Government of San Francisco

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

San Francisco City Hall
San Francisco City Hall

The City and County of San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, a status it has had since 1856. It is the only such consolidation in California. The mayor is also the county executive and the county board of supervisors acts as the city council. Because of its unique status, it exercises jurisdiction over property that would otherwise be located outside of its corporation limit. San Francisco International Airport, though located in San Mateo County, is owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco. San Francisco was also granted a perpetual leasehold over the Hetch Hetchy Valley and watershed in Yosemite National Park by the Raker Act in 1913.

Under the city charter, the government of San Francisco is constituted of two co-equal branches. The executive branch is headed by the mayor and includes other city-wide elected and appointed officials, and the civil service. The 11-member Board of Supervisors, the legislative branch, is headed by a President and is responsible for passing laws and budgets, though San Franciscans also make use of direct ballot initiatives to pass legislation. The members of the Board of Supervisors are elected as representatives of specific districts within the city.[1] If the mayor dies or resigns, the President of the Board of Supervisors assumes the office, as Dianne Feinstein did after the assassination of George Moscone in 1978. The municipal budget in 2006 was greater than $5 billion.[2]

The federal government utilizes San Francisco as the regional hub for many arms of the federal bureaucracy, including the U.S. Court of Appeals, the Federal Reserve Bank, and the United States Mint. Until decommissioning in the early 1990s, the city had three major military installations - the Presidio, Treasure Island, and Hunters Point - a legacy still reflected in the annual celebration of Fleet Week. The State of California uses San Francisco as the home of the state Supreme Court and other state agencies. Foreign governments have located in excess of thirty foreign consulates in San Francisco.[3]

Contents

[edit] Current Government

[edit] Executives

  • Mayor:
Further information: List of mayors of San Francisco, California

[edit] Offices under the Mayor

  • Mayor's Office of Economic & Workforce Development
  • Mayor's Office of Commerce and Trade
  • Mayor's Office of Community Development (MOCD)
  • Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ)
  • Mayor’s Office on Disability
  • Mayor's Office of Education
  • Entertainment Commission
  • Film Commission
  • Mayor's Office of Housing (MOH)
  • Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services
  • Mayor's Office of Public Finance
  • Small Business Commission

[edit] Other city agencies

[edit] Board of Supervisors

[edit] References

  1. ^ Board of Supervisors District Information. City and County of San Francisco, Board of Supervisors. Retrieved on January 29, 2006.
  2. ^ A Guide to San Francisco's Budget Process, April, 2005 (PDF). City and County of San Francisco, Controller's Office. Retrieved on August 25, 2006.
  3. ^ Search for consulates in San Francisco, CA Yellowpages.com, Accessed August 27, 2006.

[edit] External links

  • SFGov.org, official site of City and County of San Francisco