>> on the july th board of

supervisors' agenda unless otherwise stated. >> okay. madame [khr-erblg/] item no. 1, please. >> item no. 1 is charter amendment for the november 4th, 2014 election to extend the children's fund for 25 years and increase the set-aside and create our children our families council and require preparation of a children and families plan, and create a city rainy-day reserve and school rainy-day reserve out of existing rainy-day reserve. >> thank you. colleagues this has an been a very, very collaborative process and all supervisors are signed on for this initiative, in which we're coining it as "the children and families first initiative." it's been a

long process, and because of all the collaboration that has taken place, i just feel like what we have as a final product is a very, very strong language to strengthen our ability to continue serving our children and our public school students. but by the way, they are the same people. and also, so it does many things not only is this going to strengthen our ability, but it also increases our resources to serve these children. what i heard from many of the public members is that we want better oversight of the funding and we have built-in language for better oversight. we have made at the end of the streamlined things to make things easier and on top of all of that, we weren't satisfied. what we wanted was for the

whole city to come together to form a council, a children and families council to, really look at what our vision going forth will be for children and families and how we could create that common vision, common goals and those overarching strategies that will not only keep our children and families in san francisco and have the children be successful, but how do we draw those that are from the outside to come back into san francisco with their children? because as you know, san francisco has -- not one, but has the lowest percentage of children population in any city in the united states and i think we can do better. we must do better. so would i like to take this opportunity to thank our representative from the city attorney's office. tom owen.

and i also want to thank the staff who really hard. my aide jen low, who put hours and hours of work with various stakeholder groups to draft the best charter amendment possible. so what i would like to do right now is bring up a couple of speakers from the city departments. first i would like to call up chris armstrong -- before i do, that supervisors, do you have any comments? general comments? supervisor tang? >> sure, thank you, supervisor yee and i want to thank everyone who was involved in the process. it seems like it's going to go

quickly today, but just acknowledging the hard work it took to get here and thank you, supervisor yee and everyone else who made it a unified effort so we have unanimous support by our board and everyone. thank you everyone. >> first i will call up chris armstrong from the unified school district, director of the development and local government relations. >> thank you, supervisor yee and good afternoon supervisor campos, supervisor tang. i'm director of local government for the san francisco unified school district. and i'm here on behalf of superintendent richard coransa to say thank you to this board. we have unanimous signoff from all eleven supervisors from this. it's been a long process between our visioning, our collective -- the collective work we have done together with you, bringing together this

entire community and we're just enormously proud. the public education enrichment fund, the children's fund, these have done enormous good beyond this past decade for the city and we're thrilled to see both of these be renewed and brought together in alignment. i just want to say that we -- you have our incredible gratitude for this, but we also recognize the enormous responsibility and we hope that the work that we have done over this past decade, particularly with the public education enrichment fund, bringing that data, the good work that this does, the impact to our schools it has made a world of difference. it's bit of a cliche, but in this case it resonates and it's very tribune true and we have an enormous responsibility to keep that going throughout the city.

>> thank you. maria su, director of the department of children youth and their families. >> thank you, i want to echo chris' sentiment and thank you so much to all members of the rules committee, but particularly to you, supervisor yee for your tireless work and support towards this. on behalf of dcys citizen advisory committee and our staff i want to express our appreciation to supervisors yee and kim and avalos. we started this years ago with having conversations with thousands of parents and young people and service providers and other interested stakeholders to develop something that we as a city would feel very proud of and i truly believe we have created this. with this, the children and

families first initiative charter reflects thoughtful and very important feedback from our community coalition, our board of supervisors, the mayor's office and of course dcys. in the spirit of strengthening this legislation, this legislation looks to protect our children and family services for young people up to the age of 24 years old. ensure that dcyf has a strong oversight and advisory committee that is transparent and accountable to all residents in the city and extend the funds to support our children and families. and then also build a strong policy table through our children and our families council. i look forward as a city, as a resident, as a city department and a resident of the city with two children in our public school system that we as a city

