can be safe, a city that can be solvent, and a city that can be successful. if i may invite zack parker to please set up to the podium. he is 8 years old. he is going into the fourth grade at sherman elementary school. he likes playing basketball and drawing. he will be visiting yosemite and his family in oregon over the summer and attending summer camps. thank you for coming today. he is joined by his mother. go ahead,. >> hello. [inaudible] mayor lee said he wants the city to be safe, the word means more than one thing. will walk to school, play outside, or go shopping with our parents, but it also means that we should also help people who need food, the doctor, or a place to sleep. the whole city is stronger when we make sure we can all feel safe. today, we are hearing about how we can grow a stronger, healthier, safer san francisco for all our city's families and children. [applause] >> thanks, zack. next, to talk about a solvent city, i would like to invite and 11-year-old just graduated from harvey milk civil rights academy. she will be going into the s

the city. and finally, i was thrust upon with the obligation to make sure that i selected a police chief, not a temporary police chief. a chief that will carry forth what i consider to be one of the most important things in this city, to secure the public safety of the great city of san francisco. i think i have done that, with the selection and now the appointment of the chief. so many people have come up to me and clearly you expected a chief who had spent 30 years in his life, but i did not realize how many people he has really known in every part of this community. they come up and they thank us for making that wonderful decision. you will see right off the that, if he will be a great partner to make sure our police force and all the public agency facilities work together and we produce a higher level of public safety in the new year. i set out for a number of these objectives to perform those things in the most non-political way and to give it my full, 150% attention. that means to not be

to manage the city.as you know, i've tried to create a foundation in which we have a budget, we have a pension and we have relationships with all of our different parts of the city to be able to look further forward. this is the first time i've introduced a five-year budget planning for the city, and that meant a completely different dialogue with people. some people said, you mean i don't have to struggle with you this year just whether or not we're going to survive, whether it's a community-based agency helping us with aids or another agency helping us with our environment? they didn't have to ask that, because we invited them in to say, let's talk about this year and let's talk about the next four years and how we can collaborate with each ofments that's another different tone. but it also says we want you here. it also says we can evolve with you and we can help build and build capacity where there isn't. and if you've got a great purpose and a good program and you can implement it well, then we shou

one the cities. for those that aren't that familiar, it was the last -- when i took office it was the 68th largest of 15 or 20,000 cities in america. it's a big enough that it can provide some lessons. but it's frankly a small enough where it might be easier to get your arms around some of the challenges if you start to apply some ideas to make it work. so the second part of the city is the life of the mayor a little bit. because there's challenges that you have and there's opportunities that you have and a lot of people don't quite see the day to day life of a mayor. mayor goldsmith can testify how does it affect your family. i talk about that in my book. i've received some criticism for that. i think faith is a big part of all of us and i think that's important to see how it plays out. to we talk about those things. and it comes from the perspective of, of course, my experience which is in st. petersburg. but also from the perspective of a mayor. because the mayor is a leader of the city. the mayor

unique city. and i continue to be so enthralled by the wonderful people who live here, that work here, even though i finished the ninth of tin budget town hall meetings, numerous meetings with community-based agencies, inviting people who have not been there for years, as they tell me. i am hearing so many stories, stories about white people came to san francisco. and just -- about why people came to san francisco. and just so many stories about whether or not their dreams or conditions were fulfilled, or they are here working were living with their families or they are trying to conduct business here. it has been wonderful. a lot of people have been asking -- i really -- to i really enjoy it? the word " julyenjoy -- "enjoy" is a little strong. i set out on a commitment that i would do this for a year. i made a commitment i would try my best to unify the city and then set out to do at least five priorities. at least one of them has been fully accomplished, but the five priorities were budget, bala

the city needs to recommit ourselves to the values that our city was named after. st.rancis believed in compassion for those who have less -- had less than others. those of us with opportunities have to give back. part of that entails taking care of the most important among us, the folks who have need, including our homeless. >> let's talk about the transportation situation in your district. you mentioned that transit could be better. how is parking and traffic? is there enough muni service now? >> you are talking to the one member of the board that does not only car. i get around my district by muni, bicycle, or hailing a cab. our transit system is truly challenge. our bosses are late one out of four times. -- our buses are late one out of a quarter times. they're still not as clean and safe as we'd like. we can do better and investing in our muni system. we need more taxicabs on the streets. is difficult to obtain a cab. i support the concept of centralized taxi dispatch systems so you know who you can call to get a cab. i am a big believer in pedestrian bicycling as

