Over the past several months, we have been collecting information about what matters to District 8 residents in these difficult financial times. We began by issuing a budget survey about our City’s looming deficit. Approximately 250 individuals filled out our survey and gave feedback on what the City should do to rectify the deficit over the next fiscal year.

Here are some of the things we learned from your responses to our survey:

We face difficult choices when it comes to budget cuts and service reductions. When asked about budgeting priorities, residents overwhelmingly chose public safety as the top priority with maintaining MUNI services as a close second. Additionally, people value our recreation centers and parks and want after-school programs to remain intact.

District 8 residents want smart ways to cut costs, and many feel strongly about controlling waste while maintaining crucial services. There are those who see public employee benefits as excessive and believe that we must reduce City contributions to pensions to a fair and responsible level.

Revenue generation must serve a prominent role in reducing the deficit. District 8 residents prefer options such as issuing more taxi medallions and allowing more tenancies in common (TICs) to be converted to condominiums on a one-time basis over introducing new taxes. One exception to the ‘no new taxes’ paradigm is the parcel tax to guarantee funding for our public schools.

Having heard from those who completed the survey and the many other residents whom I have met with, I propose the following measures to move us toward a balanced budget for the next fiscal year and, more importantly, long-term fiscal soundness:

CREATIVE REVENUE SOLUTIONS

Business incentives: We can’t continue to ignore the hardships faced by mom and pop business owners. We must streamline the City permitting process and implement more business-friendly policies, such as cutting unnecessary City bureaucracies, assisting in the promotion of targeted industries, and fully funding the Small Business Commission.

Increasing condo conversions: TIC owners whose only avenue to condo conversion is via the lottery system should be permitted to bypass the lottery for an increased fee as a one-time revenue generator. This would allow up to 2,000 conversions by lottery bypass at an increased conversion fee. It is estimated this plan could generate 20-25 million dollars.

Revenue with a cause: Any new taxes should be channeled to direct causes. I support a local vehicle license fee to be funneled towards public transportation. Further, a parcel tax for public schools is a great idea.

New meter monies: Right now I don’t see the need to increase meter enforcement hours or extend enforcement to Sundays because it is not clear if the City will actually recoup revenue from the proposed plan. If the Board does extend meter enforcement hours, the County Transportation Authority’s recommendation should be followed and we should keep the new meter monies in the neighborhoods where it was collected.

TRIMMING EXPENDITURES

Pension Reform: Though our City’s retirement funds are not as bleak as many neighboring communities, increasing City employee financial contributions to health benefits and pension programs is necessary. Because we cannot take back pensions guaranteed to current retirees, immediate cost-savings won’t be realized given that pension reform will only impact newly hired employees. Still, this action is critical for long-term fiscal stability.

Limiting annual budget expenditure increases: San Francisco has historically had a “spending problem” and currently, City departments’ year-to-year budget proposals increase without considering future impact. We should begin by discussing how to limit annual expenditures by a set of well thought out criteria – such as including tying increases to the rate of inflation, cost of living indexes or the fiscal health of the City’s coffers. Implementing a set of general criteria during fiscal years when budget deficits are egregious is a sound and responsible idea.

STRUCTURAL REFORM

MUNI operators in the City Charter?! I think many people were surprised to learn that MUNI operators’ salaries are carved into the City Charter, giving labor negotiators very little to bargain with when concessions must happen. MUNI’s pay should be subject to collective bargaining like every other union. Automatic escalators linked to the salaries of transit operators in other cities just don’t make sense – especially considering how hard the California budget has been hit compared to other states.

One-time revenue used for one-time expenses: Using one-time sources of funds for one-time expenditures is a best-practice budgeting measure. If we do not adhere to this practice, the City gets stuck funding ongoing expenses with General Fund monies after the one-time source runs out. Ensuring that one-time sources of funds are used appropriately is crucially important from a public finance perspective. However, I don’t think a charter amendment on this issue should happen now, because all options will need to be on the table to help us through the current budget crisis.

Circulating our budget survey has shown us what services matter most to you in these unprecedented economic times. I look forward to continuing the conversation about what is important to you as we work together towards a November victory.