tv [untitled] February 24, 2012 10:00pm-10:30pm PST
10:00 pm
budget review, a legislative item review, and discussions with various members of the board of supervisors. we are recommending three audits. they would comprise 3600 hours of audits time in 2012. our proposed burk plan includes -- are proposed work plan includes 5500 hours of special projects in 2012. this is what was in our work plan. we are currently completing an audit on the evaluation of museum governance. hopefully, it will be completed shortly. do you would be three projects they would be ready to begin at -- these would be three products we would begin -- we would be ready to begin immediately. this would be an evaluation of how these two departments
10:01 pm
determined the need for services, whether the services are being contracted out, how they measure the level of service. their policies and procedures are for contracting and how they identify performance measures. we selected these two based on experiences we have had in other reports. we have found some concerns on prior reports in this area. the second when we are recommending, and this would be something we would recommend doing later in the year, would be to look at the impact of the transfer of the redevelopment agency's assets to the city. when we wrote our initial reports prior to february 1, we said there were many outstanding questions we needed to address. they need to be looked at more closely. at that time, there were some
10:02 pm
significant issues in terms of where the staff would be assigned. we were told that a lot of this would be presented in the budget. we believe that under the state law, the comptroller -- controller has certain obligations that they have. we are looking less at that that we are on the impact of city departments. our proposal -- so we know what we're working with in terms of 2012-2013. the third one is to look at public safety realignment. our proposal would be to start
10:03 pm
this much later in the year. this comes out of are looking at the budget in the current fiscal year where there were significant requests from resources from the sheriff's department and the adult probation department. we did make some recommendations. they were not necessarily accepted by the committee. we still have concerns about staffing levels and help the sheriff's department and the adult probation department are making this transition to new case loads. >> thank you. the ratio of plan hours versus allocated hours, that remains consistent from past practices? >> pretty much. but we added up all of our hours in 2011, and we found that we were on target with our work plan.
10:04 pm
we found we were able to be responsive and flexible within the work plan. >> thank you. >> these are the three right subjects. the one question i have is about the order. i think you have answered it in your comments about why redevelopment would come second. i thought before i heard your comments that it might make sense to make redevelopment first. the mayor and many of us have discussed the idea that there could be some sort of measure on the ballot to help address some of the funding shortfall. if we have the results of your proposal, it would help us frame how much we should shoot for. but i think you are making the point that you are not born to have much to analyze yet. >> that is our concern, yes. >> assuming this ms. forward as
10:05 pm
you have proposed, -- past -- assuming this moves forward as you have proposed, when can we expect to see the first audit completed? >> we would begin immediately. it depends on other resources. we would aim for shortly after budget. because of the nature, we might even consider a two-faced report. -- phased report. >> one of the issues that has been low on the priority scale, low on the issue at scale, but it is concerning to me, all the redevelopment employees are state employees. they will become members -- will you be looking at all of those various employment issues as well and what it means as a cost
10:06 pm
to the city? >> yes, we will be. the state has some very clearly defined responsibilities. anything we consider risky, we called back out in our report in february. we would definitely proceed on that. >> great. >> is there something you wanted to add? >> good afternoon. i am trying to sort out what would be the most helpful information to give you. we usually get more of an opportunity discuss this with the budget analyst office ahead of time so this list is new to us. it is your prerogative to audit whatever you like and we will be helpful and provide the resources that we have. in each of these three areas, there is a significant body of
10:07 pm
work that is already going on. one area or the other, health and human services, nonprofit contract, for example, i am sure you are aware there have been several task forces. there are live recommendations going forward in different formats from several of them. improvement in the contracting process. a very strong joint monitoring effort that the city makes. we can help with design to make sure that the time the budget analyst spans is most productive. i feel like in that area we have a lot of strong interest appropriate control activities already going on. -- risk of appropriate control activities already going on. a lot of the transition process these will not be complete until quite a bit after the budget is done. the financial statement audit, which is required, will come
10:08 pm
after that. in each of the major transition issues, there is a working group that is trying to do things like -- i am not the most qualified person to speak on it. i am not part of the working groups. but we do have staff in these projects. finally, with realignment, you approved a transition plan. there is a county executive body. my office has a commitment of resources to data tracking. we have a project that is looking at every place or a piece of data about any of the populations are being tracked and treated and managed. i just want to make you aware of all those things. if you choose to go forward, we will try to make sure we help. i wanted to let you know that. >> thank you. questions, colleagues?
