for. if we were to look at this, we would look at this in combination with a number of different pieces. -- >> i appreciate this but i see this as a patient going to the emergency room. you have to stop more people from being foreclosed, and the new deal with the actual underlying illness. i think we're all on board for making certain that all of these steps are taken, but to make certain that there are no more people impacted by this -- that is why i think that all of us are saying that we should call for a moratorium, for the time being in san francisco. so with the mayor be willing to do this? >> one of the issues here is that san francisco is not just one part of the country that is

experiencing this. this kind of epidemic of foreclosure. while we are interested in this, we have to be aware of the regional and statewide and national implications. i think that we're interested in doing this but at this time we're not just going to do this ourselves. i don't think that would be the appropriate way to get the result we are looking for. >> i look forward to continuing the dialogue but the thing about this is that there are issues clearly of a national significance that are impacting the jurisdictions and ultimately, the solutions to those issues will require a national approach. nevertheless, with respect to those issues, we have acted

locally even though we know that the answer is ultimately -- requires a national solution. we are a sanctuary city even though the answer to the problem with the immigration system is national immigration reform. we took this step of becoming a sanctuary city before any other jurisdiction did this. and you take the action of domestic partner benefits. even though these were not recognized outside of this jurisdiction, we took the step of doing that even though no one else did this. and along the same lines we say we have a foreclosure crisis. why should we take the lead and say that we are going to have a moratorium here, and set an example for the rest of the country to follow? [applause]

>> my sentiments, exactly. >> i think the sense is that this is not our moratorium to call. >> i think that there are things that are locally our call. and i appreciate the willingness on the part of the mayor have this discussion. this is a big step forward. this is not just a resolution before the board of supervisors. this is something where all city officials and the legislative branch can join together and say that we in san francisco will not use our resources to perpetuate foreclosures in a system that is not working. supervisor avalos: to follow on

that, i agree wholeheartedly with what supervisor campos has said. the mayor's voice added to the resolution will be very powerful. the attorney general took the stand separate from 48 other states. i think new york did this as well. a history of taking stands has been done here in san francisco. so we would like to think that the mayor could actually put his best foot forward with us, in calling for that moratorium. my question to follow up with you, when we have enough investments and services locally, do you think the mayor would be open to giving more

resources in the budget, that there were not necessarily able to provide, so that we can actually grow. and we can work on the house and in san francisco? >> the attorney general settlement, this has penalty money that will be used for that purpose. we're interested in reviewing the portion of the penalty, to see the flexibility that we have to use those resources locally. we're looking at other options with stretching the dollar, so we can have maximum impact. as you know, these have been the hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis. this is something we're very interested in.

>> is there anything else tad? >> we certainly want to maintain our commitment with the federal dollars, and we have tried to protect the home ownership counseling. from the effect of a 27% cut over the last two years. we were able to do that and hold the line, although we were not able to increase that. at the time we were moving these dedicated redevelopment dollars, this is the time we see those cuts at the federal level. this is how we want to maximize these resources. we're happy to work with you all. >> i imagine that we will be able to get this resolution passed, i am not certain if it will be unanimous but by a majority of supervisors, maybe

the vast majority. and having the signature of the mayor on it and being able to talk about this after worlward l make certain that we do not have just voices on paper, we have the whole city government working together. >> we will work together to pass on that message. supervisor cohen: before you leave, mr. chu, the mayor's office of housing has few tools available. i wonder if your department has done any research to see what other municipalities are doing on the accounting level side. >> we're just trying to do that now. the focus group has been primarily the home ownership counseling groups, some lenders, some third-party intermediaries, and we are in

the process of trying to reach out to oakland and san jose to see if they have any additional tools. the primary leverage occurs when we have some sort of interest in the property. we offer the downpayment assistance loan and at those times we are able to work with lenders, to try to avoid foreclosure. we have been more limited and we are in the process -- we're going to hurt -- going to try to find out what other jurisdictions do in those situations. >> my question is, for example, what is the equivalent of the mayor's office of housing and in oakland, what are they doing? in stockton and modesto. the parts of california that have also been hit pretty hard.

