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Proposed SFMTA Charter Amendment to Amend Proposition E

Memo from Nathaniel P. Ford, Sr., Executive Director/CEO

I am quite certain that the vast majority of you are aware that Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Jake McGoldrick have introduced two separate charter amendments at the Board of Supervisors related to SFMTA governance and structure. The Board of Supervisors is considering these items for the November 2007 election, and must vote on them no later than July 31, 2007. Supervisor Peskin’s measure revises Proposition E in the areas of SFMTA Board authority, budget and finance, human resources and labor relations, and contracting, among other areas. Supervisor McGoldrick’s measure would restore line item budget authority over the SFMTA budget to the Board of Supervisors.

Over the past several weeks, good-faith and productive negotiations and discussions between Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Office, the Board of Supervisors, labor representatives, and SFMTA management have created a revised version of Supervisor Peskin’s proposed Emissions Reduction and Transit Reform Charter Amendment that would modify Proposition E (passed in 1999). All of us have worked together to ensure that everyone in every position of this agency has the requisite tools to keep this City moving.

Yesterday afternoon, a joint press conference with Mayor Newsom; Supervisor Peskin; SFMTA Directors Rev. James McCray, Wil Din, and Shirley Breyer-Black; San Francisco Labor Council Executive Director Tim Paulson; and our SFMTA labor leadership was held to announce the results of our partnership to strengthen this agency through this proposed amendment.

This unprecedented partnership and proposed charter amendment are great achievements, and can only strengthen our ability to provide world-class transportation to San Francisco.

I have attached a two-paged summary of the key provisions of Supervisor Peskin’s proposed charter amendment. This memo, the attachment, and the full text of the amendment can be found at www.sfmta.com/charter. The proposed revised amendment is going before the full Board of Supervisors today, Tuesday, July 24, 2007, and is expected to be voted upon by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, July 31. Their vote on July 31 will determine if the proposed revised charter amendment will be on the November ballot.

 

Summary of Proposed Charter Amendment

Key Provisions of Proposed Charter Amendment "MTA:  Emissions Reduction and Transit Reform"
7/24/2007

1. Service Standards

  1. Retains existing Charter-created service standards for Muni service  §8A.103(a), (b)
  2. Requires MTA Board to establish service standards for parking and traffic functions  §8A.103(d)
  3. Requires Agency to report any changes in how it calculates performance when it reports on progress toward meeting service standards   §8A.103(e)
  4. Requires MTA to issue first biennial Climate Action Plan by 1/1/2009 to address goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from San Francisco's transit sector to 80% of 1990 levels by 2012 and to report on efforts to reduce MTA energy consumption, increase MTA waste reduction, increase transit and bicycle trips and reduce private vehicle trips.  §8A.103(f)

2. Budget/Finance

  1. Moves deadline for submission of MTA budget from March 1 to  May 1.  §8A.106
  2. Decreases from 8 to 7 the number of votes on the Board of Supervisors required to reject the MTA budget.  8A.106
  3. Allows the MTA to keep all new revenues created by changes in policies for parking fines, taxes, or newly created positions.  §8A.105(c)
  4. Creates 2 year budget cycle and clarifies process for MTA to amend budget.  §8A.106(d)
  5. Allows MTA to hire staff without Controller approval so long as budget projections show that Agency's spending is within budget. §8A.106(e)
  6. With Board of Supervisors concurrence, allows MTA to incur debt, in manner similar to PUC, secured by assets or revenues under MTA jurisdiction.  §8A.102(b)(14)
  7. Allows MTA Board to authorize the agency to accept and spend public or private grant money.  §8A.102(b)(13)
  8. Clarifies authority of MTA to put revenue measures before voters, property owners, business owners, or others whose approval may be required.  8A.109

3. Human Resources

  1. Increases the number of managers the Director of Transportation can hire who are exempt from civil service protection (in addition to those authorized in other City departments) from 1.5% to 2.75% of the Agency workforce.  §8A.104
  2. Requires incentive compensation for Agency's employees, managers and Director.  §8A.102(c), 8A.104(k)
  3. Creates a Labor-Management Implementation and Service Improvement Committee to provide quarterly input to the Director of Transportation about system challenges and service improvements.  §8A.105(f)
  4. Amends Charter provision governing transit operator wages so they are at least equivalent to the wages of the two highest paid comparable systems. §A 8.404

4. Further Consolidation of Agency Functions

  1. Eliminates references to DPT and Muni as separate departments within the MTA and clarifies that MTA has same powers with respect to all of its functions and duties (including taxi functions should the Board of Supervisors transfer them to the MTA)  §§ 8A.100, 8A.101, 8A.104, 8A.105
  2. Eliminates local law prohibition on Director of Transportation serving as director of the Parking Authority.  §8A.112 
  3. Transfers to the MTA Board, as permitted by state law, Board of Supervisors powers to regulate parking and installation of traffic control devices, subject to review by Board of Supervisors regarding stop signs, preferential parking zones, parking meter zones, parking time limits, and disabled parking spaces.  §8A.102(7),(8),(9)

5. Transit First

  1. Strengthens transit first policy by ensuring that expansions of off-street parking facilities support transit priority.  §8A.113
  2. Strengthens policy that parking related revenues should be used to support MTA's public transit functions, increases the share of revenues measured by parking tax receipts that are dedicated to Muni, and dedicates such additional revenues to beginning implementation of the service improvements recommended by the Transit Effectiveness Project.  §8A.105
  3. Preserves level of parking for privately owned structures and uses at level authorized as of July 1, 2007.  §8A.115

6. Contracting

  1. Gives the Agency exclusive authority over contracts to sell transit fare media and parking meter cards.  §8A.102(b)(4)
  2. Allows MTA Board of Directors to increase threshold amount below which Director of Transportation can execute contracts.  §8A.102(g)
  3. Requires MTA to obtain Board of Supervisors approval before transferring ownership of any City property.  §8A.102(b)(1)

7. Other

  1. Moves existing cable car and transit first provisions into Article 8A.

Full Amendment Text

Full text of the amendment (version 6 low-vision-accessible pdf, 143 kb)

Full text of the amendment (intended for vision-impaired persons using screen reader software)

PDF help

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