field and strengthens all facets of city services. this could be accomplished by bringing back corporate tax on progressive scale so as not to hurt small business, but put the business dollars back in the city coffers and aid in reducing cuts to essential services. with the planned cuts to city contractors, the frail elderly, the sick, the mentally ill, and children will suffer needlessly. some nonprofits employees were already working to end three jobs to make ends meet while working in understaffed conditions. san francisco, whose motto gold in peace, iron and more -- unofficial motto, not smug, just better -- can surely find a

way to increase funding stream so we can better serve and strengthen our communities. thank you, and please help us make san francisco a stronger city through community neighborhoods that supports all of our people. supervisor kim: thank you. next speaker. >> this is a very strange experience. i am more accustomed to listening to public testimony. i am here today, i have recently joined the board of family service agency. i now cheer their finance committee. we have been -- i now cherish their finance committee. -- chair there finance committee. there is very little cash. they rely heavily on the line of credit. when budgets, revenues stay

flat, the only thing we can do is make immediate changes to service levels. we have no choice. the impact on our employees and clients can be very immediate and direct. it is a real challenge to continue providing the services we need to provide. most of you remember me as cfo for the health department. in the 10 years i was in that position, i presided over some pretty tough budgets. we had the dtot.com collapse, te recession, this is not one of those years. this year, the deficit does not look at large to me. the recession seems to be coming to an end and it appears that each quarter, the city's results were better than the previous quarter. the time is right to reset and start finding sustainable

solutions to our budget problems and stop the one time solutions better made up of employee concessions and flat funding. that time has -- that time has to come to an end. it is not sustainable. it is nothing more than a one time solution. over a period of years, it has a huge impact on the employees and on the workers and the clients being served. i would really encourage you to find a solution to this and take a new approach this year. thank you. supervisor kim: there is a question. supervisor kim: it's great to see you back here. did dph also contract with for- profit entities? >> there were a few. it might have been contracts

for specialized services around dialysis care at the hospital with outside agencies. we have a number of it contracts. supervisor kim: you had a number of real-estate contracts as well. in those for-profit contracts, was it almost expected? did you automatically puts in an escalator? >> i think most of those contracts for multi-year contracts. they did have a five-year plan for funding. there was an increase built into those. that is pretty standard. when we would send out a rfp, we will be looking for a five-year contract. in many cases, they would try to build savings into the early years.

they would fund the contract at a below market levels for a year or two. >> thank you. i am imagining, there is a lot of conversation around the treatment of the nonprofit contracts versus other contracts. to be fair, some of the contracts with service providers also allow for us to recover or pay them for the actual cost of utilities, for example, those kinds of things. we may be paying for the actual bill, correct? >> i am trying to think of examples. i am not sure where that would apply. the contracts are the large i.t. contracts and a large contracts that we rely on. uc is another example of an organization that has two components. they have the non-faculty cost

of doing business. and costs that we could just easily provide ourselves, but have opted to have the university provide those services under their auspices. we need to pay for those costs. or we could take it back and run it ourselves. we could hire those employees. that component of their increase each year it is a couple of 8 percent. anything above that typically has been for occasional increases to faculty costs that are necessary to attract and retain radiologists, anesthesiologists, surgeons. supervisor kim: not to diminish any of the pressures that nonprofits have faced in terms of health care costs, but i want

to be careful of the blanket the saying that all nonprofits have had -- have not had any adjustments. i would imagine we might find within different contracts different provisions. i want to caution that. that is the point. >> thank you. >> standing with me are representatives of our 203 employees. i am telling part one of our story. the board chair is here, as well as one of our case managers. the episcopal community services service over 12,000 unhoused folk or people who would be homeless or could be homeless, but for services like hours each year.

we do that through permanent supportive housing, shelters, education and employment, and senior service programs. we are a key partner with the city and its work to prevent ending -- prevent homelessness. we need some help. since 2007, our health insurance costs have increased by 76%. our workers' compensation coverage, the premium has cost more than 200% more. we will spend half a million dollars on workers' compensation this year. our food costs have doubled, are rents have increased by 2%. the effects of no increase, first of all, these good folks have not had any raised since the end of 2007 but for more modest longevity increases.

