Budget committee agrees to continue motion on expanding BLA contract

The Budget and Appropriations Committee on Wednesday continued a motion that would let the clerk of the Board amend the contract with Harvey M. Rose Associates to expand services for the Budget and Legislative Analyst (BLA).

Supervisor Preston presented the motion, saying the BLA’s workload has not kept pace with the growth of the city budget and that additional staffing would help the board respond more quickly to audits, reports and investigations. He said the projected expansion would cost about $1,100,000 annually to add a supervisory position and three investigators or analysts, but emphasized the motion itself would not allocate those funds.

Clerk of the Board Angela Calvio told the committee the contract has remained at roughly $2,600,000 since 2007 and recommended continuing the item until budget night so the exact dollar amount could be specified before a civil service submission. Chair Hillary Ronan moved to continue the item to the call of the chair; the motion was seconded and passed by roll call with unanimous support from the attending members.

The continuance lets the board insert a precise funding figure during the budget process rather than committing to specific hires immediately. The committee did not take a final vote on adding staff or on any appropriation; those funding decisions will be made during the forthcoming budget meetings.

The committee noted the item will return to a future agenda with the requested dollar amount and any required civil‑service steps identified.