tv [untitled] May 31, 2012 11:00am-11:30am PDT
11:03 am
11:04 am
but i do want to make sure that we take this opportunity to enjoy. this budget is one that's important to all of us, it certainly is one to me and one that reflects a lot of great work. first of all, let me thank everybody for coming this morning. certainly board president david chiu for helping me co-host this and carmen chu and her work with us already started and will help guide us, along with board president david chiu on all of the hearings that the rest of the board will have. i want to thank each and every member of the board of supervisors as well. you've been weighing in and we've been creating a different dialogue on the front end to make sure that all of our constituents know what we're doing, more transparent, and ultimately where our values are. i also want a big shout-out and thanks to everybody in this
11:05 am
room. there's a lot of department heads and commissions and labor representatives and representatives from our non-profits and community members as well. thank you for engaging us in this really dedicated six-month process. i want to go back to the very first neighborhood budget hearing that we held about almost six months ago. it was one where i was asked at the very beginning, what does the budget mean to you? and i wasn't the only one. there were several supervisors that were there, and we all said pretty much the same thing. it really is a reflection of our values as a city and it's one that we want to work hard at, but ultimately it is who we are and it's a combined effort here, a collaborative effort. so it still is that way, and you'll see from the highlights that we'll be announcing today, as reflected in this budget, it still is a reflection of all of
11:06 am
our values. so good morning, everybody. thank you for joining me here today. again, thank you for board president chiu and budget chair carmen chu and all the others that i've identified here today. i also want to say at the outset this budget reflects countless hours of work. a lot of work behind the scenes. in addition to all the neighborhood budget meetings that we had, there were numerous, numerous staff meetings. kate howard's done a wonderful job with her staff. they've met with all of the different departments -- [applause] this is her first full year budget working with us and she's done a great job and her staff has done a great job. it isn't just putting numbers
11:07 am
together, it's listening to each of the finance personnel from each department, it is engaging in the numerous meetings that we have with community, it's engaging with staff of the various supervisors, the non-profits. we had special meetings help, it was health and human services and housing and homeless advocates and others. she was there and her staff was there at every turn making sure that we listened and it reflected in both number-crunching and challenging what the priorities are and so forth. also want to give a shout-out to steve cava. steve, wonderful with all your work. [applause] it's not easy. you and micki callahan, it's really not easy at all to face a year when there's 27 contracts open, trying to face
11:08 am
everybody in the room, trying to make sure that we can make promises we can keep. having been a former employees relations director, i know that keeping promises with our labor representative is critical to building trust and to make sure that we carry out and we honor all that they do every single day in carrying out services for us. to all the department heads and your wonderful staffs, thank you. i also want to make sure i acknowledge all of our labor unions, all of our representatives. for years you've worked with us and sacrificed and bemoaned the bad budget years, but you've stepped up in every occasion. for the department heads and non-department heads who we've shared challenges with, thank you for sacrificing so many years. and now we get to, i think, a budget that has some relatively good news and a good
11:09 am
foundation. this year we begin the hard work of presenting the city's first two-year budget. and we began that year with a $263 million deficit for our general fund. and then the coming year, the second year of $375 million shortfall. that's what we faced at the very beginning. but because of the fiscal discipline that we put in process, a discipline that's reflected in the great work of ben rose enfield and his staff and the controller's office that keeps reminding me of the credit ratings of our city and that we must make sure that we do things in a very solid financial way, we made investments in job creation and we made commitments to reform with that guidance. now san francisco's economy is recovering and reserves are going. in fact, during the last nine months the controller has reported that our revenues were $172 million more than
11:10 am
projected. this is good news. this is good news, but it did not come without commitments, without sacrifice by everybody and all the groups represented in this room. i would like to again thank owe employee unions for working with us to find a common goal, saving more than $28 million in your contract negotiations with us. i'm happy to report that i'm presenting a responsible and balanced two-year budget. while we spare the city the deep cuts we've experienced over the last several years and one that i present to you in a san francisco economy that's recovering, in this budget you will see investments. investments that ensure that people who live, work and visit our city feel safe, investments that protect our social safety net that supports seniors and youth, low-income and working-class families, investments that support our
11:11 am
neighborhoods, our infrastructure and our commercial corridors. this budget reflects a lot of collaboration and partnership with our san francisco community. one thing we agreed on early was that in a time of state and federal cuts, protecting our social safety net is more important than ever, and in this budget i've rejected all service reductions in our health department and human service agencies. [applause] s i've included full restorationof federal cuts to programs and services that serve people with h.i.v. and aids. the loss of redevelopment has been a severe blow to our city, especially for this first
11:12 am
street corridor. so we will invest in economic initiatives in the heart of bayview to stabilize businesses and attract new ones. [applause] we will also continue our investment in central market and especially sixth street, where the elimination of redevelopment has left a gap in services. with our community partners and including the very spirited arts community that's been so wonderful in helping us lead that effort, we'll support businesses in that sector, attract new ones, and keep the area clean and safe. we will also invest in the youth of sfsk and in their education. i will propose releasing the $6 million in rainy day funds to support our public schools, to offset the state's deep cuts to education. [applause] most importantly in this budget
11:13 am
