Mayor funds only commission secretary in budget; Ethics Commission seeks clarity on other staffing requests

San Francisco’s Ethics Commission heard an executive director report June 10 on the mayor’s recently released budget and staffing priorities, including which of the commission’s requested positions were funded.

Executive Director Pelham said the mayor’s budget, released June 1, funded a commission secretary position but declined to include other positions the commission had requested earlier in the year, including two roles related to public engagement and policy implementation and a requested senior auditor. "The mayor's budget chose to include the commission secretary position and declined to include the other positions," Pelham said.

Pelham told commissioners that he and staff had followed up with the mayor’s office; budget analysts cited citywide vacancy management concerns but did not provide a detailed, position‑specific justification for denying the additional roles. Pelham said staff would continue outreach to mayoral budget staff to seek clarification.

Commissioners asked for additional context. A commissioner asked about the classification and pay scale for the commission secretary; Pelham said the role would be comparable to an entry-level administrative analyst in the analyst series. Commissioners also requested that staff prepare information on amounts promised to lobbyists and the activities those funds supported so the commission could review lobbying-disclosure data at a future meeting.

Pelham said the commission is actively recruiting for multiple positions and anticipates developing the job description for the commission secretary over the summer, with potential hiring activity in the first part of the fall. "We have 6 positions that we're trying to focus on getting in recruitment this summer," he said.

No budget appropriations or new hires were approved at the meeting; commissioners asked staff to return with more detailed information on the mayoral budget decisions, job descriptions, and lobbying disclosures at a future meeting.