South San Francisco eyes basic income program

Vice Mayor Mark Nagales, who first proposed the pilot program earlier this month, said he believed it could be a useful mechanism for supporting residents struggling amid the pandemic.

“I really feel like this is our opportunity to step up and help those who are the most vulnerable,” said Nagales.

No decision was made during the meeting, and officials agreed to work on hammering out terms of the program over the coming weeks.

One of the specifics needing further consideration is how many people will be eligible to participate.

Officials had first proposed 400 residents, because that is roughly equivalent to the amount of applications received when South San Francisco launched a rent relief support program in the wake of the economic devastation brought by COVID-19.

But Councilman Eddie Flores suggested he may favor expanding the program to 500 residents, with hopes of assisting those who are experiencing financial instability but not facing displacement.

“Just because you aren’t at risk of eviction doesn’t mean you aren’t hurting economically,” he said.

Further, Flores urged officials to ambitiously seek funds from large, regional philanthropic organizations with hopes of stockpiling additional resources to fuel the program.

“We need to stretch our arms and aim a little higher,” he said.

As it stands, the one-year pilot program distributing $500 payments to 400 residents would cost an estimated $2.79 million — $2.4 million of which would address the monthly payments and the rest would account for facilitating the program.

For his part, Nagales suggested the program could be financed partially through the $11 million expected to be delivered in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funding.

Rather than rely on the city’s general fund, Nagales said he favored taking a share of the city’s federal stimulus money and looking for partner agencies and contributors to match the contribution.

“I really believe we can be a model for a lot of cities in San Mateo County. And we’ve stepped up before and I know we can do it again and the numbers show our residents need it,” he said.

To that end, figures presented by city officials suggested low-income South San Francisco residents have disproportionately suffered during the pandemic. Further, the city has one of the highest unemployment and poverty rates in San Mateo County.

Considering the need for support spanning beyond the pandemic, officials also pondered opportunities for sustainable financial support to residents.

Councilman James Coleman said he does not belief a true universal basic income program offering regular payments to all residents regardless of need is a radical idea.

While supporting the idea of rolling out the pilot program soon, Coleman hoped that could be built into a more comprehensive program that would be a model for other cities.

“I think we do have a unique chance to capture the successes of a full-scale UBI program,” he said.

Not all councilmembers were so ambitious, as Councilwoman Flor Nicolas identified a variety of potential concerns that must be resolved before she could support the program.

Certifying applicants are South San Francisco residents, assuring that participation in the city’s program wouldn’t exclude applicants from federal aid eligibility and addressing participants’ concerns regarding sharing sensitive information with government agencies are among the details which Nicolas said need more attention.

Others raised reservations with the payment formats, suggesting direct deposit may not work for those without bank accounts and mailed checks or prepaid debit cards could lead to fraud.

“Seems like we still have a lot of work to do,” Nicolas said.

Mayor Mark Addiego agreed the format needs refining, but suggested he was comfortable with the proposal.

“A pilot program of this magnitude for the most vulnerable has a lot of immediate potential for positive results,” he said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com