you'll have the peace of mind knowing you're doing your part in your household to help the environment. >> good morning, everyone. i'm barbara ga sierra, the director of health and i'm be your m.c. this morning and i want to thank you all for being here today for this program announcement. and i want to thank victoria manner, one of our incredible care facilities, for hosting us this morning. and so we have several distinguished leaders with us this morning. and our mayor london breed, we hope to have our president of the board of supervisors malia cohen. and our new supervisor rafael mandelman and the owner of the victorian manner bernadette joseph. bernadette is the second generation of owners of this type of facilities and we really appreciate her family's commitment to the communities that we serve. our residential care homes are very important form of housing

in san francisco, providing compassionate support for our community who live independently. the department of health, the department of aging, and i want to acknowledge that we have our department heads with us today. and both departments depend on these homes and facilities to ensure our clients are safe and that they get the care that they need. so we're so fortunate to work and live in a city that cares -- cares for its most vulnerable community members. our strongest leaders for this is our own mayor, mayor london breed. mayor breed is committed to ensuring those facing behavioral and health challenges are provided care and housing that they need. so please welcome mayor london breed. [applause] >> mayor breed: thank you, barbara, and thank you, everyone, for being here today. i'm really excited to be here

and as mayor i have made it clear that one of my top priorities is to not only address many of the challenges that we face with so many people struggling with mental illness, but, more importantly, to address issues of homelessness. we have to make sure that we invest in preventing homelessness in the first place. and we know that this particular facility, along with so many others throughout our city, continue to struggle financially. they struggle financially due to lack of funding from the state, from the federal government, and what that means is that time and time again in our city we need to figure out ways in which we can continue to support the great work that this facility is doing and others like it. so today i'm really proud to announce that we're investing over $1 million over the next two years from one-time revenue to stabilize residential care facilities that support our most

vulnerable population throughout san francisco. [applause] and, let me tell you what it will do. it will help 37 residential care facilities and house more than 350 people in our city, including many of our seniors. some of these people suffer with serious behavioral health and medical issues. many have a history of homeless homelessness. and we know again that the best solution is it to prevent homelessness in the first place. one of the care providers that support one of the ones that will receive funding as we said before is victoria manor which we are here today, located in district 5, which is now represented by supervisor brown. this place has 90 beds and it serves 26 clients for the department of public health.

the facilities like these have been under strain as i said in terms of lack of funding and the city currently spends $2.5 million through the department of public health to provide supplemental funding to close the spending gap. and i want to, again, i appreciate barbara g garcia for identifying where the needs are and making sure that we are using city resources in the most efficient way to support this community. but this is a complex issue which requires a holistic approach to look at now and the financial challenges of the future. and this additional funding is a down payment and demonstrates our commitment to ensure that these providers can care for and to serve our community. the department of aging and adult services is convening a working group along with the department of public health and the office of economic and workforce development to analyze the current demand and study options to meet the needs of the

future throughout this city. i expect to hear recommendations by the end of this year and until then this funding will help to ensure that we continue to serve hundreds of san francisco residents who would otherwise be at risk of homelessness and who would otherwise not be able to care for themselves. i want to thank the supervisors who are here today for their tireless work in preparing this coming fiscal year's budget, who is now our board president and was leader during this budget time, she was also the finance chair, supervisor malia cohen. and i am hoping to sign this into law hopefully soon and i have sent a letter to president cohen outlining my support for this funding and how we're able to move forward in our shared priorities. we know that there's a lot of work to do and it takes a village. it takes a lot of our departments it takes members of the board of supervisors, and

i'm glad to be joined by someone who has been my partner although he's just joined the board of supervisors, supervisor rafael mandelman who has really been a champion for issues around mental health. we're so grateful for his support here today. and i also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge roma guy who has also been an incredible advocate behind mental health reforms and pushing for more mental health stabilization beds in our city to, again, care for our most vulnerable population of citizens in san francisco. with that i'd like to provide an opportunity for the president of the board, president malia cohen, to say a few words. [applause] >> thank you, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. what a wonderful day, mayor breed, also a fantastic start. this is exciting news. i'm thrilled to join the mayor as well as my colleagues, supervisor mandelman and

