Transcripts For SFGTV 20140119

Thing as the companis that we represent here start to deal with the real world realities of how you go about complying with the variety of things that actually seem to be in conflict with one another. And also, i think, you know, hearing a little bit of more from the chamber of commerce, and you know, and specifically, jim who is, you know, has got a lot of experience in this area, and kind of what some of the issues are facing the cities specific plans, and we cant do anything to change and we can but we are not going to do anything to change the state or the federal situation but we can deal with trying to address some of the issues that seem to be swirling around our own efforts to provide Health Coverage for our citizens. So, i want to spend more time thinking about it. Great. Commissioner dooley . I want to add to it, commissioner dwight said is that i spent some time, earlier today, with one of my employers who owns a restaurant and he had specifically requested me to come back to him after this hearing. And go over this, to see, you know, how it really effects him. And he had said, he would have to get rid of all of the hra and that was the only comment tonight and so there is clearly, and there is just so much confusion and i think that we need to go directly to the people affected with these comment and come back. How soon until the citys website is updated . Because that seems to be a big and, here we are, i mean, the third week in january, the second week in january. Well, i think that there is not a significant change on this, on the eligibility for the city option, and i think that what was requested. And the eligibility for San Francisco for healthy San Francisco and the city mra are continued to be the same as they were before, and i think that it just was never really and it was recently pointed out to me that it was never really appropriated described on the website. But it is not changing the programs but improving the language on the website. Great. Commissioner dwight . I think that the other thing that you know, we will try to bring to our constituents, the Small Business ss a way to sort of get over the obvious ject and healthcare is always an issue for employers because we want to provide for our employees and it is more expensive and complicated and it is easy to roll your eyes and so what i would like to do is get past that myself even. And really talk to the folks that we have consultants that are helping us with this situation, and it is their job and so, but i think that i take some solice in knowing that even scott is confused by this and that is his business. And so, good i am not the only one. And i dont want to make bags. So. But any way, i think that in dealing, and again, dealing with it, you know, on the ground, in our own companies and we will get to sort some of this out and get passed the emotional part tf and figure out how we are going to make this all work. Thank you commissioner white . Yeah, just to piggy back with commissioner dwight, i too have a, you know, Health Benefit consultant that is helping me through this, because it is quite confusing. However, maybe, all Small Businesses dont have that. So, can you tell me a little bit about what the out reach has been in the Small Business comment. In information in regards to this new. Yeah, i can speak briefly to that. And we do have, the office of labor standards has an hot line and an email address and i have been answering the questions about these issues on throughout the fall and into this year. And we also have a email list of 5,000 emails, people who are interested in the healthcare ordinance and we did send out an email notifying the people to check the website on guidance to these issues thank you. We may have to think. There has been no out reach to the Community Groups on this. Especially the merchant groups in the city. Not to get through our office. Okay. Commissioner obrien . Yeah, ways just wondering. If we wanted the experts here could tell me, if we were to close out the healthcare ordinance, would that leave a gaping hole of people not covered . I think that it came in and i think that the mayor newsom was involved in part of the process and i think that he was there to try to have San Francisco as an shining example of providing healthcare for all of san franciscans and so, i get the feeling and like everybody else, i am very equipped to comment too much on it based on my level of understanding on the whole thing, because it is very confusing. And so i am just, just a curious spot and if there is a gap of the people that would end up being exposed if we were to ultimately phase out the healthcare ordinance. That is a good question. And so, without the Healthcare Security ordinance, the employers would be required or would be penalized if they didnt, to provide the Health Insurance, only the large employers and so the employers with 50 or more employers would be required to provide Health Insurance or be penalized. All individuals are required to have Health Insurance, but i think that it is how they get the Health Insurance that would be affected. So all individuals would technically be required but the employers sponsored Health Insurance may not be an option for those under 49 employees or under in San Francisco. And were it not for the Healthcare Security ordinance. Okay. Thank you. Commissioner riley. Yes, my question is for the director. Do we get a lot of inquireries for the Business Owners regarding this healthcare and how do we handle it . We