is there any indication or conversation about that. >> my understanding is that up to this time, they have been struggling with the same issues. we have the relationships with the entities, if the municipality -- they have been limited in their ability to negotiate with the lenders. they have been reluctant for the regionally-based solutions. we would be able to carve out the exception to the natural rules. we have been a little less willing to do so. what we were alluding to before,

is in those cases, with the statewide coalition, this would provide a better source when working with one city. >> is this a priority of your department? >> this is a priority. i would say that four or five years ago, all of the discussion would be for the pre-purchased side. i think that walking through the hall, this is all about what we can do to avoid foreclosures. and you can see this in the work plan that we set up. this is going down and the foreclosure work, in short, yes. >> thank you. supervisor avalos: thank you, chair mar. >> i jus twant tt want to do a k

follow-up. i look forward to an answer on the issue of moratorium. one thing that i hope is also pursued, and you will have a follow-up meeting with mr. donaldson, is what is happening in boston. there is the public-private partnership that the mayor has been talking about in other aspects. you have the work being done with the hedge fund, i wonder if there is a way to do something like that. you are buying back properties, and selling them to people at an affordable price. and given some of the efforts that have been undertaken with the private sector, there is a possibility to do something like that.

>> this is an excellent point. we talked about that model, we have the enterprise and the stakeholders' meeting, and we have some information, where we start at the next meeting -- we will delve into that and look at what the model will look at in the san francisco setting. supervisor avalos: next up, we have from the sheriff's department, holmes and garcia. >> thank you for inviting us to take part in this. i am here with john garcia. and the head of the civil

section -- responsible for the evictions. he will hand out something to circulate to you. as you all know, the sheriff's department is mandated with writs of possession for a evictions. we have a small number of foreclosure-related infections that we have actually performed. if you look out the hand out, during the five months -- we have a total of 1238 provisions, with 37 that were related to foreclosures. and of the 37 we performed 25. so this is a small percentage of the evictions that we actually perform.

i wanted to indicate before he talks to you about how the procedures took place -- this has been done since the early days of the former sheriff's tenure, this works to enforce and affect the rights -- and we will talk to you about how this works. we have been gathering data on the evictions and we are doing more comprehensive data collection together to better understand the actual foreclosure-related divisions that are performed by the department. i will have lieutenant garcia speak to you. >> when the sheriff's department gets involved, this is at the

end of the entire process. we have the writ pof possession, so we -- we are at the tail end of this. this has been going on six months to year, if not more. we provide instructions to the plaintiff, and they give us all of the information that they have, if they are elderly or sick, or closure-related. we are mandated to propose the eviction notice and we do this 6-7 days off. we're the only department i know of that has this. this is with the sheriffs association, providing this.

they provide the defense collaborative information, skills and whenever they need for that information. we advise them that we cannot stop the eviction, but these are the people who will help you plead your case and help rectify this. this is my godsend in my unit and i take care of them, and we'd knock on doors -- and they leave packages that say, if you need help, call. just hear me out. he is bilingual and he speaks spanish.

they will bring the deputy out, and they will interpret this for us. we will do what they -- what we can but we are mandated by the workforce of fiction, we will give them temporary housing, if they have small children or whenever this need be. we get to this place, and this is between a rock and a hard place. we are very small position overall. this is 4-5 total in the last few months. we do what we can and offer more than any other department. we touch base with the other

shares departments, and continue to see all of the foreclosures as exactly the same. we do more than most any other departments in the state. we meet them if i go back out there, and most of the time we look to foreclosures. people and not have any contact. we're forced to carry this order and i will help you take the step of wherever you need to go. we do the best that we can. >> just looking at your handout, they're actually have

been addictions that have been stopped. applied for bankruptcy protection, trying to work out a deal. eventually they are canceled altogether we work out a deal -- or they end up carrying out the of fiction. >> is there a way to postpone the eviction? >> they have all of those little checked boxes, in the middle there, and the majority of the time, we have encouraged the plaintiffs, to carry this out completely. if they don't do this and this is an elderly person, this gives us all little authority.