can support our children further. thank you again, and 11-0, that is pretty amazing. thank you. >> thank you, dr. su. next up is erica mayburn, coordinator of the san francisco child-care planning and advisory council. >> good afternoon supervisors. my name is erica mayburn and i'm the coordinator of the san francisco child-care planning and advisory council. i wanted to first take a moment to thank the supervisors and the supervisors of the rules committee and particularly supervisor kim, supervisor norman yee and supervisor avalos for all of the work and time that you and your staff have committed to the children and families first charter amendments. many of the community recommendations have been incorporated into the legislation, which will have a tremendous impact on our city's families especially those with the highest needs.

13% of our city's children under the age of 5 are at or below the federal poverty level which for a family of three is below $20,000. the increased flexibility in the preschool all funds -- excuse me -- would help to create and strengthen early care for all systems that will allow the city to better address the needs of san francisco's youngest families. we have heard a lot that san francisco has the lowest percentage of children compared to all other cities and with the disturbing wealth disparity further isolates and pushes families out. in addition, to the much-needed increase in funding, this legislation exemplifies the commitment to children, youth and the city that doesn't just use the term, but invests in family-friendly policy. we are grateful that this legislation, this 25-year

commitment to children, youth and families moves out of rules with full support and unanimous support from the board. thank you so much. >> thank you, erica. so right now i'm going open up this item to public comments. i don't have any cards. any public comments on this item? >> chelsie. >> hello supervisors, this is really been an incredible process over the last two years and has been really powerful in terms of stating -- making a statement about the city's commitment to the next generation, to children, youth and families.

the children's fund community coalition over the last two years debated a lot of legislative issues to put forth as far as policy recommendations and we did that internally and had debate with the members of the board and the mayor's office and it's really a testament to the best public policy coming from public debate. so the children and families first initiative is a powerful piece of legislation. like i said, clear statement about the commitment to the next generation and making sure families with stay here and thrill and can have access to critical services that help take ma make that possible. we're proud that 75% of the children funding community coalition's recommendations are included in the final initiative, including the removal of the trigger and in-kind contribution for pef, a longer planning cycle, more oversight for the children and

youth funds and increase in that fund and inclusion of disconnected te aerre. and we know that critical services for children youth and familis will be protected and sustained in the city of san francisco. so on behalf of the coalition, we just want to thank supervisor yee, supervisor avalos and supervisor kim, as well as the entire board who are now cosponsoring this legislation and we're excited to see this passes. thank you. >> thank you, cherylin adams >> good afternoon supervisors i'm cherylin adams with larkin street youth services and community coalition and the parent of a preschooler here in san francisco. i just want to echo what chelsie's comments and we are thrilled that this legislation is going forward and is a product of incredible debate and that all of us worked together, i think, to create an amazing piece of legislation that will benefit children, youth and their families. and of course, i'm particularly

pleased that we have included disconnected te and appreciate the opportunity to have conversations with many of you, with many of our aides and with many people in the city to ensure that children, youth and their families will be protected going forward. so i want to thank you supervisor yee for your support and call out supervisors avalos and kim for their support and everybody for really creating a fabulous piece of legislation. thank you. >> thank you. any other public comments on this item? seeing none, public comment is now closed. [ gavel ] so i did give some shout-out to the aides and i really want to also like the speakers give some recognition to my colleagues, in particular supervisor avalos and

supervisor kim. i also know that supervisor mar's aide initially had done a lot of work in helping to form some of the language around this. the other thing that i wanted to mention is that besides what has been mentioned, the preschool piece we were able to change the language so that it would be a little more flexible in term of how to serve our 0-5 and that in regards to the preschool, that we would be able to continue to focus on the 4-year-old, but also serve the 5 years old who haven't reached kindergarten age and the 3 years old, if there is additional resources. so rather than calling preschool for all, we're calling it "early education for all.", which is the concept at this point. so without further ado,

