staffed. yesterday, we distributed a copy of the legislation to the employees at our bars, and we asked them for their comments come in 1 st bartender said, "it looks like the city is trying to rob peter to pay for paul pierce " and that is their take on it. -- to pay for paul." and that is their take on it. hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax. this has not been touched upon, the affect the public taxation will have on us. your fee is going to pushing up an extra dollar. this will be passed directly on to us. we will be paying tax on top of that extra dollar. it is not fair, and we want you

guys to balance your budgets and us to balance our budgets. and with the taxes, we need to distribute them appropriately. thank you. chair avalos: next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is -- and i am the father of three children residing in san francisco. i come from a family that has four generations of out of business. i watched my father drink for years. but little or no attention to the needs of a child. providing for me and my family and myself. institutions and funerals. today, i in recovery. -- i am in recovery. but there is funding for

treatment facilities and medical services so that the ones that come after me will be out of this madness. today, and determined to make a difference with my kids and all of those others who have thought about following that path. thank you. chair avalos: thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, supervisors elsbernd, avalos. i am a member of sf cal. i also am here to talk to you about why this fee would be beneficial for you. we already know that youths are targeted in the community, and there are most influenced by messages around them. this fee will go to help fund some prevention services, and that is something we will really

need. also, also, also, i believe this will help to reduce the harm of underage drinking, and, finally, i would like to add on as someone who has grown up in the city that, first of all, i love my city, and there are millions of people around who love this city, too, and i do not think that this be in any way will harm tourism or businesses here. i strongly encourage you to pass this. thank you. chair avalos: thank you. net speaker, please, and i will call a few more cards. can -- next speaker. [reading names] >> good afternoon, my name is mike pedro, and i am speaking in

favor of the mitigation fee korea particularly, i want to talk about how the many kit -- mitigation fee -- and i am speaking in favor of the mitigation fee. particularly, i want to talk about how the mitigation fee affects me. coordinators have been cut because of the budget. and i think that money will go back into the community, for those service providers, and they get hired to work with

those used. i urge you to support this. chair avalos: thank you. next speaker, please. >> oh. i mix -- work with different types of youth. i will put it out there.

this is a great moment. this is a great opportunity. i do not know what we are thinking of. if we have that chance, we have this opportunity to show the we are continuing to support those. by passing this fee, then this is going to sit a great -- set a great example. thank you. chair avalos: thank you. next speaker. >> really well voiced from the previous speaker. thank you. my name is -- and i am talking

also about my partner. there were problems to do up of use in the family. that is one use that i am speaking about strong support for the mitigation fee. listening to the chief today, i was very impressed. they are both innovative and creative, and they maintain as many as 25 full-time equivalent in their department. i want to thank you for the good work that you do and that you can do with this innovative, creative, a positive proposal. thank you. chair avalos: thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. to some, the mitigation fee means nothing, but for us in these programs, it means a lot.

this will lead to educate our youth community. thank you. [applause] chair avalos: thank you. next speaker, please, and i will read some more cards. [reading names] >> good afternoon, supervisors. i come from france, where we help everybody. i have a business here in san francisco. this is another way to tax business owners. instead of taxing people, you should clean up the streets, and

you would have more business. koran slowes all of its -- france loves all of its chefs. i am a chef. san francisco, new york, houston, los angeles. that is where a lot of french ships moving. you are putting business out of the city -- a lot of french chefs moved. chair avalos: thank you. >> good evening, supervisors. my name is -- and i am currently in residential treatment reappear i am very aware of the effect of tolleson has on the individual. i was raised by two alcoholic parents. i've experienced many different

tragedies and have suffered greatly at the hands of alcohol abuse. ignored, these tragedies will continue to grow. these up on mitigation fees that are being proposed can create a much healthier future for liza are affected by alcohol. this allows the alcohol distributor and the many users of alcohol to help clear up the many destructive tragedy's that alcohol creates. which is only fair. the fear -- fee will also recover costs paid by the city for the-costs of alcohol abuse. money will go back into alcohol prevention and treatment services. this fee will also help preserve existing funds for substance- abuse prevention services. these funds could bring back jobs, such as case managers, treatment counselors. this money will support vital and necessary programs and