i have a safe city i want to have, and a solvent city, and finally, we want to have a successful city. the reason that success is there is because i wanted to ask yourself, what brought you to send francisco? what made you make the investment that you made, that got you into a neighborhood? what brought me here was the excitement of being in a city that was culturally diverse. a city that respected all different cultures and ways of life. a city where you could talk to people without being offended by what people brought up. the city understanding diversity, celebrating everything that we were doing in this city. if this is going down the street in a dedicated, green lane, with huge conventions going into town, with people who can speak german and japanese, to find their way into your neighborhood with japan town -- and these great restaurants. a city with great nightclubs, the bring over a million people here on a daily basis, to find their way for jobs and all the other things. this is a successful city. the diversity and the strong neighborhoods in the different languages, things t

, we recommend the city create an independent panel to maintain accountability at city departments and others. this group would meet regularly over a multi-year time scale and report back on the city's progress integrating climate planning and environmental justice. the members of the advisory panel look forward to working with the city and private sector employers in identifying further specific actions to promote green jobs in san francisco. on behalf of the panel, which includes myself, kevin daniher, laurie bernstein with goodwill industries, teresa, and elliott hoffman with true market solutions , inc. thank you. [applause] >> and last, but not least, we have our representatives from the business advisory panel, christina page with yahoo and melissa. [applause] >> good afternoon, mayor lee. we were asked to just comment very briefly before sending our letter on the experience that companies had in the advisory panel. on behalf of yahoo, in addition to finding this dialogue both inspiring and thought provoking, it doesn't sound very reassuring because we discovered that the stea's

in any city, mobility is important. in a city like san francisco where we have a lot of space, mobility is important. to the extent that our public rights of way, streets and sidewalks are not in good condition, not save, not accessible, then we are not as mobile as a society as we need to be. therefore, we are not as strong as a society and have a strong enough economy. mobility really relies on infrastructure that is in good condition and i think we all recognize we have a long way to go in terms of realizing a city with infrastructure in the shape we need to enable that kind of mobility. it is also important because, here in the city, we have a transit first policy, a better streets policy. in order to get people out of their cars on to transit, on their bicycles, on their feet, we need public rights of way to be safe and accessible. all of that brings us to the point where we are today. the good news is, we have a plan. and that plan is called the 10- year capital plan. it is a plan that came together under the lead

so safe city, a solvent city, a successful city is the instructions i've given to the departments.hey're doing their very, very best, whether it's the recreation department, the budget department working hard with me, or our social services, all of the other departments represented here, they're doing their very, very best. having said that, many of you have been to other of our town hall budget meetings. and i want to let you know tonight, we have been hearing from you. we want you to know that we are listening. we are already making decisions before we even go to the board of supervisors to reflect how important some of the things you've indicated are. i want you to know tonight that for many of you who are seniors -- i mentioned this when we talked about a safe city -- you have represented your interests, and the community's interests very, very well in almost every one of our town hall meetings. we've heard you, the budget office, all the departments, have h.s.a. to the department of aging have heard as well, have talked already, and we're beginning to move on those recommendat

that is what being a neighbor of the great city is all about. that is what i love about the city.neighborhood is doing the same thing with our street. we want to pay attention to it. we want to get a little help. they get it. we bring the bureaucrats out to the neighborhoods. we make everybody that much more appreciative of what kind of city they are a part of. i want to emphasize the strength of our city relies on the strength of people likfrom the community. you build it here, in glen park, the mission, chinatown. it builds up the strength of the city. it comes back to our department's opening up their resources, not protecting it like other bureaucratic agencies have historically done. we've said we can do it and be challenged with a grant program completely open to everybody. these things are worth the $1 million it looks like today. it is worth 10 times more in building camaraderie and companionship with our neighbors. i want to emphasize that. i want to represent that by giving what i can do to reflect our appreciation for the leadership. it is a certificate of honor to juli

