Tell the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to vote NO on the proposed charter amendment that would make it harder to fund Muni using parking revenues! 

On September 19th, Supervisor Safai introduced and Supervisor Peskin co-sponsored a charter amendment which would require explicit, written mayoral approval of any SFMTA budget that:

  • Changes Muni fares (upwards or downwards)
  • Increases the hours in which parking meter fees are collected
  • Increases the maximum meter fee that can be collected

A budget with any of the above changes can only be submitted to the Board of Supervisors with approval by the mayor, and the mayor has 15 days from the budget submission deadline to approve. The way the amendment is currently written, failure of the mayor to approve within that deadline would result in the budget being sent back to SFMTA to remove the changes to fares/fees

Why does this matter?

The proposed amendment asserts that the mayor must explicitly approve any SFMTA budget that includes changes to transit fares, increases in meter hours, or increases the maximum meter fee. As proposed, the amendment may increase the Mayor’s accountability when it comes to increased fees, but the proposed amendment will fail to hold anyone accountable for the service cuts that will be a direct result of insufficient funding in the absence of fee increases. By silently withholding approval, the mayor could single-handedly put the SFMTA in a position where service cuts are the only option to balance the budget. This creates a situation where, by the mayor doing nothing, thousands of Muni riders are left waiting at the curb. Notably, the amendment requires the mayor to approve any change in transit fares–up or down–but does not require any approval for decreases in parking fees. 

The amendment also interferes with SFMTA's direct control over revenue options to fund the transit service that hundreds of thousands of people rely on every day. By continuing to isolate the SFMTA from political influence, the agency is empowered to make the hard choices that are necessary for our city’s transportation system. Ask the Board of Supervisors to vote no on this proposed charter amendment, not place this amendment on the ballot.

 

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P.O. Box 193341, San Francisco, California  94119 [email protected]

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