supervisor brown, as well as my partners in the department of public health that are standing up here with me, to announce this $100 million for board and care. san francisco has always been a city that has been committed to supporting our most vulnerable residents. you know what, we haven't stopped yet. we're actually recommitting and reaffirming that commitment today. this year i'm proud that the -- that our budget process was, quite frankly, most transparent. and policy driven. a collaborative process that we have seen to date. in the month leading up to the budget we spoke with community activists, we have spoken with our residents, we polled our residents and, of course, we surveyed the colleagues on the board of supervisors. resoundingly without a doubt we have heard that homelessness is a top priority for particularly those who are suffering mental health issues. we have a responsibility to keep our residents, to help them to

remain in healthy condition, and it's a top priority of ours and we want to have them in a safe place to live and access to care and treatment. and so it is actually through our policy-driven process that we allocated $47 million in additional funding for homelessness. i think that is an important figure to note. the board of supervisors has directed over $4 million towards housing and homeless solutions and it's going to manifest itself in several ways, ways that you will be able to see instantly. first, in housing subsidies for families and seniors, mental health services and street medicine teams, patch the funding for residential care facilities. that's a critical one. patch 23u7din funding for residl care facilities. and also for those facing eviction. so this additional million dollars for the board and care

facilities is without a doubt welcomed. it's a welcomed investment to help 355 san franciscoians facing displacement and also dealing with mental illness. this is directly aligned with the board's budget priorities and our commitment to ending homelessness and ensuring that our most vulnerable residents are safe, healthy and housed. thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. [applause] >> thank you, president cohen, it was one of the best budget processes i have been involved in so thank you. we are so fortunate today to have our board member from this district, i have worked with her for many years and we're very proud to bring her up to the podium. [applause] >> thank you. thank you to everyone that is here today. the residents of victoria manor.

and also thank you mayor breed for finding this additional million funding to help our board and care facilities throughout the city. and president cohen and supervisor mandelman, thank you for supporting this. i think that it's so important. i have to thank roma guy and barbara garcia because anytime that i have questions they're the boots on the ground and i call them. i want to just thank you for all of of the years that you have been supportive in giving advice. i have a personal story. a neighbor of mine actually was losing her place, her roommate situation because of her mental health issues. when i saw her on the street she told me, this was almost 13, 14 years ago. and she told me her social worker suggested that she go into a room and care board facility. she was really frightened. i think that she had no idea what they were about, and

neither did i, but then i saw her months later and she was so well taken care of. she was happy. and she told me how much this really meant to her. and she had a family -- i think she was an eighth resident in care. and i have been very supportive of the board and care. because if it's the right situation for that right person it's vital. it's taking care of our most vulnerable residents and we need to step up. it's part of our housing stock, and i said that affordable housing is one of my priorities. this is affordable housing for our most vulnerable residents. i want to also thank all of the angels out there that take care of our residents here. and thank bernie joseph for being one of those people, second generation, that isn't saying i can't do it, you know, because a lot of people -- a lot

of people age out in these board and cares and they can't do it anymore. they don't have someone to replace them. and i just really think that it's amazing that it's a family affair because they are a family here. so i want to thank everyone for coming out and i'm very excited moving forward of how we look creatively at supporting our most vulnerable residents. thank you. [applause] >> thank you supervisor brown. our newest board member rafael mandelman, and in recent conversations with supervisors he's very interested in looking at housing, skill nursing and residential care facilities i know is one of his top priorities. so supervisor mandelman, thank you so much. [applause] >> good morning, everybody. i am incredibly pleased to be here to support mayor breed and her team, director garcia, for all of great work you have done to make this a possibility. and for identifying these

additional funds to help to meet the critical need. decades ago when california set itself on the path towards deinstitutionalization and closing our state mental hospitals we were promised a network of community care facilities. i think that we all know that that promise was never kept. but to the incident that it was kept it was through places like this in the community where folks could get the care that they need. today in san francisco we have lost and are at risk of further loss of dozens, if not hundreds, of board and care facilities that provide house askin housine for our most vulnerable neighbors. i have spoken frequently and over the last year about my mother and her struggles with mental illness. she was housed for most of her adult life in board and care facilities. some were good, some were not so good. but they were essential to keeping her housed. make no mistake but for

facilities like this one, hundreds, if not thousands of additional san franciscoians would be in hospitals or jails or on our streets. so as we work to move the thousands of currently unhoused homeless san franciscoians off the streets and into care it's critical that we stabilize our stock of board and care facilities and create more care options for those who need them. i like that the mayor referred to this as a down payment and i think that is the right way to think of it. it's an important first step in addressing a need that i imagine that we will be grappling with for most of your administration but that i have complete confidence that working together with roma guy telling us what to do, we will be able to solve. so i'm very glad to be here and very grateful to be included. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, supervisor mandelman. i just wanted to acknowledge