services that help our san francisco community and residence be safer and healthier. this sends a clear message to put health and that healthy lifestyles really matter to our city. our youth are harmed by alcohol, too. there have never been enough services in this city. as you know, our youth today are our future, so let's not pass up this opportunity for a better, safer future. i want to thank all supervisors for hearing us on this matter. thank you. chair avalos: thank you. [applause] next speaker, police korea again, if we can refrain from clapping. -- next speaker, please. again, if we can refrain from clapping.

[reading names] >> hello. my name is -- i am a bottle maker. i am here to oppose this tax because we're going to be hitting -- taking a hit in the bottle industry. everybody wants a piece of it. i have nothing against these programs. they are good programs. they need to be funded through the medical department and not taken off the backs of people trying to make a living in the city. it is absolutely ridiculous. the other thing, i keep hearing substance abuse. you have to separate that. let's just call it like it is. you need to separate these numbers and say that their alcohol numbered -- related and these are drug-related. this is like putting lipstick on a pig. it looks cute, but it is still a pig. you need to give people a fair

evaluation of what you're paying for. this is the same thing, substance abuse treatment. that is $9 million worth. so are you are going to hurt jobs of people paying taxes already? i have got 400 people already. we are going to vote -- to idle a furnace already, because we make wine bottles. you are going to hurt business. you're going to end up with underground sources of alcohol. let's face it. that is the reality. so, anyway, i want you to rethink this, do not try to rush this through. i am fortunate enough with my job that we have that insurance program. maybe we would not have so many alcoholics if we had more work,

so thank you for your time. chair avalos: thank you. next speaker. just to clarify, the nexus study measured costs related to alcohol and did not count substance abuse costs or substance-abuse issues. they were separate from alcohol. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is -- i am 42 years old. i have been living in the area since i was 6 years old. i am asking for the support of this the increase. this is essential for the continued services for those whose families and friends have fallen victim to alcoholism. this will provide education and support for those who are suffering from the illness. substance abuse and out of listen. this will help them to help themselves and to help them get

their lives back and get back to their families, their parents, their friends, their spouses, and become that which they need so much to be happy. we will be able to make this different, -- this difference, a difference in their lives. thank you. chair avalos: thank you. [reading names] >> been a star is -- buenas tardes.

[speaking spanish] [applause] chair avalos: gracias.

next speaker, please. >> no, my name is -- i am not sure if my name was called. i am the bar owner and president of the association on one street. i am here to explain why i propose -- opposed the proposed fee. we have seen tremendous improvement in the economic growth and community development along the corridor. this fee concerns me because i believe it is a hindrance to this revitalization. in this economy, everyone is watching their pennies, and this new fee will have a far reaching trickle-down effect. as a small-business owner, it will focus -- force me to either pass this down and risk patronage -- neither one of these options are prudent in the current economic climate. we're hoping growth continues.

earlier, we lost one businessman who was not able to overcome financial difficulties. we're looking for some things that did not have such a dramatic impact on businesses that are trying to successfully operate. chair avalos: thank you. next speaker, please. >> good morning, supervisors. i would like to ask the committee to think about this before making a decision today.

this means less funding with our business. i redo for this fee. thank you. -- i -- for this fee. chair avalos: : thank you. next speaker, please. [reading names] >> good afternoon, supervisors avalos, elsbernd.