10:09 pm
we will open up to public comment. in the members of the public who wish to speak on the matter? they will have two minutes each. >> i agree with the first two recommendations i do not think the sheriff's department safety issues is a high priority at this time. i would prefer to see an audit of the city attorney's office or even the ethics commission. secondly, in your budget plan, you are allowing each individual supervisor to request of to 150 hours for an audit. i do not think that is good public policy. i think it can lead to abuse. they can be used as political weapons.
10:10 pm
supervisor wiener was held in violation of the sunshine ordinance last month, i believe. within a week, he ordered an audit of the cost of complying with the sunshine ordinance. it is more than coincidence that supervisor wiener asked for a survey of complying with the sunshine or dance. -- ordinance. if each supervisor requested 150 hours, that is one-third of the amount of hours you are budgeting for the entire year. the 150 should be eliminated. the audit should be pursuant to
10:12 pm
10:13 pm
>> as my fellow public people mentioned in the fall of 2011, shortly thereafter, he ordered a survey of the sunshine ordinance be prepared by the budget analysts office. he did several information requests from members of the public to find out that supervisor wiener was behind this survey of the cost of the sunshine ordinance. e-mails from the budget analysts office a short -- a short -- assured the are only conducting an analysis for the board of supervisors. why would he be trying to keep the request secret? why would the office been concealing his role in this? what did they have to hide from the public? last year, this committee approved a 2011 work plan that
10:14 pm
included research reports as requested by individuals and the board of supervisors. these reports may be kept confidential at the discretion of the requesting board member. the same statement is in your 2012 plan. this type of secrecy is against open government. please do not approve a work plan that allows for secret reports. thank you. >> thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i would like to thank the board of supervisors for approving an audit for the department of public health. it is a start. if you are serious about saving
10:15 pm
money to help the poor in san francisco, and you'll find plenty of waste and inefficiency at the department of health. the budget which analyst the did the budget analyst did do a report on the department of public health and 20 -- in 2003. my own department was involved in that report. i would like to recommend that the 2003 report be read before the audit plan is done so you will have an idea of what to look for in order to save money. secondly, i was very impressed by the three previous speakers. for the record, this committee is supposed to be a watchdog, not a lap dog. hopefully, we continue that tradition with the current makeup.
10:16 pm
for the record, dereliction of duty, abuse of power under the color of authority. let's put it this way, everybody knows that san francisco is a mountain to climb if you are trying to fix certain things. the only way you'll get it fixed is to put people on notice, so they cannot say they were not aware of it. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. >> i have no specific objection to the three priorities for the work plan. i do think it is good for the unit not to duplicate efforts. i had to other ideas that either
10:17 pm
could be audits or handled in another fashion. one is the law library. there has been recent activity to move them out of the memorial while the building is worked down. more recently, their downtown branch is slated to close in two weeks. they have some funding issues because of the -- a better understanding of what the city is required to do. both under state law and the charter requirement and what is currently happening. this may be a small thing that someone could do and there may be another way to do it. i do not think it needs to be put in the formal work plan. i am kind of interested in the future of law library. the second is city property south of cesar chavez and east of 101. department of technology, they
10:18 pm
all have properties there in various configurations. there are a lot of issues with that property both east and west of the caltrain tracks. this could be a work item for the real estate division, the capital planning committee but i understand there is some movement with respect to the market which the city -- a focused look of all of that property and that configuration going forward. i look forward to those items and maybe you can find some way for them to death attended to in the next 12 months. -- for them to gets attended to in the next 12 months. >> [inaudible] [laughter] >> i am not sure about that. i am not sure if i'm the best person to answer that. i did not come here to talk about sunshine, but i certainly can.
10:19 pm
>> if you could send me an e- mail about some of your thoughts. >> i do not have e-mail. >> however you want to communicate. >> in the other members of the public who wish to speak on item number one? public comment is closed. i just want to thank members of the budget and legislative analyst's office. i appreciate your hard work on this. in the comments? -- any comments? so moved. >> item number two, work plan for 2012, establishing performance goals and setting a date for the annual performance evaluation of the joint partnership. >> miss campbell is here to speak on this item again.
