Hall Monitor

Not so thrifty: While Department of Elections director Tammy Haygood's dismissal is prompting loud charges of racism, the Board of Supervisors' Finance Committee is scrambling to cover the $5.6 million budget overrun she rang up while heading the department.

Representatives from Thrifty Car Rental showed up at the committee's May 1 meeting to plead for the $205,000 they're owed for providing 160 vehicles on Election Day. The supes are still fuming about the cars – some of which were apparently only driven a few miles – but they will probably have to tap into the city's General Fund to pay the bill.

Sup. Aaron Peskin suggested the controller try to negotiate some of the bills from other government agencies, such as the $10,000 owed to the Port of San Francisco for the storage of election equipment. It's unclear how much success any negotiations will have.

Meanwhile, on May 3, Haygood announced that she'll pursue legal avenues if she doesn't get her job back. Sup. Leland Yee has since asked for a hearing on her firing. (Ellie Kieskowski)

Splitting the difference: San Francisco tenants and landlords may not agree on much, but on May 6 the two groups were finally able to strike a compromise on one long-standing battle. In November 2000 voters passed Proposition H, which forced landlords to absorb the cost of 'capital improvements' such as replacing a roof or installing new windows. The tenant victory was quickly followed by a court case, in which the proposition was ruled unconstitutional.

Board of Supervisors president Tom Ammiano helped break the tie with a proposed agreement both sides can live with. For buildings of 6 units or more, the cost of capital improvements will be divided 50-50 between owners and tenants, spread out over 7 to 10 years. If they prefer, tenants can opt to pay for the whole improvement but spread the cost out over 10 to 20 years. In smaller buildings, tenants will pay the full cost of the improvement, spread out over 10 to 20 years. The cost of increased property taxes to pay off voter-approved bonds will now be split 50-50.

"It's not Prop. H," Robert Haaland of the Housing Rights Committee said. "But this issue has been on the burner for eight years. To have some final resolution that will benefit tenants is a victory – even if it is a compromise." (Cassi Feldman)

Public health on alert: Hundreds of people descended on San Francisco General Hospital May 2 to warn Sups. Chris Daly, Mark Leno, and Sophie Maxwell about the proposed cuts to the Department of Public Health budget. They said the cuts will not only do massive damage to an already underfunded public health system but also likely cost San Francisco more in the long run.

With San Francisco facing a massive budget deficit, Mayor Willie Brown has asked city departments to trim 10 percent off their budgets. The DPH submitted a stunning list that included cutting aid to primary-care clinics, slashing S.F. General's interpreter services in half, and severely limiting mental health care.

It's still unclear which cuts will end up in the final budget. Though many at the meeting spoke out against the proposed closure of S.F. General's pediatrics ward, few believe that such a overtly drastic cut will be approved. Less visible areas, such as the mental health clinics, will probably bear the brunt.

"Every time mental health services are cut, the mentally ill end up back in the streets," said Larry Bevan, a psych technician at the Mental Health Rehabilitation Facility, which stands to lose 30 beds in its in-patient ward. "Soon enough [mentally ill patients] will be showing up in emergency services, acute services, not to mention in jail."

In response to probing questions from Leno, DPH director Mitchell Katz said, "None of the cuts will increase costs within [the DPH's] four walls. In other areas, well, it's hard to say."

Several supervisors have made it clear they don't want any cuts in the DPH budget: on May 5, Daly introduced a resolution (cosponsored by Sups. Ammiano, Matt Gonzalez, Gerardo Sandoval, and Jake McGoldrick) calling on Brown to submit a budget that includes no cuts whatsoever for DPH. (Courtney Day)