concept of the companies getting the money. the money goes to san francisc ans that put solar on their homes. we reduced the amount that the homeowner or the organization has to pay to put solar up. that means that we carry that incentive. this allows for low income people in san francisco to get access to solar, which has transformed who gets solar in san francisco. it's really a question of vision and commitment. with respect to the $1.3 million that is left, go solar has always run out of money in the past year. supervisor chu: thank you. >> do you want me to end? i was going to answer the question of supervisor wiener.

supervisor wiener: please finish, very briefly. >> in the past, we've had boom cycles where we've gone through the money very quickly. it did not require all installations to have certified go solar sf work force development employees and now there's a requirement of 50% of the workers. what happened at the beginning of this fiscal year is that the sf puc made a number of changes reducing the amount of the incentive, expanding the jobs from just installer to back office and required that all installations have go solar sf work force development employees on the job. what that did is it witreduced e

drop of the incentive. it is a good thing. it was a benefit to the program. it has been a good start ship of the program by the san francisco puc. supervisor chu: if i can ask you to wrap up. >> yes. ia while ago, earlier this year, there was less than $1.4 million in the pot. i anders and there was about $1 million that was earmarked for low-income projects that were going to go forward. in those projects, the san francisco puc was notified and it they were told that the project would not go forward. net absent that amount of money going back into the pot, the sf puc did a really good job of estimating how much money and at

what clip it would be used. here we are at six weeks to the end of the fiscal year and we have $400,000 left in the pot. now, $300,000. supervisor chu: thank you. next speaker, please. >> my name is david, community advocate. i am asking the board of supervisors to keep full funding of the go solar san francisco program. i'm convinced it has done a lot of benefits for our neighborhood and did much to attract foreign technologiegree. i've met solar companies, including one provider who lives in my provider, working in my neighborhood, as well as those in other communities, whose jobs could be banished. the program allows the

disadvantaged people to gain experience in green trades and make them tomorrows business and community leaders. even these young people out on the street not only wasted the effort and investment, but also bashed their newly acquired confidence to have a better life. in these difficult economic times, the willingness of the city to continue investing and solar energy will send a powerful signal to domestic and overseas firms, a venture capitalists, and investment in our continue thescommunities. it will tell the world that our city is marching forward to the future.

the few million dollars is a wise investment for the community building in the future of san francisco. supervisor chu: thank you. next speaker. >> supervisors, good morning. 2007-2008, served as san francisco a commissioner san puc. i want to provide a little bit of context. if you recall, that year, the city came this close to approving a $271 million plant. that was canceled and go solar san francisco was issued. it has been one of the single most effective programs. at the time the program was created, there were three solar companies. today, we have over 30. as of this morning, the count was over 450 solar jobs. companies are locating in san francisco because of the

program. beyond that, it has brought down the cost to install solar by 25%. the day the go solar program was announced, we have 500 in the city. today, there are 2400 to one of the principal goals was to make this city a leader in solar power. it's really a question of what the economic vision for the city should be. how serious are we to be 100% renewable power by 2020? you cannot cut the solar budget and still make progress toward those goals. this is a net moneymaker for the city and here is why. when solar gets installed, it increases the property value. that increases revenue to the general fund. that's a material benefit, net benefit, to the city.

in addition, every single go solar project that is installed, the city keeps those renewable credits. over time, they become a system of revenue. supervisor chu: thank you. >> thank you. >> good morning. i'm the director for sun tech. one day, the true cost of our energy will be made apparent when the federal government removes billions and billions of subsidies. we moved here in 2007 because the city policy leadership on things like climate policy and solar. go solar sf is one of the central policy leadership items that was attractive to us. we are elated to be an anchor for many companies to come here

and follow us. they probably wanted to be associated with the city's leadership, too. these jobs and dollars, to the city because of the result of the program. it has been an anomaly of a low- income project. the small city incentive spurs the private sector -- it attracts the building owner to energy efficient programs. by the way, since solar does not use water, we also benefit from water savings. the city has supported a bundle of low and high cost energy programs. this is no different. this is a tiny budget funded by

water resources. please do not cut a program that seems to be working. thank you for listinening. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is walker wright. i work with petro solar. i work with an east coast company currently distributing the largest project that has created over 100 jobs in new jersey. i'm currently advocating to our company to open a fully staffed office in san francisco. i think the reason we are trying to do that is because we firmly believe that programs like go solar represent policy leadership in our industry. the suppliers are here. the people are here.