in fact, we have decreased their wages by discontinuing our employer contributions. we have lost 18 jobs, effective last july. our senior service center is not open every weekend. we do not teach in the evenings. each of our staff members have a higher caseload. we're not able to support our recently house employees, which puts them at risk for return to homelessness. [applause] supervisor chu: i am going to call a few more names. >> good afternoon. thank you for having us. i am a resident of the city and

a founder of a private equity firm. i have the privilege of serving as president of the board of directors of the episcopal community services. the operating -- i'd join karen and our staff, board members and clients, urging that fiscal year 2013 is the year that you include a cost of doing business adjustment. about 70% of breaking million- dollar budget is supported by contracts -- -- contracts by the city. it also provides supportive housing, many of the services carriage is listed, that depend on this funding. -- karen just listed, that depends on this funding. we have been asked to offset

with private fund development. we worked very hard on that, and continue to do that. between 2006 and noun, we'll ground are donor base from 400 to about 635 organizations. that is great, but it is nowhere near enough to offset the loss that inflation has caused on all of these. what we are looking for is that we have no other alternative for covering that gap. we will continue to build their funding capacity, but we need your help. as a resident and business owner, i am proud diversity has a history of caring for the most vulnerable among us. i ask you to ensure the city of san francisco remains the city that cares. thank you. [applause] >> good afternoon, supervisors.

i am a proud member. i want to speak briefly about my experience on the front lines. i saw 18 of our jobs disappear last year due to layoffs. our caseloads and supportive housing grew about one-third. our behavioral health team shrunk to a team of eight workers, serving five shelters. that means fewer of us have been around to respond to crisis, to provide conflict resolution, and to prepare meals. this meant that when i came to work, there were a few of us working in the shelter. i would have to take on extra duties. this meant that providing safe, secure, and dignified accommodations to are homeless residents has been more difficult. flat funding has also meant flat wages. the non-profit sector collapse

far behind comparable wages in the public sector. we believe that our work does warrant a justifiable living race. some of us have responded by taking on second jobs, if we could find them. i was fortunate enough to find part-time work. i worked seven days a week, a 16-hour shifts. some of my close co-workers, have not been so fortunate. they have lost their jobs. some of them have eventually become homeless again. for some of us, we are on the verge of burnout. with my colleagues, i urge you to recognize that this is the

time to adjust contracts. [applause] supervisor chu: if i could ask folks to hold their applause. thank you. >> i and the executive director, and we are an organization that provides very basic services to chronically homeless in san francisco, saving the city all lot of money every year. there have been no increases in the city budget since 2007. therefore, we have not had the ability to cover escalating costs of doing business. those increases for us included 2% annual increase in rent, medical insurance, we're facing

a 12% increase. our workers' comp increase came in at 21%. we had no plans for how to address that. food and client related cost increases every year, as you are well aware. our buildings and equipment are aging. we are due for a liability insurance increase the share as well. since we are mostly supported by city funds, we have not had the additional funds for salary increases and staff has had no increase since 2007. i want to speak to the contacting issue because we are given a lump sum to work with every year. we can redistribute that the way that we want to cover utilities or whatever. it is still the same lump sum. it means that we have to reduce staff in order to continue.

we scramble for other supplemental funding to cover the costs, fundraising is very difficult in this economic environment. it results in a deficit for agency. the impact over the years means no raises for staff, and reducing the staff in our shelters, centers, which affects the quality and quantity of services. i support the cost of doing business. supervisor chu: thank you, next speaker. >> are in the executive director of hamilton family center. we provide a range of services to homeless families that help the families become rehoused. we have a contract with the city to operate a large homeless family shelter in the tenderloin.

we have about 50 families in there every night. we have had flat funding since 2007. we of that increase in health care, workers' comp. we have been unable to provide appropriate wages to our staff. we have had to cut some staff, cut children's programming. we have had an increased acuity of need in our population staying in shelters every night because of mental health cuts and the pressures of the recession. families are under a lot of stress. you would think that with a shelter that has 50 families every night, we would be able to have at least one staff person on each floor every night 24-7, but we cannot do that. we have an understaffed shelter situation. we have a lot of turnover. we have lower quality of services because of that. we could get our families

housed more quickly if we had better staffing and safer conditions. it feeds on itself, and as the star of the situation, the decrease in quality of services just feeds on itself. it is time to stop the bleeding. supervisor chu: a few more names. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. i am the executive director located in the mission district. i am here in support of the cost of doing business. i think all the speakers have provided you with a good analysis and understanding of why this cost of living is needed and necessary. i want to share redact in the last year, i have had to have conversations with key staff who

have painfully separated from the organization of around the fact that they cannot afford to keep their families in the bay area. not only in san francisco, but in the bay area because of the salaries. for me, the ultimate impact is on capacity, on the generation of leadership we need to have in our communities, in our city come to be able to provide the kind of compassionate care that so many people in body. -- embody. i faced those conversations, people have tried every measure along with working with me and my organization to try to problem solve. in the end, they were forced to leave. it is forced migration, as far

as i am concerned. what we are losing here it is the true quality of care capacity that needs to be -- we will suffer in the end on many levels. i am here to support the cost of doing business. i want to thank all the people who have provided testimony. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i am with san francisco and suicide prevention. thank you so much for having this hearing. i have brought a visual, these are toys. i brought one for each of you. these toys are what i give my staff because i cannot give them raises. i give them a toy whenever they do something wonderful. the result is, they like the toys, but they cannot take them to the grocery store.

