i would like to invite fred blackwell up to the podium. >> usually, i thank the staff, and the mayor has already done that. but this is a project that is so overwhelming that i am still not at a loss for words. [laughter] you know, if there is a project that better exemplifies what redevelopment should and can do, i would like to see it. if there is a set of partners that would be better to work with, i would like to see them. and if there's a more a corporate woman building in a project like this to be named after, and i would like to meet her. in terms of the redevelopment agency's role in this, agency funds were used to acquire the site, to provide the financing for the affordable housing. grant funds were used for the clinic. in terms of the use of tax increment and agency funds, again, i think this is a shining example of what redevelopment can do and the reason why it should sit around. the partnership on this has been remarkable, though. at this point, to say a couple of things about mercy housing and the south of market health center -- mercy housing is probably one of our mo

my name is fred blackwell. i am executive director of the san francisco redevelopment agency. we are going to move through swiftly with our program, but i just wanted to say a couple of things before i introduce some of the folks who are going to say some words to you. the program was established in 2005. the purpose of the program was to make sure that as research and implement a redevelopment program here in the view-hunters point, that we focus on all aspects of redevelopment, including making sure that we are committing resources, time, and energy to improving the lives -- the quality of life for existing residents and homeowners. this program was created for that purpose, and it has three components to it. one is the private realm where we have provided low-cost loans in order to deal with deferred maintenance issues, or upgrades to do with code issues. the second component has to do with the public realm, and much of what we will be talking about is that. streetscape improvements, traffic calming, dealing with flooding issues, and things like that. the third component re

but just a couple of things -- i am fred blackwell from the san francisco redevelopment agency. we are not a general fund department. we are funded through a mechanism called tax increment financing, which basically means in redevelopment project areas, with give the intrigue -- we give the increases and property tax developments and put that money back into its product development areas. our product areas in district 10 are bayview hunters point, and the hunters point shipyard, basically. our biggest budget question this year -- if you have not been reading the newspaper -- is whether or not we will be around. the governor, as part of his budget in january, proposed the elimination of redevelopment agencies statewide. the current status right now in sacramento is that the governor does not have the 2/3 votes needed to actually move that proposal forward. there is rumor that the proposal may be redrafted in a way that will allow him to pursue a majority vote in the legislature. it is not clear as to whether or not the majority is there to eliminate redevelopment. that all being

fred blackwell, director of redevelopment agency. we have jeff go down, sfpd. sonali bose, sfmta. bob sitting in for phil ginsburg from iraq and park -- from rec adn park. -- rec and park. next up, we have greg wagner, who is going to be via a little bit on the budget. you can use that microphone right there. >> thank you very much, supervisor cohen. i wanted to set the stage by walking briefly through an overview of what our budget problem is, to set the stage for the conversation we are going to have and give a little bit of background on why we are all here tonight and what the challenges are that are facing us collectively over the next three months as we need to balance our budget. so as you know, the city charter requires us to have a balanced budget every year. unlike the federal government, we cannot borrow money and operate at a deficit. this is an ironclad requirement. it requires us to ensure that our sources and the money coming into the city are equal to our users, and that is the expenditures we make. when we look ahead at next year, we do a projection of what our re