From Our Supervisor’s Chambers
An update on key issues facing our city
October 2011
An update on key issues facing our city
October 2011
Although the Board of Supervisors was on recess during the month of August and the first week of September, my office has been busy working on several pieces of legislation and prepping for hearings on important issues facing our city. This month’s column is an update on some of the key issues on which we have been working.
LEGISLATION
Limiting Nonvoter Approved Debt: As I reported in an earlier column, I called a hearing back in April to discuss San Francisco’s use of certificates of participation (COPs) – a mechanism for issuing nonvoter approved debt – after I learned the city had nearly $1 billion in COPs on its books. I recently introduced legislation stating that COPs may not be used to finance ongoing operating costs for the city, that realistic repayment burdens be placed on the General Fund for such debt, and that the city may only use COPs to fund capital projects if the cost of servicing all such debt does not exceed 3.25 percent of General Fund discretionary revenues.
Basically, City Hall should not be financing operating costs and creating unseen debt without voter approval. This legislation will provide us with the flexibility to use COPs where necessary and curb fiscally irresponsible behavior in City Hall. This legislation is scheduled for a hearing in the Budget and Finance committee on Oct. 19, 2011 at 10 a.m.
Public Financing: I recently introduced legislation to reform our public financing system to comply with a decision handed down by the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held in McComish v. Bennet that Arizona’s public financing system is unconstitutional because it chills political speech when additional public funds are doled out to a publicly financed candidate whenever contributions to a privately financed candidate and expenditures by independent groups exceed a certain amount. This opinion is extremely important to San Francisco because our public financing law also provides candidates additional public funding in response to spending by other candidates or third parties.
This legislation was heard in the Rules Committee in September and is now before the Board of Supervisors for a vote. My legislation will remove the unconstitutional element of our public financing law and avoid having a potential lawsuit put taxpayer dollars at risk, while preserving the constitutional aspects of our public financing system.
Film Rebate Program: My legislation to bolster our Film Rebate Program, “Scene in San Francisco,” by including documentary films, docudrama films and reality programs to our current rebate program, passed out of committee and is now in front of the Board of Supervisors for their vote. In the past, reality shows were fairly low-budget productions. Now we are seeing more of these production companies with substantial budgets to work with, and we would like to attract them so they spend their dollars in San Francisco and hire local crews. We also have had requests lately from large documentary productions interested in our rebate program. This legislation also decreases film use fees to $100 a day for productions with budgets less than $500,000 for the filming of any commercial, corporate media, industrial media, video, short subject, or web video. As a comparison, New York City has a permit fee of $300 for the whole production, no matter how many days of filming – for all size budgets. In Vancouver, permits cost $100 per day. In New Mexico, they’re $25 per day. In Louisiana, they’re free. This legislation will make our permits more affordable and will continue to make our rebate program as attractive as possible.
Target: I’m pleased to report that my legislation to establish the “City Center special sign district” to help Target redesign and reinvigorate the signage at the old Sears store at Masonic Avenue and Geary Boulevard passed out of committee and is expected to pass through the full Board this month. The Target team has put much thought into producing signs and improving the City Center property so people will be easily directed into the correct parking lot and business. This legislation will help Target meet its necessary deadline for a planned opening in the spring of 2013.
HEARINGS
Workforce Housing for First Responders: My hearing on the status of San Francisco’s Police in the Community (PIC) loan program and workforce housing issues will be heard sometime this fall in the Government Audit and Oversight Committee. The PIC program has been in existence for close to a decade and provides down payment assistance loans to police officers purchasing their first home in the City and County of San Francisco to help keep them in San Francisco. The vast majority of our first responders live outside the City. Workforce housing has become a critical issue in San Francisco and there is a significant need for more innovative housing strategies.
We will explore how we can make our current PIC loan program more effective and whether we can expand it to include other first responder departments in San Francisco. This is about workforce housing and making our neighborhoods safer and better prepared with people on the ground in the case of emergencies.
Family Flight: As I reported in last month’s column, family flight continues to be a huge problem for San Francisco. I will be conducting a hearing on this issue on Oct. 13, 2011 in the Government Audit and Oversight Committee to examine and discuss real, concrete measures we can take here at City Hall to address the major reasons contributing to the problem.
COMMUNITY
On the topic of families, I want to thank the Marina Community Association for organizing the first Marina Family Fest on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011 on the Little Marina Green. I was happy to co-sponsor the event. I know that my kids had a great time at the petting zoo and in the bouncy houses. It was nice to see so many families enjoying themselves. A special thanks to the San Francisco Fire Department and the Police Department for their displays, especially the fireboat demonstration. My family and I look forward to next year.
It is my honor to serve District 2. As always, please feel free to contact my office with any of your questions, comments or concerns.