you know, for me, it's been a long, long process with probably 10,000 amendments one way or another. and we have finally gotten to this place where we finalized every amendment and it's time to move it out of rules and i would like to make a motion to move it out with positive recommendation. any objection? seeing none, motion passes. [ gavel ] . thank you very much. [ applause ] >> i forget, i want to give a lot, a lot of credit to the community, too, who also worked so hard on this. madame clerk, item no. 2. >> item no. 2 is a motion confirming the mayor's nomation of and appointing sonia melara to the police commission for the unexpired portion of a fourare term ending april 30 2016.2018.

>> thank you, sonia. >> honorable members of the rules committee, my name is sonia melara and i'm here to request your vote for the nomination to the police commission. i know you may have read my resume and may have portions of my background, but let me highlight those areas that exemplify who i am, what i believe and what i bring to this decision. i am an immigrant and arrived in san francisco 40 plus years ago, i know live in supervisor yee's district 7, but for many years lived in district 9. throughout my stay in this great city i have dedicated myself to working with various community organizations and worked op issues that affect marginalized communities. right out of high school i started as an english as second language tutor in the mission district and also counseled

immigrants who needed jobs. it was my personalized experience with work in the immigrant community that made me seek a master's degree in social work. it's a result of that education that i practice today both as executive director of rally services at st. francis hospital and member of faculty of the san francisco state gerontology. i work with family work who are in need of visitations. i have been involved in the area of domestic violence with shelters for domestic violence in california, la casa delas mad res. this was at a time when speaking against domestic violence was not very popular. i had the opportunity to work with the police department then, to establish the first

protocols pertaining to incidents of domestic violence. this was at a time when the police department did not have a computerized system to access restraining orders and when the majority of police injuries were due to officers responding to domestic violence calls. i have since worked with subsequent police chiefs and department personnel on additional improvements. i continue to participate in the district attorney's women's advisory committee and violence council to address issues that still need involvement and serve as director of the council on status of women and succeeded in increasing our funding by 150%. id also worked on various initiatives to improve response. at the school of social work i have taught a range of subjects

including policy, mental health, child welfare especially as it applies to marginalized communities. throughout my professional career i have addressed the issues handson as the member of president carter's juvenile justice i traveled around the country to oversee the implementation of changes to the act. i also worked in the san francisco sheriff's department to address the women in jail and their children. i am a strong believer in prevention, and have a deep understanding that we need to do whatever we can to address social and economic barriers to deal with violence in our communities; which will result in enhanced public safety. it was this belief that encouraged me to join with another group of women, who

started lacoc ina and we believe the only way out of poverty and violence for women was through economic development, especially for poor immigrant women. we continue to fulfill that mission today and i also believe we need to balance social consciousness with crime prevention strategies for thoses who are the targets of crimes, as well as the safety of the police officers who risk their lives to enforce the laws on our streets years ago i worked in the first team for project safe, within the police department as the mission district coordinator. i believe then and still believe now that when communities work together, they can create the most successful crime prevention strategies. spearheaded by st. francis hospital in its foundation, i am presently involved in the tenderloin health improvement

partnership plan that brings together community partners, the private and government sectors to implement initiatives that will help address public safety, and health concerns in the community, especially for children and the elderly. the police department is an integral part of this planning process. i have served as member and president of the parking and traffic commission, the immigrant rights commission and the health commission. i believe that my colleagues have elected me to these leadership positions because i have demonstrated my dedication to working on and solving difficult issues, as well as representing and supporting those who may not be able to speak for themselves. in those positions of responsibility, i have demonstrate the fiscal awareness and constraint, especially during these difficult budgetary times, ensuring that we address priorities without hurting those who need the help the most. i appreciate that the police department has a difficult and