and shape of our city looks like. one thing i am proud about in this project, which i cannot take credit for, is the immense community outreach and input and process them and through this development, and to talk to folks who were formerly homeless who felt like their input was heard and taken into account into with this new neighborhood would look like. up to 2400 units of affordable housing for the city of san francisco, something that our city definitely needs. something to be clapped for. [applause] an unprecedented number of units going to formerly homeless communities as well. sherri williams and many of the community-based organizations will continue to not only provide affordable housing but actually support the community as well. we are looking at a mixed income neighborhood in treasure island. treasure island will have an impact on the city. i want to think ross mirkarimi and david chiu for introducing some changes to the development agreements, which will help to mitigate some of these impacts. of course, t

hurwitz: currently, city tunnel 1 and city tunnel number 2 would be feeding each half of the city. so you'd lose half the city if you didn't have a replacement. narrator: without half of its water supply, the city would shut down. for nearly 40 years, new york has been in the process of constructing a solution. man: this project is water tunnel number 3. we started on this project in 1969. i'm a sandhog. i've been a sandhog for 37 years. narrator: sandhogs are the men of local 147, who work deep below the city. they began building the infrastructure of new york in 1872. from the subways to the sewers, the water tunnels to the highway tunnels, new york city thrives because of their work. ryan: you got one little hole in the ground, and nobody knows we're here. see the empire state building, right. that's 1,000 feet. so you figure, you go down 1,000. how high that is -- that's how far we go down. narrator: stretching more than 60 miles under the city, tunnel 3 is taking generations of workers to complete. ryan: i don't even want to imagine what my father had to go through. when we fi

abbas born and raised in the city. i come from a working-class family and i went to public schools here. i'm currently at city college of san francisco. i believe i would be an asset to this task force because i know my community and city very well. i believe in the voting process and communities having input in city government. i've also a former youth commissioner, so i have experience serving my city. being part of the youth commission, i have learned to work across districts and find solutions. i have experience in the tobacco free project and in this program, i learned to assess the health needs of my neighborhood and work with merchants. i also learned the importance of action research and its relationship to policy. i believe my vision is to represent my community and the voices that have not been heard. i would like to see this city improved through this redistricting process. supervisor kim: thank you for serving as a youth commissioner and representing district 6. i saw that on your application. could you tal

the city and negotiate. -- the city can negotiate. there are certain retiree health benefits that were improved after people left city service, and the city will be making -- the amendment makes changes to ensure that any windfalls or benefit improvements that came after someone was no longer in city service will not be in effect. benefit improvements will be restricted to those who have not yet retired -- they will not receive benefits that were not in effect when they left. and that is pretty much my summary. i would like to thank everyone for working on it. thank you to the people who calculated all of it. [laughter] thank you, micki. mayor

that, along with the perverse -- diverse corridors of the city, that is part of being a successful city. i want to continue that. to continue to have us face -- a safe, soldan, and successful city. and i can do that in a non- political way. i think the unprecedented dialogue with the board of supervisors, that we can get agreements, not yell at each other, not take some much political positions that are for san francisco. i think you for this time and i would be very willing to answer questions tonight. [applause] >> thank you. before we talk policy and the city stuff, i want to talk a little bit more about growing up in seattle. the fourth of six kids. tell us about the way you grew up, hal is shaped who you are now? mayor lee: i do not talk much about it because it was a hard life. we grew up in housing projects in seattle. we struggled. we were a large family. my dad was a cook. my mom was a seamstress. so, kind of typical for a lot of asian immigrant families. i had the unfortunate episode of my dad dying when i was in high school. so we literally had to be on our own. six kids, one

city. i was with them last week. they had all these volunteers out helping us repair homes in our mission and excelsior for seniors, so it is a wonderful cooperation we have with wells fargo. how was the right coming in today? >> when a great way to start the morning. i wish i could start every morning like this. we have more than 9000 team members at work, so coming from marin county in the east bay from the south bay, so we are actively working with them and helping reduce greenhouse emissions. one of that is by the commute, so we are actively encouraging bike riding to work appear almost every one of our administrative offices has bike racks outside of it to help support our team members, so thank you, and thank you, mayor. >> joel. travel sf. our tourists and visitors are noticing this experience. what are you saying? >> travel and tourism in -- is san francisco's number one industry. 80 million people come here every year, and more than 1/3 are from international countries that are use

