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Except as otherwise provided by this Charter, the responsibilities of each department within the executive branch shall be prescribed by ordinance.
The administration and management of each department within the executive branch shall be the responsibility of the department head. Such officials may:
1. Appoint qualified individuals to fill all positions within their departments which are exempt from the Civil Service provisions of this Charter;
2. Adopt rules and regulations governing matters within the jurisdiction of their respective departments, subject, if applicable, to Section 4.102; and
3. With the approval of the City Administrator, reorganize their respective departments.
No person serving on a board or commission created by state law to discharge a state function specifically within the City and County may be employed as a paid staff member to a board or commission created by this Charter.
The Police Department shall preserve the public peace, prevent and detect crime, and protect the rights of persons and property by enforcing the laws of the United States, the State of California, and the City and County.
The Chief of Police may appoint and remove at pleasure special police officers.
The Chief of Police shall have all powers which are now or that may be conferred upon a sheriff by state law with respect to the suppression of any riot, public tumult, disturbance of the public peace or organized resistance against the laws or public authority.
DISTRICT POLICE STATIONS. The Police Department shall maintain and operate district police stations. The Police Commission, subject to the approval by the Board of Supervisors, may establish additional district stations, abandon or relocate any district station, or consolidate any two or more district stations.
BUDGET. Monetary awards and settlements disbursed by the City and County as a result of police action or inaction shall be taken exclusively from a specific appropriation listed as a separate line item in the Police Department budget for that purpose.
POLICE STAFFING. By no earlier than October 1 and no later than November 1 in every odd-numbered calendar year, the Chief of Police shall transmit to the Police Commission a report describing the department’s current number of full-duty sworn officers and recommending staffing levels of full-duty sworn officers in the subsequent two fiscal years. The report shall include an assessment of the Police Department’s overall staffing, the workload handled by the department’s employees, the department’s public service objectives, the department’s legal duties, and other information the Chief of Police deems relevant to determining proper staffing levels of full-duty sworn officers. The report shall evaluate and make recommendations regarding staffing levels at all district stations and in all types of jobs and services performed by full-duty sworn officers. By no later than July 1 in every odd-numbered calendar year, the Police Commission shall adopt a policy prescribing the methodologies that the Chief of Police may use in evaluating staffing levels, which may include consideration of factors such as workload metrics, the Department’s targets for levels of service, ratios between supervisory and non-supervisory positions in the Department, whether particular services require a fixed number of hours, and other factors the Commission determines are best practices or otherwise relevant. The Chief of Police may, but is not required by this Section 4.127 to, submit staffing reports regarding full-duty sworn officers to the Police Commission in even-numbered years.
The Police Commission shall hold a public hearing regarding the Chief of Police’s staffing report by December 31 in every odd-numbered calendar year. The Police Commission shall consider the most recent report in its consideration and approval of the Police Department’s proposed budget every fiscal year, but the Commission shall not be required to accept or adopt any of the recommendations in the report.
The Board of Supervisors is empowered to adopt ordinances necessary to effectuate the purpose of this section regarding staffing levels including but not limited to ordinances regulating the scheduling of police training classes.
Further, the Police Commission shall initiate an annual review to civilianize as many positions as possible and submit that report to the Board of Supervisors annually for review and approval.
PATROL SPECIAL POLICE OFFICERS. The Commission may appoint patrol special police officers and for cause may suspend or dismiss patrol special police officers after a hearing on charges duly filed with the Commission and after a fair and impartial trial. Patrol special police officers shall be regulated by the Police Commission, which may establish requirements for and procedures to govern the position, including the power of the Chief of Police to suspend a patrol special police officer pending a hearing on charges. Each patrol special police officer shall be at the time of appointment not less than 21 years of age and must possess such physical qualifications as may be required by the Commission.