have not been getting a lot of inquiries through our office. We have been communicating through the ebulletin in terms of changes and any updates, you know, any new updates that olsc has been providing. And i do think that a lot of, you know, a lot of communication that businesses are getting, primarily, their primary form of contact is through, and if they have a benefits provider is the benefits provider. And then, for those that are associated like with the, through a member group, like, with the chamber of commerce, the chamber of commerce has been providing updates to the golden gate restaurant has been providing updates and if there is a business that is not sort of taped into one of those kinds of entities, and then the likelihood is that they are not really, you know, getting updates. But, i do think, you know, the fact is that most, the employers that do reporting, know that the office of labor standards and enforcement exists and i know that they have been calling to get the clarity on some of the issues. I have heard that it is confuse and especially those that selfadminister their health plans, thank you. Did you want to add something, . If i may . Yes, you may. I am Donna Leavitt and i head the office of labor standards enforcement and one other thing that i wanted to share is that the olse, during december, did our annual mailing of the notices that employers are required to post about San Francisco labor laws. And we did a separate mailing to employers with 20 or more employees specifically to address the Healthcare Security ordinance. And the Family Friendly workplace ordinance. And to remind them about the information that is available on our website. Also, as elen, mentioned earlier, every employer who submitted an annual reporting form, in previous years, in other words, they are covered by the Healthcare Security ordinance, we automatically email with updates about the law. So, we have sent out notifications about the updated faqs to those employers. We have seen an uptick of inquiries from the Business Owners. Both emails, and phone calls. And it was from those questions that we composed the faqs to try to address their most frequent questions. Thank you and i did receive that by the way. Great. Yeah. Okay, any other questions . Comments . Next item. 7. Discussion and possible action on board of supervisors file number 1 31138 hearing road work and infrastructure oversight. This is a discussion and possible action item. Commissioners so, the as the commission we have been forwarded supervisor weiner is going to be conducting a hearing on january 27th at the Land Use Committee meeting, and they have provided us the commission with an opportunity to provide any sort of comments, recommendations, suggestions, as it pertains to the hearing matter. Which is a hearing that is directed to the department of public works, Municipal Transportation Agency and the Public Utilities commission and the pacific gas and electric to explore issues including where projects were occurring including sewer, water, natural gas and road resurface and so taking a look at Infrastructure Projects when they take place, there is the city it does have a policy and around, you know, the city does have kind of a mandate that once a road is resurfaced no work can be done for five years. And in terms of trying to sort of aggregate, you know, all of the road work, happening at one time. And so, cpw does not come in, and then, puc comes in and then, pg e comes in and so, the work to try to aggregate all of that Work Together at one time to minimize the impact and so i just jotted down a few things and this does not have to be, you know, extraordinarily detailed or subnative and but it provides an opportunity for the commission to be able to forward some thoughts, recommendations, suggestions, questions, that the supervisors may want to ask, and so, i just would like to hear your thoughts and you know, what experiences have you had . Or you know, merchant corridors that you work with and you are familiar with that you have had the feedback about, you know, when these Infrastructure Projects relatively simple, and not like the central subway, but relatively simple in terms of redoing the sewer pipes or what have you, that is not simple. But not to the degree of the central subway, if there is any feedback that you have heard from the merchant groups . Yes . Do you want to go . Sure. And one thing that i have noticed is on some of these projects is that it seems as though the project will be completed basically, but the obstructions for the parking, stay in place, and just sort of the general debris and in that area is, you know, very impactful for the businesses, and i am thinking of a business that i know that was on a corner and you know, there was a hanging flower basket above and they knocked it down and threw it on the trash and then, you know, kept it blocked with the big red, orange, you know, dont walk on this side of the sidewalk, way past when the project was completed. And i think that you know, we need to talk about removing the rest of what went with that project in a timely manner. Clean p up your mess. Yeah. Any other comments . I just, i just want to say, in my time, you know, which is you know, almost 20 years living in the castro and being involved with mumse, i got and this is a positive thing, you know, every project in that area, whether it was in the merchant area or even on the side streets, you know, pg e would come to our munsi meetings and let us know what was being done. Dpw, especially