bernie's family, her husband and daughter are here and i know that it's a family -- a family affair for this project. so i do want to thank you for all of the work and the support that you give to bernie to provide such a beautiful location for our clients. one of the important processes for our clients is social support. and so to be together and to learn together and to support each other is one of the important processes and also important contribution that a facility like this provides. so it would be such a great honor and i want to acknowledged kelly, our transitions director, who really manages with bernie and i heard that she's one of the best negotiators as bernie says, that she does what she is told to. and we are appreciative of both of the teams and so i appreciate you, bernie, and i want to bring you up. [applause]

>> good morning. i'm bernadette joseph, the owner and director of operations at victorian manor. thank you, mayor breed, and supervisor cohen and supervisor mandelman and supervisor brown, and director of health garcia, barbara garcia. thank you for being here and for your support for our seniors. here at victorian manor we serve over 90 elderly clients with various needs, including dementia, medical and mental health needs. our home provides a place where seniors can live in the community and be as independent as possible. we welcome with open hearts and open arms a diverse group of residents, including a frail and vulnerable elderly population and we see every day what a big difference it makes for them to have the right place to live with the full activity program that enriches their lives.

thank you mayor breed for recognizing the work of residential care facilities for the elderly like victorian manor. the new funding will help us to make ends meet. and to continue to serve the seniors that we care so much about. we are happy that the city is also looking into long-term solutions to keep the facilities like ours, residential care facilities for the elderly, to have them remain in san francisco. so, thank you so much. [applause] >> thank you, that's the end of our program. and i'm sure that the press may have questions and i'll leave that to the press. thank you. >> any questions... anything off topic we'll take on the side. >> can you say specifically what the funding will go towards, is it services or more beds?

>> one of the important things that we have done with the facilities is that we have provided them with an extra amount per day for the bed and part of that is because we have individuals with different levels of need and that really helps for the staffing of the beds, and making sure that the right staff is for the right client and their needs. so this will provide extra dollars for a per bed space that we pay for and we work that out with the owners so they have the right staffing. bernadette, if you would like to add anything? [laughter]. >> where is the money coming from? >> the department will be working with the board of supervisors and the mayor's office for the one-time dollars that the mayor allocated for this. >> that money goes towards staff wages and health care? >> and as you know we pay per

diem per day and that extra dollars the staffing has. >> can you talk more about why this is a piece of the puzzle that deserves the extra money? there's a lot of other things out there that need help as well. >> i think that we don't spend enough time talking about stopping something from happening in the first place. when you think about the amount of money it takes whether it's wages for employees, or an increase in the dollars that it takes to feed people, whether it's additional services, physical therapy, social services and things that go into actually taking care of some of the individuals who are in board and care, the costs are going up. then what happens when there's a huge gap, that means most likely that sometimes they can't necessarily take care of all of the clients that they have. and the reason why this is important is because if they have a budget shortfall then that means that they go from 90

beds to maybe even 80 beds so they could at least afford to cover the costs of those particular individuals. this is important because where are we going to put 10 people that might be displaced because of a lack of funds? and so in looking at, you know, all of these particular board and care facilities and the increase in costs and the challenges to meet the need, we have to make sure that we keep every single bed. we have to make sure that we do everything that we can to prevent, you know, something from happening in the first place and that is the possibility of losing those beds which means that those people are going to have to go somewhere. and we have to do everything that we can to make sure that they don't end up on the streets and that's what this is about is prevention. >> any other questions? >> can you explain a little bit about -- i was shocked by the number that we have lost -- it looks like almost 30 of these facilities in the last five years. why that is happening. >> well, it's exactly what mayor

breed talked about is the fact -- and also the fact that some of these were family owned and the cost of doing this -- and this is all over california and this is not just san francisco. but the cost of doing these types of facilities, particularly as they depend on the ssfai dollars that comes in doesn't always match the overall cost of the facilities and the services. so it's exactly why we're trying to provide them some stabilization. we started doing this almost 11 years ago really looking at how to work with the residential care facilities in both ways. one, to provide them dollars to serve clients with higher needs and also to help them to cover their costs that ssfai doesn't always cover. because the increases don't match the cost of doing business. >> all right, thank you. [applause]