we can continue to grow our industry and be a part of a movement. i fully recommend the continued funding of go solar sf for these reasons. thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. from here on behalf of a leader in one of the fastest-growing areas of solar in the country, residential solar. . we were born in san francisco in 2007. one of the founders of our company installed solar on his roof in the mission. since then, we've outgrown the two offices and we continue to relocate within san francisco. we now employ over 100 people. you know, as the solar industry developed, policies, obviously, have a significant role in the nature of the market of element.

policies have shavetail we expand and grow. we now have over 10,000 customers over eight states. the policies also implement where we keep our roots. go solar sf has been a great sign of leadership on behalf of san francisco. companies are very attractive and want to be anchored in places that are known and seen by the broader industry and by the public as leaders in their support for solar energy. i just want to offer two additional fiscal considerations as you talk about extending the budget for this program. one is the extent to which private investment is. leveraged by this. as an example for a residential project, every dollar the city puts into a residential project attracts $8 or $9.

most of the investment goes to equipment and local labor. i just want to point out that the equipment purchases also generate revenue in san francisco. we're also adding value. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is monique washington. in the solar installer in san francisco. i was hired through the work force development go solar sf program. i'm here today because go solar sf gave me an opportunity to not only change my life but to build a career in the solar industry. i am asking that the go solar sf is not cut, but been fully funded so we can continue to grow and help our environment. thank you. >> hello, supervisors.

my name is melissa mcdermott. i was also hired through the work force development go solar sf program. i'm one of the low-income single moms this program has benefit. i do not need to get into where i was a few years ago, but i can assure you i was not paying taxes and you never find me in a place like this. i needed to get into something and i needed to do it quick in order to save my relationship with my family and be able to progress and make a difference in. my. -- in my life. in turn, i've also seen things from different perspectives professionally. i've seen families be able to install solar on their homes that would never in a million years be able to do that if it was not for this program. they are able to make a difference in their community

and teach their children how to respect our planet and move forward in a positive direction. also, many nonprofits have benefited from the program. i have been able to help with some volunteer installations and i have been able to see people in communities be able to walk a couple blocks from their home and volunteer. if it was not for programs training people and helping them learn something they can take to society in a positive way, we will not be able to do thank you thank. >> good morning. my name is angelo. i'm a 40-year resident, homeowner in san francisco. i could not believe my ears when i heard that the solar -- go solar sf program stands a chance of being the most.

when we had mayor knew sonewsom around, there were so many ideas floated. i thought, we are on the right track. they were talking w talkingiabod generator. they were talking about a tidal generator under the bay bridge. the one program that got us started was solar. it is here. the development is getting better. it's becoming cheaper and you want to nip it in the bud. just to show you where you are on this, go up to the top of twin peaks and look down. see if you can find those 2400 installations. they're lost in a sea of empty rooms. you have to be visionary and you have to think like this. where there is a will, there is

a way. all the numbers mr. harrington was throwing at you -- they do not mean a thing. you can find the numbers. you can find the money. where there's a political will, there's a way. i hope you are on board. thank you. [applause] >> my name is john risso, president of the board of trustees at city college. i'm here on behalf of the board of trustees. city college is the largest educational institution in city and county of san francisco sa.

it's one of the largest employers. we have almost 3000 employees. we have 100,000 students. 70,000 of them are san francisco resident. city college has suffered through several years of cutbacks from the state. this year, we are facing our most dramatic cutback effort. we have our own budget committee meeting tonight and i'm very much not looking forward to it. we have eliminated hundreds of classes already and we're looking at eliminating any more. our students are -- more than half of the students are on financial aid. our students are students who can only succeed at city college. they go on to four-year colleges. they go on to get a graduate degrees. we start with people who are

having real problems in their lives. some of them have not finished high school. what we are now looking -- looking last fall, we have 15,000 students who could not get into a class. absorb that. 15,000 students. they are more at risk to drop out when they cannot get into classes. we're asking for a one-year only amnesty of the fees that city college pays to the city and county of san francisco. it is $2 million from several departments. i have 1600 signatures here from students that i would like to give to you. we have finals going on right now, so students were not able to come here. we are going to have some students later this afternoon visit some of your office is to tell their stories.

supervisor mirkarimi: may i ask him a question, please? thank you whore being here. i am very sympathetic to this need and i endorse this idea. we have to be even about the stats and the numbers. is it in exemption that we should consider as a one-time, but are other institutions also obligated in the city, like school districts, like other departments were also required to pay.

