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Final Minutes
Meeting of February 18, 2009
Room 278, City Hall
San Francisco, California
Chair Sue Cauthen called the meeting to order at 6:07 PM.
Roll Call: Present: Ted Bamberger, Sue Cauthen, Lucille Cuttler, Shanica Dismuke, Linda Guitron, Roger Kallen, Margaret Lee, Neil Mills, Clarice Moody, Michael Olinger, Stina Skewes-Cox, Peter Warfield, Dan Weaver (one vacancy).
Absent: Enne Braun, Jan Seeman, Gladys Soto
Guests: Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi; Luis Herrera, City Librarian; Leo Levenson, Director, Budget and Analysis Division, Office of the Controller; Eileen Hirst, President, Municipal Executives Assn; Rebecca Rhine, Executive Director, MEA; Charles Moody, husband of member Clarice Moody
Minutes: Jean Barish took the minutes for this meeting. Charles Moody monitored the tape recorder.
Announcement by Supervisor Mirkarimi
Supervisor Mirkarimi discussed the issue of set-asides, stating he introduced legislation to amend the current set-aside system. Mr. Mirkarimi said that the proposed amendment is a work in progress and discussion will continue. The legislation is on the February 19 agenda of the Rules Committee but will be continued to a future meeting. He also stated that due to the current budget crisis, the issue of set-asides must be dealt with.
City Budget: Set-Asides & City Services
Presentations about the library budget were given by City Librarian Luis Herrera, Leo Levenson of the Office of the Controller, and members of the MEA.
City Librarian Luis Herrera: Mr. Herrera provided background on the library set-aside, also called the Library Preservation Fund or LPF. Proposition E, passed by the voters in June, 1994, and updated in 2007, was implemented to support the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL).This legislation earmarked 2.5% of city revenues for libraries and has significantly increased library income, services and usage, he said. These improvements in library use are detailed in a handout Mr. Herrera distributed.
In 2007, Proposition D extended the set-aside for 15 years and permitted SFPL to sell revenue bonds to finance the branch library improvement program (BLIP) and use the set-aside funds to pay for the bonds. (NOTE: An earlier general obligation bond of $106 million slated for the 24 branch improvement projects racked up a shortfall of over $40 million, and funds for six branches were transferred to other branches. The purpose of the revenue bonds is to finance the six “defunded” projects.
Mr. Herrera said that if there are changes in the set-aside, they could decrease the SFPL budget by 25%, decreasing funding by $21 million. This decreased funding would have a significant impact on library services, resulting in decreased service hours, books and other materials, as well as problems completing improvements to the six branch libraries.
Office of the Controller, Leo Levenson, Director, Budget and Analysis Division: Mr. Levenson said that the current fiscal crisis may be the result of increased spending over the past ten years, as property taxes and other taxes steadily increased. However, this increased spending is not sustainable, resulting in the current budget shortfall of up to or more than $500 million. The proposed set-aside legislation before the Board of Supervisors would cap set-asides and baselines at FY 08-09 levels. It allows a 25% reduction in set-asides when the shortfall reaches $100 million. He also said that the plethora of city set-asides reduces discretionary spending by as much as 80%
Municipal Executives' Association, Eileen Hirst, President:
Ms. Hirst echoed this concern about the drop in discretionary spending. Because of set-asides, she said, only 19-20% of the city’s budget is available for departments without set-asides.
MEA represents managers and other city executives. MEA entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City guaranteeing certain benefits. Despite this MOU, some members of the MEA gave back some of their benefits. In return for this give-back, the City agreed to study why the budget crisis has occurred. In sum, the SF budget process is uniquely complex. There is no centralized budget entity, making it easier to create and then abuse set-asides; an Office of Management and Budget should be created. Something is wrong with the budget system and it must be fixed, she said.
Public Comment
All public comment came from either library employees or members of library support groups and opposed library cutbacks:
Melissa Reilly, Librarian: The library serves all of San Francisco, treating everyone equally. Cutting back library funding at this time would be a grave mistake. The SFPL set-aside should be removed from the proposed legislation modifying set-asides.
Donna Bero, Executive Director, Friends of the SFPL: 74% of the voters passed Prop D to continue the set-aside. Cutting it is not a practical way to resolve the budget crisis.