>> i have been living in san francisco since 1957. i live in this area for 42 years. my name is shirley jackson, and i am a retirement teacher for san francisco unified school district, and i work with early childhood education and after school programs. i have light upstairs and down stairs. it's been remodelled and i like

it. some of my floors upstairs was there from the time i built the place, so they were very horrible and dark. but we've got lighting. the room seems lighter. they painted the place, they cemented my back yard, so i won't be worried about landscaping too much. we have central heating, and i like the new countertops they put in. up to date -- oh, and we have venetian blinds. we never had venetian blinds before, and it's just cozy for me. it meant a lot to me because i didn't drive, and i wanted to be in the area where i can do my shopping, go to work, take the kids to school. i like the way they introduced the move-in. i went to quite a bit of the

meetings. they showed us blueprints of the materials that they were going to use in here, and they gave us the opportunity to choose where we would like to stay while they was renovating. it means a lot. it's just that i've been here so long. most people that enjoyed their life would love to always retain that life and keep that lifestyle, so it was a peaceful neighborhood. the park was always peaceful, and -- i don't know. i just loved it. i wanted to be here, and i stayed.

- working for the city and county of san francisco will immerse you in a vibrant and dynamic city that's on the forefront of economic growth, the arts, and social change. our city has always been on the edge of progress and innovation. after all, we're at the meeting of land and sea. - our city is famous for its iconic scenery, historic designs, and world- class style. it's the birthplace of blue jeans, and where "the rock" holds court over the largest natural harbor on the west coast. - the city's information technology professionals work on revolutionary projects, like providing free wifi to residents and visitors, developing new programs to keep sfo humming, and ensuring patient safety at san francisco general. our it professionals make government accessible through award-winning mobile apps, and support vital infrastructure projects like the hetch hetchy regional water system. - our employees enjoy competitive salaries,

as well as generous benefits programs. but most importantly, working for the city and county of san francisco gives employees an opportunity to contribute their ideas, energy, and commitment to shape the city's future. - thank you for considering a career with the city and county of san francisco. >> i'm warren corn field and we are doing a series called stay safe, we are going to talk about staying in your home after an earthquake and taking care of your pet's needs. ♪ >> here we are at the spur

urban ken center and we are in this little house that was built to show what it is like in san francisco after an earthquake. we are very pleased to have with us today, pat brown from the department of animal care and control and her friend oreo. >> hi. >> lauren. >> could you tell us what it would take after an earthquake or some other emergency when you are in your home and maybe no power or water for a little while. what it would take for you and oreo to be comfortable and safe at home. >> just as you would prepare for your own needs should an earthquake or a disaster event occur, you need to prepare for your pets. and i have brought with me today, some of the things that i have put in my disaster kit to prepare for my animal's needs to make sure that i am ready should something happen and i need to shelter at home. >> what are some of the things that people should have in their home after an earthquake

or other emergency to help take care of their tasks and take care of themselves. >> i took the liberty of bringing you some examples. it includes a first aid kit for your pet and you can also use it for yourself and extra meds for your pets. and water container that will not tip over. we have got both food, wet food and dry food for your pet. and disposable food container. and water, and your vet records. in addition, we have a collar and some toys. >> yeah. to keep oreo busy. >> he needs toys and this is san francisco being a fruity city and come on oreo. this is your dinner, it is patte style chicken dinner with our foody seen here. >> what they say now is that

you should have at least a gallon of water and i think that a gallon of water is small amount, i think that maybe more like two gallons of water would be good for you and your pet. >> does the city of animal control or any other agency help you with your pet after an emergency. >> there is a coalition of ngos, non-governmental organizations led by the department of animal care and control to do disaster planning for pets and that includes the san francisco spca. the paws group, the vet sos, pets unlimited. and we all have gotten together and have been getting together for over four or five years now to talk about how we can educate the public about being prepared for a disaster as it involves your pets. >> a lot of services. i understand that if you have to leave your home, we are encouraging people to take their pets with them.

