SEC. 4.102. BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS - POWERS AND DUTIES.
§ 4.102
Appointive boards and commissions in San Francisco's executive branch must formulate goals and policies aligned with the Mayor and Board of Supervisors' direction, develop annual statements of purpose, approve budgets after public hearing, recommend rates and fees, nominate qualified department heads, oversee department head removal, investigate operations within their jurisdiction, and appoint executive secretaries. They may hold hearings and retain temporary counsel with mayoral and City Attorney consent, but must conduct administrative matters only through department heads and may not dictate or interfere with department operations.
City boards and commissions have to set goals and policies that match what the Mayor and Board of Supervisors want. They must write down their purpose and goals each year, hold public hearings before approving budgets, suggest rates and fees to the Mayor, nominate people to run their departments, investigate how their departments work, and hire an executive secretary to run the board itself. They can hold meetings and take testimony, and they can hire lawyers if the Mayor and City Attorney agree. However, board members can't directly tell the department staff what to do—they have to work through the department head. If a board member tries to order people around or interfere with the department, that's against the rules.
- Complex:The section lists nine duties and two additional powers across multiple paragraphs with cross-references to other Charter sections, and the final paragraph adds a constraint with qualifications that requires careful reading to understand the limits on board member conduct.
- Controversial:The requirement that boards nominate department heads subject to mayoral appointment, and the 30-day deadline to act on mayoral removal recommendations with misconduct penalties for failure to act, are governance power-sharing mechanisms that different stakeholders may view as appropriately balanced or problematic.
AI-generated · claude-haiku-4-5 · informational only, not legal advice.
Official text
SEC. 4.102. BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS – POWERS AND DUTIES.
Unless otherwise provided in this Charter, each appointive board, commission or other unit of government of the executive branch of the City and County shall:
1. Formulate, evaluate and approve goals, objectives, plans and programs and set policies consistent with the overall objectives of the City and County, as established by the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors through the adoption of City legislation;
2. Develop and keep current an Annual Statement of Purpose outlining its areas of jurisdiction, authorities, purpose and goals, subject to review and approval by the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors;
3. After public hearing, approve applicable departmental budgets or any budget modifications or fund transfers requiring the approval of the Board of Supervisors, subject to the Mayor's final authority to initiate, prepare and submit the annual proposed budget on behalf of the executive branch and the Board of Supervisors' authority under Section 9.103;
4. Recommend to the Mayor for submission to the Board of Supervisors rates, fees and similar charges with respect to appropriate items coming within their respective jurisdictions;
5. Unless otherwise specifically provided, submit to the Mayor at least three qualified applicants, and if rejected, to make additional nominations in the same manner, for the position of department head, subject to appointment by the Mayor;
6. Remove a department head; the Mayor may recommend removal of a department head to the commission, and it shall be the commission's duty to act on the Mayor's recommendation by removing or retaining the department head within 30 days; failure to act on the Mayor's recommendation shall constitute official misconduct;
7. Conduct investigations into any aspect of governmental operations within its jurisdiction through the power of inquiry, and make recommendations to the Mayor or the Board of Supervisors;
8. Exercise such other powers and duties as shall be prescribed by the Board of Supervisors; and
9. Appoint an executive secretary to manage the affairs and operations of the board or commission.
In furtherance of the discharge of its responsibilities, an appointive board, commission or other unit of government may:
10. Hold hearings and take testimony; and
11. Retain temporary counsel for specific purposes, subject to the consent of the Mayor and the City Attorney.
Each board or commission, relative to the affairs of its own department, shall deal with administrative matters solely through the department head or his or her designees, and any dictation, suggestion or interference herein prohibited on the part of any member of a board or commission shall constitute official misconduct; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall restrict the board or commission's powers of hearing and inquiry as provided in this Charter.