dangerous job in these trying times and that the job is to balance the safety of the community along with enforcing the law. i believe that i have the understanding and background to be a productive and useful member of the police commission. thank you for your attention. and i'm happy to answer any questions. >> supervisor tang. >> i don't have any questions in particular about your background. i think you have extensive experience, whether it's prevention perspective, whether it's with domestic violence issues, i think that again you bring just such a wealth of experience to the table to be able to serve on this commission, if selected. i will ask if you can just address what are some of the things that feel are maybe most pressing at the police commission at the moment and if you are appointed to serve, what are some of the things that you would like to work on? >> i think one of the things

that has come to the table several times is police patrols. and i would like to see how that it can be moved forward within the operations of the department, obviously looking at the different priorities that the department may have at this particular point. public safety, pedestrian issues, i think should be at the forefront of what we need to address and this planning process in the tenderloin that has come to very much the top. because we see so many of those fatalities happening, primarily in the tenderloin, but throughout the city. those would be the two areas that i would look at. >> supervisor campos. >> thank you. thank you very much, miss melara for being here and for your interest in serving the city. just wanted to in public talk to you a little bit about a couple of the points that i

raised during our conversation. if i can get your thoughts. one of them is the five-year plan to end violence, if you will, peace plan in the mission that was put together by the community after a long almost multi-year process. wondering what your thoughts are, and one of the concerns that has been raised is that most of that plan has not really been funded in this budget. so i'm wondering if you have any thoughts around that? >> absolutely i have actually had the opportunity to read the plan. i read it in its entirety and i find it's a very comprehensive and well-thought out process. i understand that through the mayor's office and the health department, they help facilitate the process. and i think that those are all doable things. the question would be bringing

all of these ideas together and see how we can implement them through the city and through a public-private partnership? one of the things that i have seen in the tenderloin planning process is that the private sector has been involved in that and i'm thinking that with all of the things that the city has done for private companies, i don't see why we couldn't bring some of those private companies to the table to help implement some of that. i plan as part of my role in the commission, to make sure that i work with the mayor's office to see how we can implement that plan. >> thank you. i appreciate that. that is good to hear. i know that the plan in its totality calls for an investment in so many different pieces, you know? because public safety is not just about law enforcement. that is a piece of it, but there is always the violence-prevention piece, the health piece, the jobs component, an education component and so forth, you

know? and the investment that it calls for is really a multi-million dollar investment and my understanding is that in the current budget the mayor has allocate $100,000. do you think more money should be provided, more resources should be provided in this budget? >> i'm not really sure about that and i don't know, because considering all of the departments' budgets we have in the city, i'm wondering if there is a possibility to look at what is available already in the city to ensure some of those initiatives are implemented? in terms of how much money is available, i really don't know, because obviously i'm not privy to the entire budget. >> would you be open for instance looking at the police budget, which is close to half a billion dollars. would you be open to using some of that money to fund some of this plan? >> if it's appropriate, yes. >> that is good. i think the community will be

happy to hear that. the second point that is an issue that i know has been an ongoing concern in many communities and it's the different perspectives on this, but i know in many communities of color, it is a concern and that is the issue of tasers and i'm wondering if you have an opinion at this point? do you want to keep the possibility of having tasers in the police department open? or do you think we shouldn't do that? >> i don't really have an opinion. i think my response to you when you first brought up that issue, i said i don't like guns. and, so you know, i'm willing to be open to anything, but guns. but the reality is that i don't have the data on the use of tasers. i know what the position of the police commission is at this point, and i am willing to support that decision based on what they have studied.

i don't have the data. i would have to look at more data to change my mind on that. >> great, thank you. and one thing that i know that has been very useful for the police commission and i actually think more commissions should do this, the police commission, which meets every week, once a month it actually meets in a neighborhood

>> i gave you the example of the tenderloin plan we were working on, but the peace plan in the mission actually has the police department at the table. and i think that you cannot work on a process within communities without involving all stakeholders, and the people who are -- who might be victims