Jane Kim Pulls a Jerry Brown, Looks to Dissolve City Committees to Save Money
Categories: Government
 |
| A liberal penny-pincher? There is such thing |
The freshman supervisor on Monday put in a request with the city's budget analyst, asking for a financial audit of every city task force, board and commission.
She wants to know which ones are not meeting regularly, which ones don't have quorums, and which ones are costing the city money that could be used elsewhere.
"It's not an attack in any way," Kim tells SF Weekly. "We are looking at really painful and difficult cuts and I don't want to leave any stone unturned."
As a sitting member of the Rules Committee, Kim says she sees how many questionable commissions there are citywide; some appear to have been inactive for a very, very long time, Kim tells SF Weekly.
She also sits on the board's Budget and Finance Committee, which means she knows exactly how desperate the city is to find some new revenue.
"How much are they costing the city?" Kim asks.
And that's a fair question, considering homeless services are being cut and health programs are on the chopping block.
So how much money could the city really save by dissolving these dormant groups?
A lot. A City Hall source tells us off the record that a more prominent committee with paid staff could easily amount to a few hundred- thousand dollars in savings.
However, that all depends on which committees Kim is going after. She tells us that she is only looking to audit those that are not required by the city charter, which excludes the big-name ones, such as the Entertainment Commission or the Planning Commission.
But she will be examining those that are non-charter committees, which, according to the Budget Analyst Office, includes the Asthma Task Force, the Biosciences Task Force, the Medical Cannabis Task Force, and the Rent Board.
To name a few.
Follow us on Twitter at @SFWeekly and @TheSnitchSF
Write Comment
Email to Friend
Print Article
