayor's proposal was tabled (read: thrown into a legislative black hole from whence it will never emerge).

McGoldrick to Mistermayor: Approve Our Budget and We'll Fund Your CJC

Supervisor McGoldrick announced that he will be proposing an ordinance to fund the Community Justice Center for fiscal year 2008-2009 with $498,145 from the General Fund Reserve. McGoldrick previously opposed funding the CJC (which is supposed to help people access social services) in light of the fact that so many social service programs were gutted by Mistermayor's budget. Now that so many programs have been restored in the Board of Supervisors budget, he can use the prospect of funding the CJC to force Mistermayor to approve the Board's budget feels comfortable funding the CJC. Ahem.

QUOTES OF THE MEETING:

“How judicious would that be?”

-Supervisor Elsbernd referring to Supervisor Sandoval’s “no” vote on proposals allowing increased fees for the Recreation and Parks Commission which, if not passed, would result in a $530k loss from the Rec and Park budget. (They passed anyway, FYI.) Sandoval is running for Superior Court Judge in November. Subtle. Brilliant. Loveit, loveit, loveit.

“So, I was a bit ornery and Supervisor Dufty was nice and keeping me in a good mood so I wouldn’t be too mean to the Mayor’s liaison to the Board of Supervisors who was in the unfortunate position of being in front of me representing the Mayor on this item…and you, know…she’s pregnant…and, you know, looking good with it.”

-Supervisor Daly referring to Cristine Soto-DeBerry at the July 9 Rules Committee hearing on Mistermayor’s anti-set-aside proposals. Okay, first of all: Daly is right, Cristine is quite fetching. Second of all: He was still pretty mean to her. Third of all: Dude, WTF?

--Melissa

Comments

[jamie]

Sandoval showing his lack of a spine again? Exactly what Superior Court does NOT need.

[Tweety]

Are not Mr. Daly's comments considered sexual harrassment?