>> the mayor gave the school district funding to help with a summer school. that was just announced recently. the school district also gets funding through an approved a measure -- the rainy day fund is what is called. the school fund also gets staffing. the city pays for staffing. the mayor did not offer us any money this time for summer school. we did not have a summer school last year. we are hoping to have a summer school this year. it will not be as big as we would like it to be. supervisor mirkarimi: i think that is an important step. on a utility level, that's what we're asking for. since we are bringing this back to the puc, help us figure this out a little bit. i will ask the puc at the end of

the public comment. what is the break or the exemptions provided to other institutions that are provided to pay into the utility that we can use as a foundation for this case? >> i believe there are city departments that do not pay anything for electricity. that is just what i have heard. i do not know what other institutions get or do not get. we are just asking for this one year because this is the worst year. supervisor mirkarimi: i think the city should do everything it can to foster that relationship with city college, just like we have with the school district. i know we have been talking about that. in the here and now, we have to navigate around our limitations. i'm looking at this discussion

at how we might be able to help as best as we can. you had been in negotiations or discussions with the puc. how far did you all get in at least some elimination of what city college's obligation is? >> we did not come to any agreement. it is not all utilities with the puc. part of it is a rent for facilities for the southeast campus, which is one of our 10 campuses. we also pay the up-keep on that building, which is unusual for the tenant to provide the janitorial services. we have 10 campuses. we're looking to see if we can still keep them. we have 100 satellite locations throughout san francisco in the neighborhoods and the communities. we are also looking at setting some of those down, as well.

as far as where things come from, i do not know where the quarter of $1 million -- i do not know where that came from. i would welcome wherever it came from -- something like that. this $2 million represents over 300 classes that could be saved. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. >> thank you very much. supervisor chu: thank you for your question and perhaps we can also ask the puc later on to explain. i think that the san francisco unified school district pays their electricity bill, as well. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. i residents of bayview hunters point. and currently at the design training program.

we work hand in hand with the go solar sf program. i'm a former foster homeless youth. my future depends on the go solar sf program. i ask that you take that into consideration that the future of the youth are in the hands of view, the beholders. thank you. supervisor chu: next speaker. joshua, james, steve, and jeremiah dean. >> good afternoon. my name is jacob. i want to speak on behalf of asian neighborhood design construction program. i would like to say that the go solar sf program is a wonderful program. it has already set in place a lot of installations and already established that it is

successful. cutting down a successful program is saying ok, you are doing a good job, but not good enough, so we are going to take what we have given you and take it back. i feel like that's not right. if it is successful, may be more funds should be allocated because it is successful, instead of being cut. i understand there are a lot of financial issues and separate entities that determine whether or not it should get the funding, but you should look at the success rate and also what it could do for the city as far as housing and energy efficiency and the whole green movement. it would be a wonderful opportunity for other communities and cities to look at us as an example. look, they were not doing so good in the beginning, but they kept with it and did a phenomenal job. i just want to say please keep

in mind that it is a successful program. just because it is not as successful as you would like it to be is not any reason to reduce funds. i appreciate that. supervisor chu: thank you. we do have a question. supervisor kim? supervisor kim: this is a question for anyone in the program. if you can state who you are employed by and if it is full- time or part-time, and if you are a resident of san francisco. >> i live in sunnyvale, the bayview district. i'm a pre-apprenticeship program, so a lot of different organizations. a higher students such as myself to work with them. mostly those companies would like to hire students such as

myself. it is full time work generally. it is sustainable work. its a good career move meant. supervisor kim: who is your pre-apprenticeship program coordinated by? >> jamie brewster. supervisor kim: thank you. supervisor chu: next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, supervisors. nice to see everyone who has come from the puc, the go solar program, and all the hetch hetchy people. my name is james patrick carroll and i made democratic candidate for mayor. this last year in san francisco, we experienced over 50 inches of rain and a record- breaking snowpack in the sierra. there's more water available now than ever. i think it would be an excellent idea to turn this.

into a win-win. yesterday, while walking through the tenderloin, i noticed that shop owners were spreading their buildings with high pressure spray water to keep the crack cocaine dealers from being anywhere near their block. i dithought this was a very intelligent way to keep them away from the stores. i heard the puc director commented that there was $1.3 million in profit available from the go solar program. he also mentioned that there's a $25 million available in a capital development program, which he, for some arbitrary reason, has chosen to absolutely not pursue at this time. why not force him to pursue that capital development program into

a private capital development program, and also use the $1.3 million surplus to fund a program in the tenderloin area to finally, for once, clean the feces and urine off the street and let the businesses spray their businesses would be high- pressure hoses to keep the crack cocaine dealers away. i believe it is the fox guarding the hen house when it comes to hetch hetchy. supervisor chu: thank you. thank you. thank you. >> thank you very much. >> i work for luminal. i came in through work-force development through the san francisco conservation board in the back office. just a little bit about what i