when ed riskin was in charge, let us know ahead of time what was going on, and you know, if it had to do with the holidays or pride, or halloween or something, they were very, very respectful about that. And stopped work during those times when there was a large influx of, you know, tourists in the neighborhood, and you know that i will get phone calls tomorrow saying that something is wrong. I got to tell you that pg e we have a liaison and we have had good ones in the past. Some of them better than others. But, you know, we all had the phone numbers and if there was an issue and they could call and they were very responsive. And if pg e, the out reach was good in the castro and it still is, and i have not heard any complaints and they are doing the big fro ject on 17th street that seems to be going on forever. They are coming to the meeting to explain why and they are doing it on 17th street and right in front of supervisor weiners house and the new water lines and the gas lines and the new sewer lines and they are doing it all at once. So, i am going to stay positive on this and the out reach with dpw and pg e and those two projects and the projects in the castro neighborhood and in my opinion have been dealt with very well in the last, you know, 15 years, so, they do show up at the munsi meetings and they know if they dont, they could be part of it too. So, i am just going to leave it at that. Any other comments . I would like to open this up to the Public Comment, do we have any comments on item number 7 . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. And any other commissioner comments to give her on this item. Just following, and i just want to sort of repeat some of the points, so communication, early, often, you know, before during and after which kind of goes also to your point, commissioner dooley about, if there is after communication, and then there is the ability to talk about the clean up afterwards, and the liaisons, and i also put that the stages, you know, that the staging area for vehicles and Equipment Materials were not in use, is not on the commercial district or in front of the businesses. And then, of course, to reiterate that having quality pavement is essential to bike safety. And prioritize commercial districts work to not to take place during the pique retail times and we hear more and more that as you said, commissioner adams, about the sensitivity to that, and being responsive to that, and then, lastly, just to insure that if a street is in more moratorium there will not be delay issues should a development projector a business need to cut into the street for increase electricity or waste water. So those were sort of the points that the staff came up with. Great. Thank you. Okay, next item, please. Mr. President , that takes us to item 8, directors report, this is a discussion item. So, commissioners, we want to inform you that on july 27th, you will be receiving a presentation on the what we are calling the business tax and because it is not just a gross receipts and the Business Registration is changing and you will be receiving a presentation on just the reminder of the schedule and the changes and the dates that things were changing and the next Business Registration, payment, and payments are going to be going up, and then, also including the out reach program, our marketing program, and our marketing and communications program. And as well. So, starting this month, we are going to start slowly inveiling all of the different elements that we have been working on for doing out reach and education to the businesses on the gross receipts and we have developed a new website that will or is a landing page to help to direct people for information, and it is not quite live yet. But it is sfbiz text. Org. Online business portal. Tomorrow partners has been awarded the contract to build the portal and we are excited about that. The target date for the delivery of the portal is august and jane has moved over to the department of technology to be working on the project. And informed you that our first key to the zip was fully funded right after the holidays, and so that is very exciting and now we now would like to find two more businesses that we can refer and we can refer as a trustee. To keep a zip. In your packet, is lets see. Okay, you know i didnt get it printed out, but i will forward it to you, kind of the list of criteria that we use to sort of prescreen a business, for eligibility. Then, i provided you with the fiscal quarter q2 for the 2013, 14 fiscal year. And we are up 43 percent, over the current, the Previous Fiscal Year in 2012, 2013. And then, the reminder that to the council of district merchants has the annual dinner on february 16th. And excuse me, thank you, for the correction, on february 6th, the mayor will be doing his quarterly meeting with the Small Business leaders on february 6th. And then, to it is a ways out but the Small Business week is schedule for may 12th through 16. And then, i just provided just some quick updates on the staffing, component and i really want to extend it and it has been five months since the Commission Secretary vacantcy position has been vacant. And have just now received approval from dhr, that we consume post for that position and really want to extend my great appreciation to Christian Murdock for the job that he has been doing and wearing the hats and doing the double duty with the two positions to help you and to help me. Legislation updates, i think that probably the most key thing that i