10:20 pm
>> good afternoon. our proposed work plan for 2012 is very similar to our work plan for 2011. it does include a series of performance measures by which we would be evaluated at the end of the year. we have not made any significant changes to the performance measures. we have identified there will be changes to the budget. budgeting procedures the share. -- this year. we will be moving into a two- year budget for the general fund department. however, we have not recommended any changes. previously, the right on target. we thought it worked well. we are recommending 3000 hours for budget, mostly made in japan. -- mostly in may and june.
10:21 pm
the same provision that we would do limited number of hours for a special request of supervisors that did not require a motion from the board. >> ok, any questions, colleagues? i would like to open it up to members of the public. >> supervisors, if you look at your packet. the second to last page, that is where this policy analysis comes again. these projects will require 150 staff hours or less and be read the reports may be confidential documents. this sounds like something that is secret that is not approved by the board, that is not discussed, that is not open to public comment. a work plan that includes
10:22 pm
confidential reports paid by taxpayers should be reconsidered. thank you. >> thank you. are there any other members of the public who wish to speak? >> good afternoon. in addition to my previous comments on the audit plan, since we are dealing with a work plan, i would like to make three recommendations. first one is the obvious. the first ever full audit of the department of public health, which is the biggest user of general fund money. do not ask me why it has not been done. secondly, i would like a work plan involving the ethics commission. all you have to do is mention -- that is sufficient to explain why the ethics commission needs to be checked out. thirdly, it is the whistleblower
10:23 pm
program. there is no need to explain that. if the whistleblower program was clean, it would not have needed civil grand jury. i, myself, would like to challenge the mayor to have a face-to-face discussion of the whistleblower program because i have been told he was one of the formal letters of that program and he ought to be able to defend it face to face. >> thank you. i will pass on your challenge request to the mayor. any other members of the public who wish to speak? public comment is closed. colleagues? we have a motion to move to item 4. so moved. are there any other items? >> are we are adjourned. -- we are adjourned.
10:24 pm
10:25 pm
life of an innovative artist from the california clay movement. stephen de staebler's developed in an area dominated by abstract expression. even his peers saw his form. >> he was able to find a middle ground in which he balanced the ideas of human figuration and representation with abstraction and found it even more meaningful to negotiate that duality. >> another challenge was to create art from a meeting that was typically viewed as kraft material. his transforming moment was an accident in the studio. an oversized vertical sculpture began to collapse under its own weight and spread onto the floor. he sought a new tradition before him, landscape sculpture.
10:26 pm
>> you feel this extended human form underneath the surface of the earth struggling to emerge. eventually, it does. it articulates his idea that the earth is like flesh, and the archaeology and geology in the earth are like the bones, the structure of the earth. this tied in with his idea of mother earth, with the sense that we are all tied to nature and the earth. >> a half dozen bay area museums and private collectors loan the massive sculptures to the museum for its matter and spirit retrospective. but the most unusual contributions came from stephen himself. a wall of autobiographical masks and hence from the early decades of his private study. >> he had one of the most beautiful studios i have ever been in. when you walk in, your first impression is of these
10:27 pm
monumental figures that you see in the exhibition, but if you went into the back corner of his studio, there was a series of shells with these diminutive figures. he told me, these are the heart of my studio. these little, and held intimate study is that he referred to as his sketchbook. a painter might make drawings. stephen de staebler made miniature sculptures. >> during the 1970's, he was inspired by the monuments of egypt. he assembled a large rocks of clay into figures that resembled the ancient kings and queens. he credited a weathered appearance by rubbing glazes' into the clay while still wet. the misfires from his killed were brought in his backyard in his berkeley home. he called it his boneyard. in the last year of his life, he dug up the artifacts from his own history, and the bones were rearranged, in the were slimmer
10:28 pm
figures with wings. >> even if you knew nothing about his life or career, you sensed there was an artist dealing with this fundamental issue of life and death, the cake, netting back together, and you feel there is an attempt to deal with mortality and immortality. there is a seeking of spiritual meaning in an existential stage. >> during his 50-year career, stephen de staebler worked to form and out of the clay of the ground and give it a breath of life. matter and spirit gathers the many expressions of his meditations. and gives the viewer and insight into the artist's life. learn more about the retrospective on line at
133 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
SFGTV: San Francisco Government Television Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on