we have seen cut after cut in critical services for treatment and prevention. there are those who wanted to reach out, with the principal at the local high school addressing issues, but, unfortunately, the program was disbanded because of significant cuts. risking their futures. alcohol is the no. 1 drug of choice for alcohol -- four teenagers in san francisco. there is a stunning number of alcohol billboards and signs. i feel that this fee is a very

sensible and reasonable way to effectively prevent and treat alcohol problems at a time when the services are incredibly important. thank you so much. chair avalos: thank you. next speaker, please. >> director, good afternoon, supervisors. you have received your written response in response to the legislation, so i am not going to vote -- to mention that. with supervisor mirkarimi, kind any -- putting it into economic perspective, in relation to our small wine stores and the neighborhood commercial corridors, the costs have been identified as a small increase. these entities have the

capability of being able to distribute that cost across other products. therefore " -- therefore, it puts them at an economic advantage to be selling product that the small retailers are not going to be able to, so that is the point that i want to identify, that this legislation has the potential benefit to the large big bucks and formula retail entities, should it be passed. the second thing that i want to point out is that many of them are operating at very small profit margins, and this increase, because there are restaurants or bars, they are going to be the ones that are going to be laying out the cash to pay for this. not the wholesalers. and operating at the small

profit margins, this is going to severely restrict their cash flow. i have talked to bars and restaurants, and this is going to increase their monthly cost of goods anywhere from $600 to $4,000, so i just want to put that into consideration, while we are talking about the wholesalers are going to pay for it, the restaurants, bars, our local businesses are the ones that are going to be floating cash, and they are operating at very tight operating margins. so thank you. chair avalos: thank you. kevin, richard, lisa marie, tracy mcintyre, and julio. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is -- and we are a wholesale distributor, and i

think we are the first and spoken today. we are a family owned company. there have only been two owners in 77 years. we are a sponsor and contributor to many charitable organizations, several fairs, on and on and on. we have been doing this for many years. we are also very responsible. i have been with the company for 31 years, to be a responsible community business. i would say we can to be a lot to events in the city. i was personally over five years a trainer of bartenders in the use of alcohol for their consumers. we are also supportive of organizations that we talked about here, and this includes mothers against drunk driving. we are not trying to do it

promotions for these excessive use of our products. so, again, we do do that. i think we have underestimated the number of the employees lost in the city. we have 145 employees ourselves. , if you take a look and all of the of a small restaurant retail stores, i think we have seriously underestimated that loss. again, this is going to be a pass-through. this will cost about $3 million. this is going to be a pass- through. each time there is a pass- through, this will add $2 per case to a retailer. to the consumer, you're going to add 50 cents per bottle to a bar that is going to be passed through. everything goes up, and there is a margin added, and we seriously underestimate this cost. we're going to lose jobs and drive jobs to other counties.

consumers are going to go shopping elsewhere. [bell] chair avalos: thank you. >> a key for the hearing today. it we want to be on the record as opposing this fee. we are disappointed in the nexus study. i would be curious if the city would ask the nexus study what the average blood alcohol at general hospital was. restaurants have liability civilly and criminally not to allow customers to get past a point. my guess is a lot of people going to the general hospital are higher. these are not coming from us. we teach training with the abc. we worked for responsible drinking as best we can, but

restaurants are criminally liable if we let them get that way, so you're asking us to absorb a fee-for-service is that we do not directly cause. i think, therefore, it becomes a tax. thank you very much. -- m zorba a fee for services -- absorbed a fee -- absorb a fee for services that we do not directly cause. chair avalos: thank you. [reading names] >> i think the way the fee is structured is not the way you fund the programs. i can say that deftly if our costs go up, we will have to lay off some employees. there are some additional costs

that will have to be passed on to consumers. there are those who regularly visit places in san francisco, and that will keep those people out in the east bay. i also have doubts as to the administration of this fee, whether it can be carried out in an efficient way. i know that healthy san francisco, they have not been as efficient in an administration as they should be. and i just hope that all of the supervisors' vote no on this. thank you. chair avalos: thank you. next speaker, please. michelle, ron, rich, amalia. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is andrew. i realize the city is trying to absorb costs that do not stem

from us or other bars, and we do provide training, alcohol and beverage commission trading, and we do follow all of the laws and the fees that have been imposed. it was said that this was one year in the making, and i find it hard to believe that this is the root of the problem. the basic structure of this, it does not fall on to small businesses. this is going to close small businesses. excuse me. close small businesses and caused economic decline further in our city. when the supervisors asked earlier if anyone had seen an economic or sky falling impact