>> absolutely. we think that that is a lesson that we concerned from karina, if you are being evacuated you should take your pet with you. i have a carrier, and you need to have a carrier that you can fit your pet in comfortably and you need to take your pet with you when you were evacuated. >> i am going to thank you very much for joining us and bringing oreo today. and i am go

[applause] >> the hon. london breed: hi, everybody. i am so excited to be here today to sign my first budget as mayor. thank you all for joining us today. today's budget is really a team effort. it involved so many of you here who made this possible coming together to put together what is going to be, i think, one of the best budgets to implement what we know are our priorities so we can see change on our streets here in san francisco every day. i'd like to thank our board president, malia cohen, who's here today to lead the budget process along with members of the budget and committee, supervisor stefani, supervisor fewer, and supervisor yee. and i'd also like to thank members of the board of supervisors who are here today. supervisor mandelman, supervisor brown, supervisor

satisfy tang, a safai, and supervisor tang, and all the budget and legislative analysts who will be fighting me, and the director of the mayor's budget office, kelly ki kirkpoint rick. yes, you can give all those people a hand. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: you know, these are really challenging times for our nation, and we have a federal administration pursuing an agenda that threatens our core values and dismantles programs for people that we know that need them the most. but this is not the first time that san francisco has faced threats from the federal government and sadly won't be the last. now more than ever our city

must respond by protecting our values, protecting our residents and making smart investments for the future of our city. this budget is a clear reflection of our priorities, a clear demonstration of how we will invest our process perin making sure that there is equity and inclusion. and we are happy to be here today at bishop swain community house because my top priority as mayor is homelessness. we need to get people out of tents, off the streets and into the care and shelters that they need. and bishop swain, a permanent -- we'll just let that go by. we're going to ban helicopters in the city. this will be a permanent housing site for formerly homeless individuals does exactly what we want to see happen in our city. i met earlier with some residents here, and it is clear

that our problem with homelessness is not intractable. budget investments like the ones we are making today change people's lives. michael, who i met here, was homeless for three years, sleeping in his van, living on the streets, sleeping in golden gate park after he lost his job of 14 years. he is now housed and living a great life. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: brenda is here today, as well. -- oh, brenda, is it okay? i better not tell your age. homeless for four years before being connected to bishop swain by the sanctuary, a 24 hour shelter in the south of market neighborhood, these two

examples are what happens when we provide a safe environment and permanent, supportive housing where we can make real progress. and the budget includes $60 million in new funding for critical homeless services and programs which will include 430 new permanent supportive housing units over the next two years. now we know it's not enough to get people indoors. once they get the care and the assistance they need, we are committed to providing permanent, affordable housing and doing more to make sure we ensure housing in our city. $4.4 million will go to operate a navigation center specifically for transitional age youth -- that's young people between the ages of 18 and 24. $12 million is allocated to expand rapid rehousing programs for youths and adults, and $2

million will go towards creating two access points to families and residents struggling with homelessness. additionally, this budget will fund four new navigation center facilities, including one that specifically works with women and expecting mothers. these navigation centers go beyond the traditional shelters in offering intensive counseling and services to help people break the cycle of addiction, poverty and homelessness. we're investing $6 million to create a dedicated street medicine team, a first in the nation program, to bring treatment directly to people suffering with addiction on our streets. finally, we know the best way to fight homelessness is to keep people housed in the first

place. this past election, voters approved proposition f, which provides a right to counsel for tenants who face eviction, and i'm proud that this board and this mayor is investing $5.8 million to fund this program. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: additionally, we are reviewing our -- renewing our commitment to creating and preserving affordable housing by investing more than $800 million to construct and preserve over 3,000 units of affordable housing. while we work to help our homeless population into care and shelter, it is clear that the daily conditions on our streets are unacceptable. i'm committed to cleaning up our city. i want people in san francisco, when they walk out the door, to feel the difference when they step outside. this will take a focused,

sustained effort, and we're making the investments to make this happen. in addition to the $67 million that we are currently spending on street cleaning, $13 million in new funding over the next two years will go to fund comprehensive efforts that will help make a difference. 44 new neighborhood cleaners, split across all of the districts here in the city so that no provider is upset about getting their fair share. we are opening five new pit stops, and we're expanding the hours so people have rest rooms to use rather than using our streets for that purpose. and we are expanding our efforts in cleaning up needles. that is going to be so important to the cleanliness of our streets and the quality of life. i also recently announced that we are going to be investing another $725,000 for the fix-it team. these are really

neighborhood-driven project that's can help make the neighborhood better based on feedback from community members. this is all a part of making our community safe and making our communities clean. this budget includes a strategic plan that will deploy 250 new officers on our streets. over the next two years, you will see more foot patrols throughout the city and additional officers will be added to help address violent crime and property crime. this budget also includes $1.7 million in funding to implement the 272 reforms recommended to our city by obama's department of justice. and we are adding, because supervisor president cohen is making us do this because of her leadership around police accountability, another $1.5 million to create four new