if we don't have any contact, this is not necessarily have to be the check box. i will call my eviction systems that be and say to talk to this person. and then we will go out. if anyone calls, we will work to the best that we can so if this will be a matter of time we will try to give this as much time as we can. >> how does this field before doing a moratorium. doing a moratorium and a suspension on the foreclosure.

this has been widely-reported, with the fraudulent foreclosure process -- with the signing and the tracking that is going on. things are not going quite right within the banking system, seeking the modification. is there any other leeway that we can do to protect the actual victims from the sheriff's department. >> i will follow whatever the court tells me to do. i have tried not to get too involved, in this situation, obviously. the kids ask me, how was my day? i can tell you what my day was like.

it is not like we are immune to this. we try to remain neutral as much as possible. we will follow whenever we are mandated to follow. >> is there anything that your department is doing to provide any greater flexibility, for the households facing evictions? there is a way to postpone or delay? >> i have not specifically spoken to the sheriff about what her position would be on supporting the moratorium, the i am is certain that she would be open to the dialogue. she would be open to the constraints of law, for the foreclosure-related evictions.

>> thank you very much for -- are there any questions for the committee? next up, we have the d.a.'s office, kravitz of whitecollar crime, and -- the chief of special operations. i met with them last week. broadly, tell me about the work of your department on the organization, as well as how you have ferreted this out, with evidence of the households in need of greater consumer protection.

>> speak into the microphone. >> home ownership is a fundamental part of the american dream. most people who are born and raised here -- find it extremely hard to find a home for their family. when the home is lost to foreclosure or fraud, the impact is devastating to the entire family. the foreclosure crisis has affected people of color and the community in which they live. this has made foreclosure fraud a top priority since he took office. >> one at home is lost through closure or fraud, the impact in

short or long term is devastating to the entire family. we also know the foreclosure clashes -- crisis has disproportionately affected people of color in the communities in which they live. the investigation and prostitutes -- profit -- profit -- prosecution has been a top priority. we applaud the efforts of this committee. our office aggressively investigates and prosecutes all types of crimes. we currently have cases in trial. 28 homes, 37 homeowners, -- we are also actively investigating a variety of scams, involving consultants to claim they can arrest homeowners from

foreclosure, but who, in actually, further victimize them. there are more than 100 victims mostly from the city's russian community. there was a scam that targeted the city's spanish speaking community. we welcome and encourage people to report these things to the police or to us. this month, 01 residents from all parts of the city too easily contact us and communicate with us any concerns they have regarding mortgage or foreclosure fraud. the hotline number is 4 prominently posted on our website. in addition to foreclosure is scams, we recognized financial

institutions or people working for them may have engaged in fraud with false documents during the foreclosure process itself. california's nonjudicial rules have created a situation where county documents cannot be relied upon to help homeowners and figure out who holds their notes and who has the power to foreclose upon their homes. these rooms -- rules also make it difficult for law enforcement agencies to rely on the recorder system to determine whether foreclosure documents are in fact the fraudulent. looking forward, it is anticipated that the homeowner bill of rights, if passed, will provide a clear path for addressing foreclosures before homes are lost.

looking back, however, and trying to figure out which of the thousands of past foreclosures may have involved fraud presents serious challenges. we read with great interest the february 2012 audit commissioned by the assessor. after reading the report, we anticipated that the auditor would be able to turn over to our office significant evidence of fraud so we could begin an investigation. this did not turn out to be the case. based on discussions, we understand this audit was not and was not intended to be the type of audit -- forensic audit or something else -- which could be used in a criminal prosecution. we also understand that in order to basically identify specific documents which may have been intentionally falsified in connection with any of the 382

audited files, all the files would need to be looked at a new. we suggest this committee recommends the comptroller be consulted to commission a true forensic audit, one that can be used potentially by the d.a.'s office and the district -- the other of it -- other office. >> thank you. i had that conversation with the district attorney and i am very pleased to see the level of interest and commitment that he has to this issue. i personally think that asking the comptroller to conduct such a forensic audit not only looks more in-depth at the 382 loans that were reviewed by the assessor recorder revealed