million in wages to their households. in 2010-2011, film production spent over $56 million here in san francisco on a hotel, laborers, supplies, and other services. i will talk more in detail about it, but i wanted to introduce it briefly. i will ask, through the chair, suzanne robinson, executive director of the film commission, to come up and speak about the program itself. >> thank you. could we turn on the powerpoint presentation? thank you. my new film office coordinator is going to help me with the powerpoint. thank you, supervisors, for having me speak today. as executive director of the san francisco film commission, i strongly support the extension of the rebate program. i wanted to start by giving you a little bit of background about the state of the film industry today.

gone are the days when productions would shoot wherever the script was written for it. now productions but whoever they can find the best incentives. -- productions go wherever they can find the best incentives. this is because of videos and on demand services combined with the economy. it has affected their bottom line. so they cannot count on dvd cells or theater tickets as a steady source of revenue, and they're going to were the confine the largest rebate to make the best cost-effective decisions. productions are being taken away from california, and hence san francisco, by large incentives offered on the state level as well as internationally. states like new york, louisiana, new mexico, georgia, and illinois offer large incentives to productions that should there, with incentives as high as 30% to 40% in tax credits. according to the motion to adjourn association, studio feature film production in california has dropped 40% in it

-- since -- has dropped 40%. this lores production away from california and san francisco, it is and essential to have an incentive to offer producers to entice them to consider filming here. our rebate program is just that. for productions that can combine our rebate program with the california film estate tax incentive, which is a 20% tax credit, being able to combine that incentive with our rebate program makes it much more cost effective and much more appealing for them to shoot here. without the rebate program, most of the rebated productions shot here since 2006 would have gone elsewhere, wherever they could get the best deal. feedback from filmmakers indicate that our rebate program has been a key factor in their choosing san francisco as a location for their productions. according to dean jones, the co- producer of a show was shot here in 2000 and two dozen, a

pilot cannot have happened in san francisco without the rebate program. the show employed over 125 people every week for a year equality in wages with thousands of dollars spent every day with local vendors. each episode qualified for a $30,000 to $50,000 rebate from the city. the series would have gone to another city without this type of support offered through the rebate program. the exhibit of producer of an hbo show city center in rebate is a key factor in bringing mlb to the bay area. the rebate combines the california state tax incentive, makes san francisco a real drop for filming. it is particularly helpful for midsize budget films where every dollar counts. when choosing between shooting locations, the extra $600,000 really helps san francisco to edge out the competition.

lastly, a producer of another show that was shot here last spring said had it not been for the rebate program, we would have likely shot in l.a. and kunduz san francisco for no more than three to five days. the program was key to our production to reduce san francisco for the full run of production in principal photography, a total of four months. these three productions hired 90% local crew and the local actors, local background, so they were supportive of our san francisco work force. since its inception in 2006, the scene in the san francisco rebate program has been used by one television series in six feature-length films. one and title animation project by disney, which is currently in san francisco for three years. it has applied and been approved to receive a rebate. the disney production has not submitted any fees yet to be rebated at this time. as you can see, four of those

related productions participating in the program since january 2011. this increase in rebate production is in part due to the increased visibility of the scene in the san francisco rebate program, which our office has been promoting strongly through attendance at trade shows, one-on-one meetings with producers and studios, and placing targeted ads in trade papers, making the rebate much more visible. we're also currently seeing a lot of press mentioning our rebate programs with the impending release of the hbo movie. so the word is out and the interest is increasing. as you can see, we have had recent coverage in the "l.a. times" and the hollywood reporter and a location died. our rebate program was the topic of conversation at a recent california film commission brunch for more than 200 producers. a panel spoke about shooting the hbo film in san francisco.

that was a great meeting to be at, because those producers were taking down notes and coming up to me afterwards and arresting more about the program. we got a lot of coverage from that one breakfast. the combination of this recent press and positive reaction at the breakfast is creating buzz about san francisco and our rebate program. i expect this to translate into more production shooting here in the near future. overall, i feel the scene in san francisco rebate program has been a great success. since 2006, the city has rebated a little more than $1.5 million. those productions paid more than $12 million in wages, employed almost 4,000 when you add in the background actors, and had a direct local spend of more than $40 million. i think these numbers show that this estimate we're making with the rebate program is paying off. already for the coming year, i know of two feature films which

plan to apply for the rebate program, including the woody allen film that will be shooting here hopefully in august, provided this continues. and a third which plans to apply before the end of 2012 but they're able to get the california state tax incentives. and they would be probably starting production in december. the momentum for filming in san francisco is on the rise, now that protections are aware of our rebate program. it is isn't so that we extend the program to continue to attract these productions -- it is is essential that we extend the program. it will provide jobs for local group, actors, and we will have these large amounts of direct spend coming into the economy. i respectfully ask you to extend their rebate program for another two years. thank you. the have any questions for me? -- and do you have any questions for me? [applause] supervisor chu: thank you. why don't we go to the budget

