Officials hope that problem landlords note an $800,000 settlement recently reached with a property owner who amassed numerous building code violations.
Supervisor Malia Cohen, who represents the Bayview, held a news conference Monday afternoon to highlight the neighborhood violations. She said tenants endured deplorable conditions such as fallen ceilings, mold infestations, and flooding and human feces flowing up on the grounds.
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Mayor Ed Lee will deliver the opening remarks today at a major solar convention at the Moscone Center, but his appearance is surprising to some, since he cut millions of dollars from The City’s GoSolarSF program.
John Rizzo, a member of the San Francisco chapter of the Sierra Club, is among a group of solar energy advocates campaigning to restore funding to the GoSolarSF program, which was launched in 2008 and has led to 1,826 solar installations, or 5.75 megawatts of energy.
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Few details have emerged yet about why San Francisco police abruptly interrupted Mayor Ed Lee’s testimony and temporarily suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi’s official misconduct proceedings on June 29.
Law enforcement agencies have declined to discuss details about the City Hall bomb threat, which no other occupants of the building were warned about. But information obtained through a public records request shows that 22 minutes elapsed between when the call was received and Lee’s removal.
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Although there may not be a towering construction crane on every corner of San Francisco, it can sometimes seem that way.
From the second Rincon Hill tower to the Central Subway transit project, San Francisco is undergoing a massive wave of new construction. Some 56 major developments — totaling $3.137 billion in construction costs, 500 stories and 5,188 residential units — are in various stages of the approval process, according to The City’s Department of Building Inspection.
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It took until about 5 in the morning, but spending changes in Mayor Ed Lee’s two-year budget were finally agreed upon Friday.
Pay raises for nonprofit workers, $1.2 million for a third legislative aide for members of the Board of Supervisors and $2 million for additional homeless services were among the changes.
The hours had dragged on at City Hall as supervisors put together $39 million from Lee’s budget submission to address needs in their neighborhoods and those requested by nonprofits providing social services under city contracts.
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UPDATE: Early Friday morning the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee unanimously approved Mayor Ed Lee’s proposed two-year city budget after making a total of $32 million in spending changes, of which $17.1 million is for the fiscal year beginning July 1 and includes such things as $1.2 million for members of the board to hire a third legislative aide, $4.1 million for a cost-in-living increase for nonprofits doing business with the city, $2 million for increased services in homeless shelters and $460,000 for Department of Public Works to increase street cleaning and landscapi
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After spending the past two weeks reviewing and making cuts to Mayor Ed Lee’s proposed $7.3 billion city budget, the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee will decide today how to allocate millions of dollars.
While the committee will have in excess of $10 million in its pot to dole out — from a combination of cuts and unexpected revenue — various interests have made $57 million worth of funding requests.
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Several solar energy companies that made business decisions based on a city solar incentive program have warned Mayor Ed Lee that reducing of that subsidy could darken their industry’s future.
In 2008, The City launched the GoSolarSF program, which has since spent $18 million on incentives for the installation of solar panels — creating jobs and boosting San Francisco’s clean energy portfolio. But next fiscal year, city funding will reach an all-time low.
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In an effort to help people replace plastic water bottles with reusable ones, Board of Supervisors President David Chiu introduced legislation Tuesday that would require new and renovated buildings to include bottle-filling stations in addition to conventional drinking fountains.
Chiu said his legislation, supported by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the Department of the Environment, would “help enhance the health of our city while reducing plastic waste.”
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San Francisco’s police and fire departments are preparing for hundreds of retirees.
To address the imminent staffing shortages, Mayor Ed Lee is funding the beginning of a six-year hiring plan for both departments in his proposed city budget. The mayor’s budget includes three 50-member police academy classes next fiscal year and a 42-member firefighter academy class.
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Competing real estate transfer tax proposals were placed on the November ballot Tuesday, but both are being used as leverage around a plan to change how San Francisco taxes businesses.
Mayor Ed Lee proposed a real estate transfer tax increase of .2 percent on property sales in excess of $1 million, which would raise $13 million annually for a city trust fund for affordable housing. But Lee says he is willing to withdraw this tax measure if there is a consensus on his proposal to replace the payroll tax with a gross receipts tax.
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The city attorney is hoping to launch a consumer protection unit.
Launching the proposed pilot program would require hiring an attorney and a legislative assistant, something City Attorney Dennis Herrera has yet to persuade city officials is a necessary new expense.
The unit would build on Herrera’s previous efforts to look out for consumers under a broader department initiative known as the Affirmative Litigation Program, which is currently staffed by 12 attorneys with a budget of $2.7 million.
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The City’s patchwork of tax breaks for various industries will live on even if voters replace its payroll tax on businesses with a gross-receipts tax under Mayor Ed Lee’s proposed November ballot measure.
Last year, San Francisco provided $3.786 million in payroll-tax breaks to 53 companies in the biotech, clean tech and technology industries, according to the treasurer’s office. And nearly $300,000 in tax credits were given to 94 businesses operating in so-called Enterprise Zones under a program that rewards companies for hiring residents in certain parts of The City.
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Labor negotiations between Mayor Ed Lee and about 18,000 nurses, dentists, lawyers, managers, and other city and county workers resulted in the employees’ compensation increasing by a combined $41 million during the next two years, according to an analysis by the City Controller’s Office.
Against the backdrop of looming budget deficits, but an improving local economy, Lee negotiated contracts with 26 union labor groups. The talks’ outcome will provide the workers with a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment that will go into place in two years.
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San Francisco supervisors expressed unanimous support Tuesday for negotiations between the Golden State Warriors and city officials for a waterfront arena already being touted as the “envy of the world.”
The Board of Supervisors voted to waive The City’s competitive bidding requirements for the development of Piers 30-32 and bless the negotiations between the basketball franchise and The City’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, which will act as the lead negotiator.
“This is merely the opening tip off,” said city project manager Ken Rich.
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