Oversight bodies mulling preferences for women, minorities and veterans in city contracts

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The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is taking most of this short week on vacation. without a general meeting and the cancellation of many committee meetings. However, other committees and commissions deal with potentially sensitive issues, ranging from fairness in city contracts to the long-troubled Laguna Honda Hospital.

And with the newly elected chairman of the board soon bringing new tasks to the committee, this relatively quiet week could be the calm before the storm.

Fairness in contracting

State Committee for Audit and Supervision meets Thursday to consider a resolution asking the city administrator’s office to conduct a study of inconsistencies in the San Francisco Local Business Enterprise (LBE) outsourcing program.

This program, which gives local small businesses an advantage in the contracting process, supplanted minority-owned business programs with the passage of Proposition 209 in 1996, which prohibited affirmative action contracts.

“With the results of this study, I think we, the mayor and our city departments, will be better equipped to live by our values ​​and develop public policies that lift small businesses owned by minority women and veterans,” he said. Supervisor Mirna Melgar when she introduced the resolution on 29 November.

A 2015 study by the nonprofit Equal Justice Society found that minority- and women-owned businesses are losing about $200 million a year on San Francisco contracts since Proposition 209 passed.

The city’s 2020 contract monitoring department report reported more than 1,400 participating businesses, 35% of which are owned by minorities and 25% by women.

In 2021, San Diego completed its own program mismatch study that found that women-owned and/or minority-owned businesses received only 19% of the city’s contracts, compared to 31% of the demographic.

Last July, the San Diego City Council voted unanimously to implement a “legally sound policy” that favors women-owned and minority-owned businesses in contracts, despite warnings that they might conflict with Proposition 209.

“Even though Proposition 209 ties our hands, we can certainly ask a question,” Melgar said.

Laguna Honda will hear the rumors

At the last full board meeting on January 10, Melgar demanded a status hearing. Hospital Laguna Honda now set for January 31st. Supervisory authorities approved a settlement agreement with federal agencies, which agreed on the terms of recertification of the problematic object on November 1.

Laguna Honda was stripped of its certification last April. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding what were identified as care deficiencies, including drug smuggling and infection control issues.

The upcoming hearing will be the last update the board will receive before CMS decides whether to extend the current suspension of involuntary discharge and transfer of patients on February 2.

Under the agreement, the institution continues to receive federal Medicare and Medicaid funding through November 23rd.

Tuesday, Health Commission will also hear an update on the situation at Laguna Honda and will likely approve a detailed list of more than 80 changes to the institution’s care rules.

“As part of its Medicare and Medicaid recertification efforts and in close collaboration with regulators, Laguna Honda has reviewed its policies and procedures to ensure they are in line with best practices and current regulations, making changes as necessary,” it said in a statement. Department of Public Health in a statement.

The Department of Health presented the CMS Action Plan on January 6, which included proposed changes to the care policy.

The final act of the electoral commission drama?

Depending on what happens this week, oversight may finally be able to put an end to the controversy over San Francisco’s election director.

Election Committee will meet on Wednesday evening and will most likely reverse his sinister decision to fire Election Director John Arntz. The move was widely condemned by all political camps in the city.

The decision not to renew Arntz’s contract was ostensibly based on equity concerns, as panel members said they wanted to open the job up to more diverse candidates. However, the real reason could be the dislike of Arntz, who has been in this position for 20 years, due to some political decisions. Moreover, according to surveys, the Arntz department is a leader in recruitment, employee retention and other areas.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who has since been elected president of the board of directors, held the sword of Damocles over the heads of the commissioners, promising to withhold funding for any search for a replacement. This – and perhaps the widespread backlash against Artnets’ attempted ouster – appears to have convinced the election commissions to compromise.

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