the city. if it is as smooth as tonight, i do not mind going to seven more of these things. thank you very much for being patient with us and sharing your ideas and passion about how you love to be in this city and to be part of it. thank you very much. [applause] >> again, just want to reiterate, thank you so much for being here. i want to thank our department heads, our budget director for being here. we asked him to come and just listen. you often get to hear us, and we do not always get the same opportunity to hear you, so they all came knowing that they would not get an opportunity to speak or respond, but they came to get feedback from you as they develop their budget, so we thank you for giving of that tonight. also, this would not have been possible if not for the many community residents and organizers that brought people out, that organized folks and educated people about the budget and budget process, so i really want to thank all the organizers and the volunteers. also, the greeters

all that has to happen is the three people the city designated, the city-appointed seats, the management seats will refuse to speak. so you have a 3 and 3 split on the board and the 30 days goes by, according to what i have read, and then no actions -- there is no actions. the comptroller -- controller's nominee becomes the representative on the board. i do believe this is an egregious thing. and also notice that the legislative language specifically talks about reduced numbers, reduced numbers of medical providers. that means we will have fewer people we can go to. supposing we're going to someone on the city plan, a heart specialist, and they are not on the list. just think of that. i put this to you because that is going to be very unfair for a number of people who are elderly and particularly el. -- particularly ill. that particular asset -- it is not fair on the health care thing. and think you should review this. i think it is basically very unfair. thank you. supervisor elsbernd: thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i'm here on behalf of the executive benefits. i would like

we need to look at what we do as a city and was services we offer. we have 26,000 city employees. our payroll and fringe benefits for city employees accounts for over 60% of our budget. if we are not willing to look at that issue, i do not think we are going to solve -- i know we will not solve our long-term financial issues. that, to me, is the biggest deal. second, it is about job creation. jobs are not just putting people back to work, which i think is the highest priority, but it is all the ancillary benefits we received, whether it be payroll taxes, an increase in property taxes. people who live and work in san francisco also shop at local restaurants, so shop at the local retail stores. it is a huge economic impact in san francisco. in my opinion, it is getting our costs under control but also promoting economic development so we have a financial engine that will continue to promote us year after year. >> what are your ideas on dealing with the issue of homelessness in san francisco? >> i am one that thinks mayor newsom did a great job thinking proactively about what we need

a great city. and to my good friend, rose pack, thank you. we have done it. i thank you for this enormous honor and the enormous responsibility to serve as your mayor. it's a responsibility i take with great -- a great deal of humility, enthusiasm, and determination. i must say it's been a whirlwind for me. i left town over a week ago as your city administrator, a career civil servant, looking forward to a new year of promise and challenge in the job that i love. and now just a few weeks later, i stand before you as your mayor. [applause] that's quite a journey. but in many ways, this wasn't a whirlwind. it was a journey decades in the making. i spent the past 21 years in and around these hallowed halls , beneath this glorious dome, working to make this city a better place, working for people, working for justice, working to get things done. i believe that i stand before you today not because i was the preferred choice of one side of the aisle or the other, not because i was a safe choice, but beca

i love dressing up and coming to city hall knowing where part of the city just as we are apart of city hall. this is a great crowd today. i have seen great improvements. the flag this year is new and crisp. the crowd is beautiful. everybody is organized. some of you dressed up and some of you did not. [laughter] that is okay. you are all welcome at city hall. before we do the formal program, i want to acknowledge that this is the same suit i wore years ago when nancy pelosi walked into the room and have the same suit on -- had the same suit on. i do not think she is wearing the same suit, but i am. [laughter] sandra, thank you for being here to represent her. [applause] this is a treacherous thing to do at city hall. it is full of protocol and eggshells. it is not easy to walk on egg shells with these issues. [laughter] i will try. if i make a mistake, forgive me. the most important thing is to wreck a bias -- recognize that we are represented by people who want to celebrate pride. to kick things off, i give you the mayor of san francisco, mayor ed lee. [applause] >> thank you very muc