Patrol special police officers may be designated by the Commission as the owners of a certain beat or territory which may be established or rescinded by the Commission. Patrol special police officers designated as the owners of a certain beat or territory or the legal heirs or representatives of the owners may dispose of their interest in the beat or territory to a person of good moral character, approved by the Police Commission and eligible for appointment as a patrol special police officer.
Commission designation of beats or territories shall not affect the ability of private security companies to provide on-site security services on the inside or at the entrance of any property located in the City and County.
(Amended November 2003; March 2004; Proposition G, Approved 11/8/2016; Proposition E, Approved 11/3/2020)
The Fire Department shall perform duties and enforce all applicable laws pertaining to the protection from, and the prevention, suppression, control and investigation of fires.
The Fire Chief shall cause the Fire Department to inspect all occupied or vacated structures to determine compliance with applicable laws relative to fire prevention, protection and control and also the protection of persons and property from fire.
The Fire Chief may during a conflagration cause to be removed any structure for the purpose of checking the progress of the conflagration.
The director of the Department of Administrative Services shall purchase all supplies, equipment and contractual services required by the several departments and offices of the City and County, except as otherwise provided in the Administrative Code. Except in cases of emergency, the director shall not enter into any contract or issue any purchase order unless the Controller shall certify thereon that sufficient unencumbered balances are available in the proper fund to meet the payments under such purchase order or contract as these become due. The director shall have charge of the central warehouses, central storerooms, central garage and shop.
The director shall by rules and regulations approved by the Controller, designate and authorize appropriate personnel within the Department of Administrative Services to exercise the director's signature powers for purchase orders and contract.
The director shall have authority to exchange used materials, supplies and equipment to the advantage of the City and County, advertise for bids, and to sell and otherwise dispose of personal property belonging to the City and County. The director shall have authority to require the transfer of surplus property in any department to stores or to other departments.
The director shall manage all public buildings, facilities and real estate of the City and County, unless otherwise provided for in this Charter.
Additional duties and functions of the Department of Administrative Services shall be assigned the City Administrator, by ordinance or pursuant to Section 4.132.
(Renumbered as Sec. 4.140 and amended by Proposition B, Approved 11/3/2020)
The County Clerk shall perform all duties of the County Clerk-Recorder until such office is merged into the Office of the Assessor-Recorder pursuant to Section 6.101.
The Mayor, by issuing a notice to the Board of Supervisors, may reorganize duties and functions between departments and other units of government within the executive branch. Such reorganization shall become effective 30 days after its issuance unless disapproved by the Board of Supervisors during that time.
A proposed reorganization shall provide for the transfer of:
1. Civil service employees who are engaged in the performance of a function or duty transferred to another office, agency or department; such transfer shall not adversely affect status, position, compensation or pension or retirement rights and privileges;
2. Any unexpended balances of appropriations and other funds available for use in connection with any office, agency, department or function affected by the reorganization; any unexpended balance so transferred shall be used only for the purpose for which the appropriation was originally made, except as this Charter otherwise permits.
(a) There shall be a Homelessness Oversight Commission (“Commission”) to oversee the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (“Department”), or any successor agency. The Department shall, to the extent prescribed by ordinance, manage and direct housing, programs, and services for persons experiencing homelessness in the City, including, but not limited to, street outreach, homeless shelters, transitional housing, homelessness prevention, and permanent supportive housing.
(b) The Commission shall consist of seven members, appointed as follows:
(1) Seats 1, 2, 3, and 4 shall be appointed by the Mayor subject to confirmation by the Board of Supervisors. Each nomination of the Mayor shall be subject to approval by the Board of Supervisors, and shall be the subject of a public hearing and vote within 60 days of the date the Clerk of the Board receives notice of the nomination from the Mayor. If the Board fails to act on the nomination within those 60 days, the nominee shall be deemed approved. The appointment shall become effective on the date the Board adopts a motion approving the nomination or on the 61st day after the Clerk of the Board receives notice of the nomination, whichever is earlier. Seat 1 shall be held by a person who has personally experienced homelessness. Seat 2 shall be held by a person with significant experience providing services to or engaging in advocacy on behalf of persons experiencing homelessness. Seat 3 shall be held by a person with expertise in mental health service delivery or substance use treatment. Seat 4 shall be held by a person with a record of participation in a merchants’ or small business association, or neighborhood association. In addition to the aforementioned qualifications, at least one of the Mayor’s appointees shall have experience in budgeting, finance, and auditing.
