November 2020: SFLCV Opposes Prop B, the Department of Sanitation and Streets, Sanitation and Streets Commission, and Public Works Commission

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Prop B attempts to address the ongoing strain of unsanitary conditions on the City’s sidewalks and streets and the issues of corruption in the Department of Public Works. Few San Franciscans will argue against a long overdue overhaul of the Department of Public Works - particularly after revelations of upper management accepting bribes and the overwhelming magnitude of street trash and hazardous waste.

However, we at the League do not believe this solution will be any more effective than the status quo and yet will leave us with more bureaucracy. Perhaps more importantly, it will do nothing to address the underlying social welfare concerns needed to dramatically improve street safety conditions.In the wake of fraud allegations at the Department of Public Works, District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney introduced Prop B, which amends the City Charter to split off Public Works’ street cleaning, sidewalk maintenance and sanitation duties into a new agency. Given that Prop B amends the City Charter, voters must approve the change with a majority vote. 

Main features of Prop B include:

  • Creates the Department of Sanitation and Streets, to focus on cleaning and maintaining streets and sidewalks as well as other tasks, including maintaining street trees and City buildings - duties currently performed by the Department of Public Works.

  • Creates two new oversight commissions to oversee the new Department of Sanitation and Streets and the existing Department of Public Works.

  • Requires an annual performance audit and cost and waste analysis for both departments, to be performed by the City's Controller's office.

  • Removes the Department of Public Works from the purview of the City Administrator.

As it stands, the Office of the Controller estimates the new department would cost the City $2.5 to $6 million per year, starting in 2022. Given administrative costs of establishing and maintaining a new department, this likely underestimates the true cost. Current economic conditions also matter: The City faces a nearly $2 billion budget deficit; is this the time to create new departments? Supervisor Stefani (D2) attempted to introduce an amendment that would have limited the measure to the formation of an oversight Commission for the Department of Public Works, which failed. We believe this would have been a better approach.

Homelessness, drug use, and mental illness - factors that are driving unsafe and unclean conditions along City streets - will not be addressed by the formation of new departments and commissions. There is also no reason to believe a new department, tasked with a category of duties currently assigned to the Department of Public Works, will be more effective. This could have been addressed if the measure simply created goals or performance metrics for the new department and yet it does not.

The City is facing a slew of new challenges and budget constraints. Voters have little patience with the City's inability to address sanitation conditions downtown and elsewhere. Rather than create bureaucratic duplication and unaccountable commissions, we urge the Supervisors to hold Public Works accountable and develop a strategy to deal with a situation that has escalated over many decades. We wholeheartedly agree that DPW needs oversight and we could have supported a straightforward measure to address that issue.

We urge you to Vote No on Prop B.