as i have said many times with this of the city, we can make city services increase and be maintained as well as proper investments to keep families in our city. is a halt what i want to reemphasize a consensus proposal levels in the city leaders, business, community in the nonprofit [unintelligible] no matter what level of work you have in the city, we will contribute to the solution. we're seeking long-term reform in this proposal in the form of new and lower benefits that we have yet to hire and immediately relief in the form of current employees for the existing level benefits that we apply. it is important to show in this consensus plan that its comprehensiveness will be reflected in its ability to provide pensions biking, caps pension benefits, it raises the retirement age, it requires existing in the new employees to share health care costs. and it uses a sliding scale to protect lower wage earners of our employee group. if it does probably the most important thing that other pension plans you've been reading about the not do. a requires a greater contribution to the health tru

the capacity of our city and a strong evidence of all of our abilities -- the capacity of our city and its ability to thrive depends on all of our abilities -- excuse me. thank you very much. supervisor chu: thank you very much. next speaker. >> i am the director of the filipino community center. i'm here today to express appreciation for the funding we did receive through the block grant program, particularly our work in the excelsior neighborhood, serving over 15,000 filipinos, documented and undocumented. in the last year, we have seen a huge increase in the number of people who need our services. being able to come to a place that is centrally located in the community with a lit where we have been able to put people to work, help people find housing, address their needs around immigration and domestic violence, and this is because of our ability to provide culturally competent and neighborhood-based services. we know this is a difficult time and have had to readjust our programs and focus on the core strategies that are most in need in our community. while we have in the past incre

departments, city college. i actually would be more interested in seeing us do work force development and energy efficiency in our buildings, particularly with our ratepayers but a it would help our ratepayers reduce their cost, it would help our general fund and p.u.c.'s budget as well. i get that solar may not be the most efficient use of our dollars in terms of creating jobs in green-collar work force. i'm wondering, since this upcoming year in essence the program will be somewhat whole. if we could work on developing programs that would actually route folks into energy efficiency and working with our ratepayers -- >> we'd love to do that. that's such a good use of money and that's a long-term training opportunity also. supervisor kim: great. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you, supervisor kim. supervisor chiu. supervisor chiu: a couple questions to follow-up on involving city college. at the southeast campus you obviously have a lot of activities there related to your department's work. how did you come up

it is the identity of our city. i went down to low celtuce the other day. -- los altos the other day. i don't know where i was. i some miles of chance. someone gave me this. -- i saw miles of chains. someone gave me this. you have these other cities with chain stores and formula retail. if we don't put a stop to this, our lovely city that some of us may take for granted, will start to look like this. that is what is going to happen. it won't be funny. it might be funny, because there are conventions. a lot of them will say, "san francisco -- don't go there." this is a lovely, lovely city. it should not become a mega strip mall. somebody goes from the airport to downtown san francisco and do not know what city they are in. the could be in denver or albuquerque. they could be anywhere. that is the big picture, which i hope is what we are thinking about, not just pet food express. was that a bill? -- bell? president o'brien: 32nd morning. >> this can spread like a virus, you know? in five years, the entire area -- the

and what is needed in this city as well as well in for my decisions about my work in this city as well as if i were to be elected on the redistricting task force. my work on and zoning and policy has allowed me to understand the impact of citywide changes and be objective and fair and willing to see other positions. we are talking about city-wide changes that are going to affect all people. we have to see beyond our own interests to see the needs of people living in the city. i feel redistricting is very important because a lot of impact on the representation, resources and who will vote where, who cannot vote and who made it -- and who may be disenfranchised. whoever is chosen for this task force will need to be fair, focused and objectives. my experience of living and working in districts, working with a diverse community, not just in terms of race and ethnicity and didn't come up professional background will be valuable. if you have any questions, i will be happy to answer them. supervisor elsbernd: i thought u.s. your standard question which is appropriate -- why this commission? w

