Mayor Daniel Lurie returns to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday for a monthly policy discussion that could provide a chance to defend his response to public drug use after facing criticism for not participating in a hearing on the matter last week. The week’s agenda also includes city labor agreements extending through 2031, affordable-housing financing, and SFUSD student assignment.
Lurie is scheduled to appear at Tuesday’s board meeting for monthly policy discussions, originally scheduled for last week but rescheduled due to the holiday. Supervisors have not submitted any questions for the mayor.
One possible issue he may want to address is his response to the current level of public drug use, given that his office was a no-show at a four-hour hearing held by the Public Safety Committee last Thursday. A CNN interview with Lurie promoting the city’s improved street conditions aired the same day; though it was taped the previous week, for many it served to highlight his absence at the hearing.
Another could be a pitch for his charter reform measures on next month’s ballot, given that the Budget and Legislative Analyst’s report on a cost analysis of the measures, requested by District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton in July, hit board members’ inboxes in recent days.
A spokesperson from Mayor Lurie’s office told The Voice that “he had nothing to share at this time” about what the mayor would say.
Other notable items on Tuesday’s agenda include a package of amendments to city labor agreements with several unions, including IFPTE Local 21, the Municipal Executives’ Association, and SEIU Local 1021. They would be extended through June 30, 2031, provide base-wage increases in fiscal years 2027–28 through 2030–31, and prohibit layoffs of permanent civil-service employees through June 30, 2029. The proposals also contemplate a citywide labor-management committee.
The agreements appear to reduce flexibility in future budgets for long-term stability. One question is what wage increases will cost over those extended terms, and do they jell with the city’s long-term outlook.
On Wednesday, the Budget and Finance Committee mulls the purchase of a $20.26 million loan for refinancing, up to over $22 million, for a 39-unit building managed by the Mission Economic Development Agency mainly for affordable housing.
The committee will also consider amendments to a lease for the Wholesale Produce Market on Jerrold Avenue, that would allow separate parcel leases to secure private construction loans. The bill had been continued from last month.
Thursday’s Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee features a resolution from Supervisor Alan Wong, urging the San Francisco Unified School District to adopt a predictable zone-based student assignment system. The Board of Education approved a resolution on Oct. 13 to develop a neighborhood-based elementary assignment system, replacing the lottery. The supervisor’s resolution may now look redundant, though as The Voice reported last week, there are persistent questions about the new policy as it reduces school choice and may increase student inequality. Attendees at a town hall held by the local NAACP chapter aired further concerns.