we are putting san franciscans back to work. you've heard me say on many occasions recently our unemployment rate dropped from 9.6% in early 2011 to 7.4% today, our lowest since 2008. [applause] we, as a city, along with our business partners and every neighborhood, we created 22,500 net new jobs in san francisco in just the last year. [applause] that's good. that is really good, but we need to do more. with this budget we are continuing to invest in strategies and incentivized job creation, training, and place our residents for their jobs for the 21st sent re. we are creating a climate that gives entrepreneurs and investors confidence in our city, allowing them to work with us to innovate, grow and create jobs, whether they are
11:14 am
in neighborhoods, small businesses or tech start-up or a thriving global headquarters. in neighborhoods, we are more than doubling grants available to small businesses, and we are including $4 million for neighborhood commercial districts through our new invest in neighborhood strategy. that includes job squad and the recapitalize the small business revolving loan fund. we are bringing staal to the neighborhoods -- city hall to the neighborhoods where it belongs, to support small businesses. my proposed budget includes $4 million in smart capital investments and $441 million in smart capital investments in our city's 10-year capital plan to improve and invest in the city's infrastructure. [applause] over the next two years we'll invest in and improve or water
11:15 am
system and continue investing in our waterfront. we will also continue to invest in our parks. and i've joined the members of the board of supervisors to introduce $195 million bond measure to keep our parks clean and safe. [applause] all told, over the next two years enterprise departments will spend more than -- will actually support more than 8,700 jobs in san francisco by infusing $1.3 billion into our local economy. as our economy grows and as we add jobs, we must redouble our efforts to expand housing opportunities and build more housing for people at every income level. i get it. i know there's anxiety out there, because rents are start together creep up again in every neighborhood as our
11:16 am
economy recovers. but the answer to scarce housing and rising rents is not to stop growing our economy or creating jobs. that's why we proposed the housing trust fund measure for this november, to create a permanent source of housing and revenue to fund the production of housing at every level of our economic spectrum. i am pleased to share with you, too, that my budget also includes a six-year police and fire hiring plan. [applause] this hiring plan for police and fire will train the next generation of san francisco public safety personnel. we are planning for anticipated retirement, reducing overtime and making sure our public safety departments are appropriately stand. mow, of course, this submission of the bubt is not the end of the process. i've looked forward to working with the full board to ensure
11:17 am
that our residents receive quality services while we balance the budget and continue in our economic recovery. i again want to recognize supervisor carmen chu and the board of supervisors for their steadfast leadership and commitment to building a collaborative process, backed up with our board president, david chiu. thank you steve cava, chief of staff, thank you budget office, director kate howard, and to best rosenfeld, thank you to you and your wonderful staff and i will advance, thank you harvey rose, for his work he'll be doing. this is very less dramatic presentation, i know that. but all the work that's been done in a very comprehensive way, and i want you to know that the values of the city are intact, we are moving forward, and we are investing in all of our neighbors in san francisco. thank you very much. [applause]
11:21 am
2008, it quickly became one of the top tourist magnets in the city. part of the cal academies' astronomical success is the weekly nightlife party. >> i am joined by helen, who is here to school me on all the nocturnal activities that are getting ready to take place here. tell us a little about what we can expect to see at nightlife. >> we open up the doors every thursday night at the california academy of sciences. there are certain things you can see every week you can go to the museum, visit the planetarium, and we bring in bars and a deejay or band. it is a different feel from during the day, something different every week. tonight , we have beer and music. -- tonight we have great beer and music. it is beer week. we have a dozen local brewers in african hall. we have a deejays to set up
11:22 am
throughout the museum and a live performance at 9:00 p.m. tonight. >> what has been your favorite part as a participant or as an observer? >> my favorite part is to walk around the aquarium in to see people with a drink in their hands, getting to know maybe somebody new, may be looking for a day, or chatting with friends. there jellyfish. i mean, they are beautiful. >> the culmination of the animals. >> it is very impressive. we do not have this at home. >> tell us a little about some of the spider's we see here on display. >> at the california academy of sciences, there is a very large collection of preserved and live specimens, which are the evidence about evolution. we have the assassin spiders, which are spiders that exclusively kill and eat other spiders. they are under the microscope
11:23 am
here. research done and the california academy's i rhinology lab suggests that the assassin spiders have been doing this for over 150 million years. this glassed in room is a real scientific laboratory, and the people in that room are preparing specimens of vertebrate, that is mammals and birds. the way they do this is to remove the skin, sew it together in a relatively lifelike pose, and ensure that it does not decompose. >> i am a really big class actress fan, so i am here to see them, and beer week. >> i wanted to learn something and have fun. >> i always enjoy it. i am not all is well -- always working as i am tonight. sometimes i come to enjoy the
11:24 am
music and to dance. ♪ >> culturewire covers the arts in san francisco, and one of my favorite culture artists is here tonight. jason, thank you for being on culturewire. tell us about some of your posters that we have here today. >> most of the posters here are four specific shows or tours. i am hired by the bands or the venue. >> what is the inspiration behind these posters? >> no, disease of the related to the bay and, of course. music -- it is related to the band, of course the musical content or isn't related to the bed. album covers can come from anywhere. ♪
11:25 am
♪ >> class actress was great. we have been having so much fun. i did not realize how beautiful the cal academy looks than that. what other events take place here? >> we do corporate events that night on a regular basis. but nightlife is your best bet to come in as a regular person pharmacy the academy at night, and visit with friends. calacademy.org/nightlife. we have details for the next few weeks. you can get tickets online in advance or at the door. >> thank you so much. thank you for watching
93 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
SFGTV: San Francisco Government Television Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on