the residents of the city. it's the job of the elected officials to look out for the larger good, which sometimes balances the interests of the individuals with the interest of the city. i'm from a area two blocks from the new trans bay construction project. speaking of quiet enjoyment, some days it is noisy and destructive, but i'm excited about what the new development will bring to the city as a whole. it would be more convenient for me, of course, for the neighborhood to not have that area in construction right now. it would not the right to hinder the benefits that will come to the city from the terminal project for the narrow and short-term interests of immediate neighbors. in the same way parkmerced -- benefits of the development will bring positive things to all of the city. the development plans are progressive based on forward thinking concepts about sustainable approach to urban design and living. i encourage you to support this project. supervisor mar: thank you. we are joined by the former supervis

across the city. he is someone that rolls up his sleeves and gets things done. i want to thank you for being here tonight. [applause] i want to hand over the microphone to you -- actually, to greg widener first. the mayor's budget director has to leave early. he will be replaced by another member of the mayor's budget office, rick, who will be here to listen. greg, if you want to share some of your insight. i have worked with him on the budget committee and has made some tough choices. >> thank you, very much. thank you all for being here. i am sorry i have to leave. i have a sick kid at home. i wanted to be here until i have to get back for child care. i just wanted to give you an overview of where things stand with the state budget. i think you are probably familiar with the challenges we are facing in the city and county of san francisco. for next year, we are projecting a general fund budget deficit of $306 million. over the next three months, we will have to close that deficit. the mayor's budget

city. hamas avenue say a few things. this is the only stand-alone major museum in the united states devoted only to the arts. this is a great gateway to asia. we help to sustain that the jobs, and the quality of life in san francisco, to provide greater cultural and educational value, where we offer so many opportunities as well as challenges. we also enjoyed a tremendous international reputation for being one of the best museums in promoting the u.s. and asian culture. so, let me -- let me talk about what has happened in the last fiscal year. we have restructured the debt, i would like to thank you for your support for the asian art museum. without your support we would not have success, and we solve the major obstacle for this wonderful institution. with the city of san francisco as well. and the goals were said very clearly. we needed to do this to achieve financial stability. what is happening now, is immediately after the crisis was solved, we restructured the museum so that we could b

they were only voting in favor of the city in the city costs. what has to happen, and having sat on that board for quite awhile does this. that we are the beneficiaries. the city is not the beneficiary. we are. and the reason the city is having to come up with big numbers under the retirement system is because for years the board of supervisors just did their own pet projects and did not contribute to the retirement system. they were in dereliction of duty. they should have put in every year, a minimum amount to cover. the we had a half hour special projects. and did not really think i would stand up here and talk about this today. if you do not understand fiduciary responsibilities, you have no business being on that board. that is the reason that we change it. and the voters approved it. we have voter approval all along. we did the three charter amendments. they put together their money a little bit at a time and we passed those charter amendments. and the proposition was the major one that we passed because we wanted an independent health ser

we represent the city of san francisco, the city of oakland, the city of san jose, the county of alameda and the county of santa clara. we request you authorize us to go forward with that second exception. supervisor campos: we have a second extension. i don't know if you have any question or comment, colleagues. thank you very much. why don't we open it up to public comment? is there any member of the public like to speak on this item? seeing a nun, the public, disclosed. i have a motion to -- can you call item no. 3? >> a motion designating the examiner to be the newspaper of the city and county of san francisco for all official advertising. >> good morning. i'm from the office of contract and attrition. the situation with official advertising this year is the same as that has been for the past several. we went out for a bit and we got to bids, one from the "chronicle" and one from the "examiner." the bid from the "examiner" was responsive and the "chronicle" was not. we could only recommend "the examiner" in that resolution. what the board has done in the last several years is to awar

many people in the city right now. we'll be presenting to the behind from the mayor's office a proposal in the next two weeks. yes, we're going to end up having new hires pay a lot more into the pension system, part of the proposal, but every way that we looked we could not figure out how to balance that pension system without having current employees pay more into the system. so it cannot be just the full burden than on new hires. new hires will end up having to pay a lot more, and they will not have the same system as we have today. that's for sure. we have to have additional contributions from the employees of the city. we'll be forwarding that pension proposal to the board and hopefully in the next few weeks proposing it in public, and introducing it as a ballot measure for november. >> i look forward to supporting that. this is work the mayor and many representatives, both from labor and the city department, have been working on very hard in recent months. we have all been at the table. we look forward to giving t