Cathy Bremer, Librarian: The SFPL management is excellent for the first time in a long time. The set-aside significantly improved SFPL. The City needs libraries for information and leisure reading more than ever. The homeless rely on the library for support and shelter during the day.
Ellen Egbert, member of SFPL support group Council of Neighborhood Libraries: Before the set-aside, the library was disintegrating. Hours and staff have now increased, and it is important to maintain this high level of service.
Andrea Grimes, Librarian: The SFPL is a social safety net, creating community as well as improving property values. We need to fight a decrease in library services.
Q&A/Comments from Presenters:
Rebecca Rhine: There are no good choices, and everyone must pull together to deal with cost cuts. Everyone must give a little to assure the system will not be dismembered. Departments without set-asides, like the Health Department, now take a disproportionate hit in budget cuts.
Luis Herrera: The SFPL is working at peak efficiency. It is not appropriate to compare library funding and providing enough hospital beds. The library plans to issue $34 million in revenue bonds in March and more this summer or fall. However, SFPL can issue revenue bonds to finance branch improvements indefinitely.
Leo Levenson: Set-asides take an astronomical portion of the budget. Reducing set-asides by up to 25% could be an opportunity to restructure and think strategically to best preserve services for all.
CAC Comments & Questions:
Discussion followed in response to comments and questions from the LCAC. Supervisor Mirikarimi's proposed legislation is currently under consideration, but will be continued for the time being. Mr. Herrera said that if set-asides are decreased, it could impair SFPL’s ability to pay off its revenue bonds for neighborhood library projects.
In any event, because of the current crisis in the credit market, it might be necessary to sell commercial paper (i.e. short term debt) instead. Mr. Herrera also said there is currently a hiring freeze at SFPL. He also said that SFPL is open to negotiations to determine what to give up without dismantling the library.
Funding changes would put all services on the table, including those in the main library. There was discussion about whether money from the Federal Stimulus package could be used for libraries.
There was an announcement that the opening of the renovated Portola Branch will be on Feb. 28 at 2 pm. Everyone is invited.
Communication: Supervisors, Mayor, SFPL, Public
Linda Guitron presented a draft of a flyer encouraging the public to attend Library CAC meetings. Member comments on the flyer are welcome, but care must be taken to avoid having a seriatim meeting, which violates the City's Sunshine Ordinance. Discussion of the flyer will be on the March agenda.
4. There was discussion of a presentation on the Sunshine Ordinance, since as a policy-making body the LCAC is bound by the Ordinance. The Sunshine Ordinance prohibits seriatim meetings, which occur when a majority of the members are urged by email, phone or in person to support a particular position. The Ordinance requires that deliberations take place in a meeting that is open to the public. Members were urged to contact the chair to raise issues rather than emailing all the members.
Officer Reports
1. On February 10, the Board of Supervisors extended the LCAC for two more years, until March 1, 2011.
2. City librarian Herrera said that future BLIP neighborhood meetings would be scheduled to avoid conflict with LCAC meetings, as LCAC requested in a resolution.
3. The LCAC website is now on-line.
There was discussion of closure of the Park Branch Library for remodeling. Chair Cauthen distributed letters from Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council, Panhandle Residents Organization SF, and the Library Users Assn., opposing the closure. Chair Cauthen said The Haight Ashbury Improvement Assn. supports the closure. These organizations will be invited to attend the March meeting to discuss this issue.
There was discussion of the city’s practice of redacting contact information from citizen’s letters it receives. The city contends this protects the writer’s privacy; however it also prevents the public from contacting the writer.
At the next meeting the issue of set-asides will be discussed, along with consideration of preparing a position statement.
Minutes: Weaver moved and Guitron seconded a motion to approve the draft minutes of the January 21, 2009, meeting. Discussion followed regarding whether comments of LCAC members should be stated in the minutes. Chair Cauthen noted that the Sunshine Ordinance does not require this and that Roberts Rules of Order states that minutes are a record of what a group does not what is said. The motion carried 12-1.
Yes: Bamberger, Cauthen, Cuttler, Dismuke, Guitron, Kallen, Lee, Mills, Moody, Olinger, Skewes-Cox, Weaver
No: Warfield
The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 18, 2009, at 6 PM in Room 278 of City Hall.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 PM.