(2) Seats 5, 6, and 7 shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors. Seat 5 shall be held by a person who has personally experienced homelessness. Seat 6 shall be held by a person with significant experience providing services to or engaging in advocacy on behalf of persons experiencing homelessness. Seat 7 shall be held by a person with significant experience working with homeless families with children and/or homeless youth.
(3) Section 4.101 shall apply to these appointments, with a particular emphasis on diversity in ethnicity, race, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, and types of disabilities.
(c) Commission members shall serve at the pleasure of their respective appointing authorities and may be removed by their appointing authorities at any time. Vacancies shall be filled by the respective appointing authorities as prescribed in subsections (b)(1) and (2).
(d) Commissioners shall serve four-year terms, beginning at noon on May 1, 2023; provided, however, the term of the initial appointees in Seats 1, 4, and 6 shall be a two-year term, expiring at noon on May 1, 2025.
(e) The Commission shall elect a Chair, Vice-Chair, and officers for other such positions, if any, that it chooses to create.
(f) The Commission shall have the following powers and duties:
(1) With respect to the Department, the Commission shall exercise all of the powers and duties of boards and commissions as set forth in Sections 4.102, 4.103, and 4.104, including but not limited to, approving applicable departmental budgets, formulating annual and long-term goals consistent with the overall objectives of the City and County, establishing departmental performance standards, holding hearings and taking testimony, conducting public education and outreach concerning programs and services for homeless persons in San Francisco, and issues concerning homelessness, and conducting performance audits of the Department to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the Department’s delivery of services to persons experiencing homelessness and persons participating in programs overseen by the Department, and the extent to which the Department has met the annual goals and performance standards established by the Commission.
(2) Notwithstanding the Commission’s authority to review and set policies, the Commission shall not have the authority to approve, disapprove, or modify criteria used to ascertain eligibility or priority for programs and/or services operated or provided by the Department, where such criteria are required as a condition of the receipt of state or federal funding.
(g) The Mayor and the Board of Supervisors shall make their initial appointments to Seats 1-7, respectively, on the Commission by no later than noon, March 1, 2023. The Commission shall come into existence upon the appointment, and confirmation where required, of four members, or at noon on May 1, 2023, whichever is later. The Commission shall have its inaugural meeting within 30 days of its coming into existence.
(Added by Proposition C, Approved 11/8/2022)
(Added November 1998; repealed November 2014)
Editor's Notes:
Divisions (h)–(j) of Sec. 4.133, as added by Proposition C, approved by the voters at the election of November 8, 2022, expired on April 17, 2024 according to the terms of their sunset provision and were removed from the Charter at the direction of the Office of the City Attorney.
Divisions (h)–(j) of Sec. 4.133, as added by Proposition C, approved by the voters at the election of November 8, 2022, expired on April 17, 2024 according to the terms of their sunset provision and were removed from the Charter at the direction of the Office of the City Attorney.
Former Sec. 4.133 pertained to the Taxi Commission. Exercising authority granted by Sec. 8A.101(b) of this Charter, the Board of Supervisors abolished the Taxi Commission and transferred its functions, powers, and duties to the Municipal Transportation Agency; see Police Code Art. 16, Sec. 1075.1. For current provisions relating to taxis (and vehicles for hire generally), see Transportation Code Article 1100. Former Sec. 4.133 was deleted from the Charter by Proposition C, approved by the voters at the election of November, 2014.
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