after a while, their desks become very cluttered. [laughter] messy looking. and they blame me. these are yours. [laughter] [applause] we work out life-saving tasks. we answered the phone with crisis call 200 times a day. we answer calls on the computer. in fact, i have had to cut back on staff because i have had no increase. i have had to cut back on my own salary and that it had to cut back on other administrative salaries. i have had staff move to the east bay. garrison keeler has said that it is at the swedish model. take all your money and give it

to the rest. i do not believe this. i do not believe the city and county of san francisco should make this the policy. we should be structural, i am tired of hearing the words structural mean somebody but me. i feel like a dog under the dining room table. if larry ellison and his yacht is structural, i want to be structural, too. [laughter] [applause] i want our staff to be structural. i want our clients to be structural. thank you. [applause] supervisor chu: next speaker. >> hello, supervisors. my name is daniel smith. i am here to ask you to include a cost-of-living wage for

nonprofit workers. we provide services to the community that most people prefer not to deal with. homelessness, drug abuse, mental issues, illnesses, and hunger. it takes a special person to work in this type of environment, as the work can be challenging, and the rate of pay is much lower. i have lived and worked in san francisco for nonprofit organizations for close to 10 years and have not received a cost-of-living raise in over four years. at the same time, by cost-of- living has increased on a daily basis. taxes have increased, and has gone up, and gasoline prices, food prices, and medical expenses have increased. i woke up this morning, i turned on the news and found out that i am probably going to be paying

parking meters on sunday. the nonprofits worker has made many sacrifices just to maintain. it is time to give credit where credit is due. thank you. >> good afternoon. i have worked in three agencies in san francisco, the family service agency of san francisco, but my most proud employment has been working at west side community services. our agency works extremely close with the department of human services, and we have a contract with them. i am a mental health therapist at west side. our agency works with families,

individual children, conducting therapy for recipients who have experienced mental illnesses. major depressive disorder, post- traumatic stress, multiple traumas, helped issues, domestic violence, substance abuse, nutritional needs, etc.. we teach and motivate can build our clients up. we tried to provide resources and we nurture them back. when possible, to a better mental health. we work with all nationalities throughout san francisco. oprah winfrey said it best, teachers and mothers have the hardest jobs. i would like to add that therapists of all kinds should

be included in this, too. we need a raise. supervisor chu: thank you. >> thank you, supervisors. there is no immediate here and did is one of the most extraordinary events i have seen in this building in over 30 years. we have never seen such a clear and concise statement of the significant structural problems with their city's budget where we have to wonder where we find the money to maintain basic services and pay people a decent wage. i will bring you about 50 articles that are very specific. what needs to be done is to add the 3% cost of doing business to the budget. once it is in the budget, let's look at where we can cut. instead of keeping us on the

outside. i love a lot of the managers, but it seems that every new city management job starts at six figures. there are probably a lot of people -- we do not ever talk about cutting management salaries. police said -- instead, we said, management salaries are in our budget. my organization no longer has a capital budget. i can see the media story. we used to have $100,000 a year in our capital budget. now we have zero. we do not even get to our rent increases paid for. not in our budget. you love for all the stories. if we take the attitude that we have to get into the house when

all the other things are solid and cannot be touched, that is what keeps happening. we have to change the mindset. we need to look at what is currently funded, if that is really the issue, as well as expanding the pie. we cannot be on the outside anymore. supervisor chu: i am going to call a few more names. >> we are members of the progressive workers alliance. i am here today to express our support with all the nonprofit workers in the room.

they are calling for the nonprofit workers a raise is. we work with low end, chinese immigrant workers. abc everyday the workers to really make this -- we see every day the workers to relinquish run this economy. they serve this city and they're dealing with exploited working conditions and low wages. a lot of those folks go to these agencies for services. the agencies that serve low- income communities, their work is desperately needed and very important. we live in a time where -- i note as members of the board of supervisors, youac