Mark Farrell can be reached at 415-554-7752 or at [email protected]. Sign up for his quarterly newsletter by visiting the Board of Supervisors online at www.sfbos.org and clicking on Supervisor Mark E. Farrell and the newsletter link.
LEGISLATION
Limiting Nonvoter Approved Debt: As I reported in an earlier column, I called a hearing back in April to discuss San Francisco’s use of certificates of participation (COPs) – a mechanism for issuing nonvoter approved debt – after I learned the city had nearly $1 billion in COPs on its books. I recently introduced legislation stating that COPs may not be used to finance ongoing operating costs for the city, that realistic repayment burdens be placed on the General Fund for such debt, and that the city may only use COPs to fund capital projects if the cost of servicing all such debt does not exceed 3.25 percent of General Fund discretionary revenues.
Basically, City Hall should not be financing operating costs and creating unseen debt without voter approval. This legislation will provide us with the flexibility to use COPs where necessary and curb fiscally irresponsible behavior in City Hall. This legislation is scheduled for a hearing in the Budget and Finance committee on Oct. 19, 2011 at 10 a.m.
Public Financing: I recently introduced legislation to reform our public financing system to comply with a decision handed down by the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held in McComish v. Bennet that Arizona’s public financing system is unconstitutional because it chills political speech when additional public funds are doled out to a publicly financed candidate whenever contributions to a privately financed candidate and expenditures by independent groups exceed a certain amount. This opinion is extremely important to San Francisco because our public financing law also provides candidates additional public funding in response to spending by other candidates or third parties.
This legislation was heard in the Rules Committee in September and is now before the Board of Supervisors for a vote. My legislation will remove the unconstitutional element of our public financing law and avoid having a potential lawsuit put taxpayer dollars at risk, while preserving the constitutional aspects of our public financing system.
Film Rebate Program: My legislation to bolster our Film Rebate Program, “Scene in San Francisco,” by including documentary films, docudrama films and reality programs to our current rebate program, passed out of committee and is now in front of the Board of Supervisors for their vote. In the past, reality shows were fairly low-budget productions. Now we are seeing more of these production companies with substantial budgets to work with, and we would like to attract them so they spend their dollars in San Francisco and hire local crews. We also have had requests lately from large documentary productions interested in our rebate program. This legislation also decreases film use fees to $100 a day for productions with budgets less than $500,000 for the filming of any commercial, corporate media, industrial media, video, short subject, or web video. As a comparison, New York City has a permit fee of $300 for the whole production, no matter how many days of filming – for all size budgets. In Vancouver, permits cost $100 per day. In New Mexico, they’re $25 per day. In Louisiana, they’re free. This legislation will make our permits more affordable and will continue to make our rebate program as attractive as possible.
Target: I’m pleased to report that my legislation to establish the “City Center special sign district” to help Target redesign and reinvigorate the signage at the old Sears store at Masonic Avenue and Geary Boulevard passed out of committee and is expected to pass through the full Board this month. The Target team has put much thought into producing signs and improving the City Center property so people will be easily directed into the correct parking lot and business. This legislation will help Target meet its necessary deadline for a planned opening in the spring of 2013.
HEARINGS
Workforce Housing for First Responders: My hearing on the status of San Francisco’s Police in the Community (PIC) loan program and workforce housing issues will be heard sometime this fall in the Government Audit and Oversight Committee. The PIC program has been in existence for close to a decade and provides down payment assistance loans to police officers purchasing their first home in the City and County of San Francisco to help keep them in San Francisco. The vast majority of our first responders live outside the City. Workforce housing has become a critical issue in San Francisco and there is a significant need for more innovative housing strategies.
We will explore how we can make our current PIC loan program more effective and whether we can expand it to include other first responder departments in San Francisco. This is about workforce housing and making our neighborhoods safer and better prepared with people on the ground in the case of emergencies.
Family Flight: As I reported in last month’s column, family flight continues to be a huge problem for San Francisco. I will be conducting a hearing on this issue on Oct. 13, 2011 in the Government Audit and Oversight Committee to examine and discuss real, concrete measures we can take here at City Hall to address the major reasons contributing to the problem.
COMMUNITY
On the topic of families, I want to thank the Marina Community Association for organizing the first Marina Family Fest on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011 on the Little Marina Green. I was happy to co-sponsor the event. I know that my kids had a great time at the petting zoo and in the bouncy houses. It was nice to see so many families enjoying themselves. A special thanks to the San Francisco Fire Department and the Police Department for their displays, especially the fireboat demonstration. My family and I look forward to next year.
It is my honor to serve District 2. As always, please feel free to contact my office with any of your questions, comments or concerns.
Mark Farrell can be reached at 415-554-7752 or at [email protected]. Sign up for his quarterly newsletter by visiting the Board of Supervisors online at www.sfbos.org and clicking on Supervisor Mark E. Farrell and the newsletter link.