analyst report? then we'll open it up for public comment. >> on the bottom of page two of our report, we point out that as shown in table 1, page 3 of our report, that of the previous appropriation by the board of supervisors, it shows the rebids for production companies. a balance of $260,179 for additional rebates. on page four of our report, we point out that the balance of $2,260,179 would be available for additional rebates to qualify filming and television production to but is it the board of supervisors appropriates the additional $2 specify. we consider approval of this to be a policy matter for the board

of supervisors. supervisor chu: thank you. before we go to public comment, i believe supervisor farrell has a few comments to make. supervisor farrell: yes, three amendments that are administrative. one to clarify the this program was effective july 1, 2012, simply a date issue. as well in terms of making sure that we were clarifying, a clarification about the dollar amount. on the title of the ordinance itself. we're going to say up to $2 million, understanding we are in the middle of the budget season. that will be included in our budget going forward. on page 3, line 22 -- exceed $2 million by june 30, 2014, and insert subject to annual appropriation.

supervisor chu: thank you. it's open this up for public comment. i have a few speaker cards. eric, catherine, dan, debbie, jeff, lauren, and lydia. >> thank you. my name. eric, -- my name is eric, a third-generation san francisco movie teamster drivers. i spoke the last time this came up for approval. it is a huge difference. we had a "trauma" and the others. we just finished a "maverick." i was the transportation person on the hbo movie. we probably had 20 to 25 of our

men and women, members that were able to work. it is huge. it is a blue-collar job that pays really well. it enabled my family to send me to college. it is something we do not want to lose. i hope you do not think it is like a giveaway for hollywood. it is actually a gift for us. also, it pays huge dividends for the city. you never see a movie that is negative about san francisco. it is like a promotion that never stops giving into the future. it will bring tourism. we are a city that is great for [applause] supervisor chu: if i could ask folks to hold their possibly could get through public comment. next speaker. >> it good afternoon. i'm with the travel association and from all indications, this

program has been highly successful in stimulating the local economy and creating jobs. in addition to direct jobs, this program has a significant impact on attracting tourists to the city in a number of ways. first, the production crews support the hospitality industries like lodging, restaurants, caterers, rental cars just to name a few. but equally important, the scenes ever filmed here are basically free advertising. they create aspirations throughout the world to come visit our beautiful city and doing so, attract visitors that support our local economy and help create jobs. for those reasons, we hope that and strongly urge you to support this extension. >> i am a location manager working here in the san francisco area for 27 years.

i wanted to speak directly to the financial impact that network television series can have on san francisco. i worked this season on ",." i was asked to gather a one page briefing for the film office that describe the impact on city departments, the police department, park and iraq, and it -- park and rec. over the six seasons, the direct payments range from $14 million up to $20 million per season. a full season is 22 episodes. "nash bridges" which ended 11 years ago, the budget was about $2 million.

$2 million we are proposing to extend his merely just an invitation that san francisco is welcoming the industry here. it's not a make work by any stretch of the imagination. money comes back to this city as everyone has pointed out and i just wanted to share that with you. supervisor chu: just a few more cards. next speaker. if i could ask folks who heard the name called to line up in the center aisle, that would be great. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is to the spratly tyson and and the vice-president of the san francisco film commission. i would like to -- i would like

to echo what everyone has put forward today. it's critical to filming in san francisco and the knock on effect on the tourism business is a measurable. thank you for the support you have given this initiative to date and we ask you continue to support the extension. thank you. supervisor chu: next speaker. >> good afternoon. my name is catherine howell and i am currently the co-president of the san francisco local of screen actors guild. we represent over 3800 actors here in the bay area and i am here on their behalf. no one becomes an actor by chance. it is a profession that requires years of steady, train and diligence, practicing the craft

before you get to be a professional actor. we eat out are living through various jobs and it is extremely important to us that these films come to town. for many of us, it's not just a salary we make when we get a job on these films, it is the contributions to our pension and health that go along with that and for many people, it is residuals down the line. on behalf of the actors, i'm sure you will be hearing from various members of the community, i encourage you to approve the extension. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good morning, board of supervisors. i'm a mother and actress and i

moved here in 1999 from los angeles because i fell and love with my san francisco husband and i fell in love with san francisco. i thought i could be a working actress appear -- up here. slowly but surely, jobs kept getting fewer and fewer. that i had to travel to l.a., away from my children, and now i have to go to mexico and louisiana to try to get work. i'm just asking you to please accept this rebate because it will create more jobs for us, it is great for san francisco, and it has helped the whole business. it is for the greater good of san francisco. thank you very much.

>> my name is debbie brill baker. and the executive chairman of -- debbie brill baker. i'm a film commissioner for the city of san francisco. i'm a single parent, putting a child through college right now. i have to say this rebate program really did save my life and a lot of ways. i worked on a lot of the movies that came in that worked with the rebate program and i know how close some of them were to leaving. it makes a huge, huge difference, the amount of money that comes in. you have heard it all here. it is a wind situation for so many that i hope you will extend the program. -- it is a win situation.