want to identify, is the formula retail study is just going to soon be completed or the first phase. And focus groups are going to be held to present some of the first key findings, and then, on january 23rd, the Planning Commission will get a formal presentation. I will be also speaking to the planning staff to see about having a presentation to you. And then, lastly, i think that to highlight is the cottage foods, zoning referral fee which we had discussion about with the dph, or excuse me, with during the planning, zoning changes. And the Planning Department has agreed to do a trial and wave the years worth of planning fees. So we will be working with supervisor chius office and the Planning Department to draft the legislation on that. And then, i just provided you with the a list of recent but a good list of legislation that has been referred to the commission, and which you will be hearing in the next few, or the next two to three meetings. And with that, i will if there is any questions . I am happy to take them. Do you have any questions . Okay. Great, thank you. Regina. The next item, please . Item 9, legislation and policy committee report. We actually met today. Legislation and policy committee. And we will have some items coming up at our january 27th meeting. That is it. Thank you mr, president. That takes us to number ten, the president s report. I dont have much of a voice today. Sorry. That 49ers game yesterday. Just i am losing my voice. I dont have anything to add today, thank you. Thank you mr. President , takes u. S. To item 11, Vice President s report. Nothing to report. Thank you. Thank you. Item 12, commissioner reports . Go ahead. Lets see. Commissioner dooley . I attended the Business Tax Advisory Group meeting on the 12th of december. I attended, we had another ada meeting with supervisors where we are moving forward with and we had folks from federal and state, actually at the meeting this time, along with, different parts of the city that are involved. And we were slowingly but surely moving forward on getting some recommendations together, and you know, trying to solidify, so that the state, the federal, and the city dbi requirements are going to be the same, so that our businesses are not going to be penalized for, you know, complying with the citys ordinances and then, puts them in jeopardy for being sued at a state or a federal levels and so we are moving for ward with that and i think that we are making some really positive steps forward. And i went to the council of the District Meeting on the 17th and as she mentioned i will be part of the formula retail focus group coming up next week. So, that is it. Great. And any other commissioner reports . Seeing none, next item, please . Item 13, general Public Comment . Do we have any members of the general public that would like to make a comment or a suggestion to any future meetings of this commission . Seeing none, the Public Comment is closed. Next item. Item 14, new business. We have any new business . Commissioner obrien . I just wanted to make an announcement, my current tenure as commissioner is up. And i had discussions with my wife about seeking my appointment renewed with the mayor, and the commitment and we had a long chat about it. My children are older today, than they were when i first came on the commission, my daughter and my son, so i decided not to seek reappointment for the third term with the mayor. It is a heavy hearted decision but i just want to allocate the time that i spend on the commission, the subcommittee time, etc. , for a while, i wanted to dedicate that time to my family. So, with that, most likely, this will probably be my last meeting. Of course, i will be available if i am required to help fill in while they look and seek my replacement. But, they will be able to do that between now and the next meeting. Given that that is likelihood of that, i would like to just make a comment of acknowledgments, one of them is to thank mayor lee, the current administration, for allowing me to serve, during his administration. And i also wanted to thank mayor gaven newsom for appointing me to the commission. And for me it was an honor and a privilege to serve on this commission. And i am very grateful for that opportunity. I also wanted to thank you commissioners for serving during my time and for your support and help and in particular, for the commissions that were on board, for the year that i was president. I wanted to thank you for your help and support at that time and lastly but by no means at least, i wanted to thank the director and your very fine staff for all of her help and support throughout the few years that i have been on here, for me the business is a Small Business commission, i think is a vital importance, and i am very proud of the achievements that have been made during my tenure. And a lot of it is not the stuff that takes up the headlines and the paper, it is the daytoday stuff that protects the request of the Small Business community. And we are often Unsung Heroes for what it is that we do, because it is not the attention grabbing stuff such as some of the other commissions might, but vitally important. And statistickly we never get away from the fact that the Small Business sector of the economy is the one that we rely on more than any other sector and the one that we are going to be looking to more and more, for opportunities, for jobs, for prosperity, and for our community. So, to that end, i want to thank everybody again and i want to wish you commissioners, as you st