positions at the department of police accountability. when i was on the board of supervisors, one of my proudest accomplishments was helping address our ambulance crises. but today, there are still emergency response issues we know we need to tackle. we're adding personnel resources to the 911 emergency dispatch center to ensure that san franciscans get the immediate help they need, especially when there's an emergency. we're investing $1.5 million in funding for the fire department to staff a medical assistance response team to quickly respond to medical service calls in the tenderloin areas where we know there is a high call volume for those services. all of these investments equal one thing: positive change for yo our residents, and i am optimistic that we are going to be able to make these changes together. when you walk the streets, you

will feel the difference from our neighborhood cleaning group, our mental health and homelessness investments meaning better and quicker response to people who are in crises on our street. this budget investment means more police officers in our neighborhood, more beat trained with 21 century policing. and our significant spending on affordable housing reinforces my commitment to affordable housing in san francisco. this budget represents our values for a safer, cleaner, more equitiable city. i keep saying this. we all want to make a difference. i love this amazing city. many of us who work for the city and these nonprofits, we know how hard it is to get our city to a better place. we want to do that. we want to focus on making san francisco, and these dollars, invested right are the first

steps to help us get to that better place, and i am excited to be signing this budget, and i'm going to be even more excited when i see this money being put to work on the streets of san francisco so that each and every san franciscan can feel the difference for a cleaner, safer, and more beautiful city. with that, i'd like to turn it over to the president of the board who is also the finance chair for this budget, supervisor malia cohen. [applause] >> president cohen: thank you. hi, everyone. what city would we be in if there were not the occasional

hecklers. you heard the remarks from the mayor. she talked about how the budget was going to be spent, and i want to spend a couple minutes talk about the process that we went through that brought us to where we are today. first of all, this is an $11 billion budget. it's a reflection of the city of st. francis, a city that we both grew up in. this budget is supporting the city's most vulnerable with passion and dignity and also helps us solve some of problems that we are facing. it's the result of a robust, transparent, and inclusive process with an open and often vigorous discussion around our priorities. what i'm most proud of are the investments reducing homelessness, and i want to acknowledge our guests here. thank you for allowing us in your home today. and i also want to call out that we are champions of public safety for all citizens, and we are also committed to making sure that our streets and our

parks are clean, that they are safe, and i'm proud of our commitment to serve the residents of all of san francisco. so some of you may remember previous budget processes as being bruising, yes? no? yes, says ben rosenfeld. bruising and somehow contentious and somehow would draw the ugliness not out of only department heads, not only out of elected officials, but also our advocates. i'm just being honest here. the mayor talks about how she was excited to be signing our first budget, i'm excited to be signing my last budget. now i'm grateful that i was given the opportunity to chair the budget and finance committee, and it truly has opened my eyes on the entire internal workings of local government, but also, many things were revealed to me last

year that i set out to correct this year, one of which is how we evaluate the departments that are making requests. and for what reason are we not more policy driven? so my goal, along with my legislative team, headed up by sophia kitler, our goal was to take out the politics of the budget process and really infuse the policy access of how we are driving our budget. and i think we created a budget that was more transparent, that created robust, in depth, and thoughtful policy conversations that helped shape why we do what we do. i mean, in essence, we're all public servants. most of us took an oath to be here, but we are serving because we believe in the work that we're doing. we believe that we are given an opportunity to help people and have a -- to help them have a positive impact on their live, and we cannot ever lose that focus. and sometimes, it gets lost, so what we set out to do was to

have a stronger, more transparent and more democratic process. we wanted to make sure that we are funding our greatest needs and investing in the most effective programs. you see this is a unique process because if you recall, the budget actually starts in september. many people don't know that, but the process starts in september, and last september, it started with ed lee. he gave a directive to his department heads, he gave some rules on some constraints, on where -- and where the budget priorities should be, and then, by december, department heads have an idea on where they're going. they submit this budget -- excuse me. to ed lee has his hands on this budget. and then, you may recall, he had an untimely death. and so then we were placed in a chaotic state. mayor farrell made the presentation on june 1 on the budget. he had his fingerprints on this budget. so now we are going to be celebrating signing of abudget that has the fingerprints of our mayor london breed.