>> good afternoon, supervisors. i'm the manager of public policy at the san francisco chamber of commerce. the san francisco chamber of commerce urges your support for the extension of this film reprogram. extending this in san francisco will have a positive impact on the city by continuing to restore production and acting jobs, stimulating economic activity and reinvigorating the film industry. since 2006, films using the san francisco rebate program have been responsible for thousands of jobs in san francisco and more than $40 million to our local economy. these fellows attract tourist dollars spent in our local hotels, restaurants and other businesses. comparatively, other states and cities are aggressively luring productions through large tax credits of up to 35% as you saw earlier. to keep a competitive edge, the

extension of the film reprogram is critical. the chamber of commerce urges your support for the rebate extension. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. i have no other speaker cards before me. if there are any other individuals who would like to speak, please line up in the center aisle. >> good morning. i am the assistant executive director of the san francisco local, a result of the merger between the screen actors guild and the american television artists. you have been hearing from people in this room whose livelihoods are made because of the television and film industry. those are important stories. we represent almost 4000 members in northern california and i may voting resident of san francisco. i speak in support of extending

the scene in san francisco rebate program. it benefits working families and the community at large. this is not a program that is to the benefit of a select few. projections have budgets and bottom lines and while san francisco may be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, it is not enough. production's get lured away to other locations that offer tax incentives and we need to be able to compete. local production means real work for not only actors but other jobs. businesses benefit, people all over the world see images of san francisco in television and movies and this makes san francisco a tourist destination. we cannot rest on our laurels on such iconic movies and televisions -- television shows as "streets of san francisco." we ask you to extend rebate program because it makes sense and means a great deal to

working families. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. >> i am a freelance location scout and manager. i worked on about 150 different advertising accounts and still photography and television commercials every year. one of the big reasons my clients continue to come to san francisco, the art directors, producers, photographers, is that they see it on the big screen. all of the buzz is created by these programs that these wonderful people make and feature films. even though i have not worked on a feature film since 2001, i still recall the benefits of that and all of these projects keep coming in because of what they are doing promoting the city. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. next speaker.

>> i work in the grip and lighting department. i want to bring up the fact that i have met so many wonderful people in these departments. is a very tight-knit community and on top of everyone being friendly and welcoming, they are very hard working and that's a rare quality, to have someone so hard working and they want to make sure the production goes off smoothly and the lighting and grip department, people don't think about those when they think about movies. i would hate to see these talented people have to search elsewhere to get work. thank you. >> good afternoon. i'm is second-generation of organized labor with my father being two generations ahead of me. anytime you can bring money in

revenue into the city and this program can, i think it should be passed and pushed forward and on behalf of the teamsters of san francisco, i recommend we push this forward. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. are there any other members of the public who wish to speak on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. supervisor kim: i know the comptroller's office did a report in december about the program and its ability to track projects and i and was hoping someone could speak to that. >> our office working with the film commission did prepare a deport -- prepare a report in december. supervisor kim: it would be great to get a summary of the

findings. >> i don't have a summary but when i came on in september of 2010, one of the things i kept finding was when we had rebated productions, we were not collecting informations about their local spend. one of the things i started was we added an additional page to that information they have to give us before we would cut a check to them and that itemizes all of their local spending so that we can keep track of it. i think maybe that is what we were talking about prior to this. supervisor kim: one of the findings of the report i have in front of me says wiley had significant growth in the film production industry overall since 2006 that it's unlikely that the rebate program has played a role in the growth and i was wondering if someone could address how this finding came to

be? >> we gave the comptroller's office of our numbers for all the protections that issue here. there are far, far more that come and shoot than partake in the rebate program. that's because in order to qualify for the program, you have to shoot a majority of your production here. the reason i had that finding is because overall, if you look at all of the numbers of everything that films here, the majority don't take part in the rebate program because they're just shooting a few days here. i still believe the rebate program was essential for "," which was here for over a year and employ people for the long term and had a large, erect spent. when you look at every single production shot here, the number

of the rebates program pales in comparison. >> i am happy to see there are protections committed to the city of san francisco, but i have some reservations about increasing the dollar amount, saying that over the last year, we spent $1.5 million of the $1.8 million we allocated and now this is a $2 million rebate program over two years. if we were to increase this dollar amount, i would really want to see some proposals in the extension and expansion to have some mandates, whether around local hiring or mandating these production companies actually use apprentices that we can develop in the trades and i know that with some of the production companies, they often have to

bring employees from los angeles or other parts of the country because they have stronger industries there and have folks trained in that arena. but to me, the concept of supporting a rebate program is job growth in san francisco, not just the additional hotel sales taxes and those things that we get into the general fund. i would like to see a stronger pipeline developed in san francisco for people to be employed in those industries. if we see an expansion of productions here -- that not sure if that could be developed. if we're going to do an expansion plus the additional two years. also, this is a separate issue but i'm glad to see we are hiring an outside production companies, out of the city productions, but i want to see how the film commission is committed to supporting local

filmmakers here in san francisco. we have a number here. how we are supporting their work as well. >> we currently have the san francisco film collective, a program we started in the tenderloin. it's a program we started in july of 2011. we just got approval to continue it for the next year. what that does is we run tell low-cost office space to independent filmmakers and san francisco. we currently have nine small production companies working with and our collective. we're very supportive of a local filmmakers and i think the other thing you will