that is a moment in our history. we need to celebrate this because we are resilient. we are resilient, and we didn't do it alone. there are certain parameters that people like kelly kirkpatrick and ben rosenfeld helped put into place. what we did was we took an entire comprehensive list of requests from all across the city, $140 million that my colleagues had, that departments had, that advocates had. instead of making this list secret, we made it public. we put it on the website and we made it available to everyone. and i think that helped demystify the process for process. what we also did, we had long, multidepartmental meeting to understand not only what we had funded in previous years but

also how we are doing in those areas. are we, as a city and are we as a department, meeting our mark? or are we continuously throwing money out there, trying and hoping to meet our mark? so we introduced some metrics that we're going to be implementing -- i hope, in the future. i will not be here, so i'm going to look at my colleagues to do that, to make sure we are doing a good job to fund programs that are solid and help us solve major problems that we have identified, such as homelessness, such as the cleanliness of the streets. we use this as a framework to evaluate the budget's proposed budget, and so we were asking critical questions such as how do these investments make further the priorities of the department? are the investments missing anything? as we know, the june budget season has always been a chaotic time where the

community benefit organizations and frankly those front line people that are working directly on the ground have come to the budget to ask for additional funding. i'm proud to say nothing was cut. the list of budget that the mayor presented to you is an expansion of good things. i at this point would be remiss if i did not think carmen chiu, the assessor recorder who was instrumental in bringing in the funds so we could have the benefit of spending it. this has been an iterative process. i would like to just call out the committee, the budget and finance committee, the vice chair sandy fewer, supervisor yee, supervisor stefani. i also want to recognize supervisor sheehy because he had a significant role in shaping this as well. jon givner, our deputy city

attorney giving fantastic advice. i say a fantastic sparring partner when you spar with him, and ben rosenfeld, who has been our rock. he gives solid and sound advice. and kelly kirkpatrick, a wonderful woman who stepped up in the absence of melissa whitehouse and has now been donned the queen of the budget -- budget team. i also want to recognize harvey rose because harvey rose is a critical entity in the process of the budget because he takes out the politics, and he just goes straight to the numbers and goes straight to the crux of the issue, and he squeezes, sometimes bloods comes out of this process, but he squeezes dollars and cents that allows us to begin the discussion on how we can add to the budget priorities laid out by the mayor's office.

so harvey rose, thank you, you have been fantastic, the consummate professional, and i want to thank your entire team. and of course the clerk of the board, linda wong. as you know, the clerks run the machine. they run the committee. they start on time -- well, relatively on time, but the notes are there, and i would not be able to do my job if i did not have the outstanding help of linda wong. so folks, i hope you will enjoy this moment. i'm excited to stand next to mayor breed to sign her first, my last, budget, and i just want to say congratulations to all the department heads that participate in this process, that come before the budget and finance committee, and they plead their case. i've tried to make the process fun and thoughtful and most importantly informative, and with that, i thank you. malia cohen. >> the hon. london breed: the last point i want to make as we sign this budget, i want us all to remember that we know that

there's a lot of work to do. and the work that we do every single day can be the difference between someone's life and whether or not they make it. and that's why when you go out there, and you spend this money, make sure you remember that everything that you do for the city, it matters. it matters for people like michael, it matters for people who are here in this location where we are today, and so let's make every dollar count, let's make every dollar matter for the lives of so many san franciscans, and i want to make sure, again, that we walk out the doors and we feel the difference for a better san francisco. now let's sign this budget. [applause]

>> the hon. london breed: all right. are we ready? >> president cohen: thank you. >> the hon. london breed: thank you. and

>> 5, 4, 3, 2 , 1. cut. >> we are here to celebrate the opening of this community garden. a place that used to look a lot darker and today

is sun is shining and it's beautiful and it's been completely redone and been a gathering place for this community. >> i have been waiting for this garden for 3 decades. that is not a joke. i live in an apartment building three floors up and i have potted plants and have dreamt the whole time i have lived there to have some ability to build this dirt. >> let me tell you handout you -- how to build a community garden. you start with a really good idea and add community support from echo media and levis and take management and water and sun and this is what we have. this is great. it's about environment and stewardship.

it's also for the -- we implemented several practices in our successes of the site. that is made up of the pockets like wool but they are made of recycled plastic bottles. i don't know how they do it. >> there is acres and acres of parkland throughout golden gate park, but not necessarily through golden community garden. we have it right in the middle of

[pledge of allegiance] >> clerk: commissioner mazzucco, i'd like to call roll. >> commissioner mazzucco: please do. [roll