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by Sean Pritchard

The November 4 election is right around the corner and, as a participant in this democratic process, it’s your duty to vote. Especially as an apartment owner, you have no choice but to vote. Every election cycle, taxpayers like you are burdened with the responsibility of funding the special pet projects and programs our illustrious elected officials deem significant. On top of that, laws are being created to suppress rights you already have and hold dear. Of course, in this particular election, there is also the small item of choosing the next president of the United States. But in addition to that trivial matter, our local election holds many perils and thrilling prospects for San Francisco. Take a moment to read about the local measures we’ll see come November 4 and, please, don’t forget to vote.

Proposition A: San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center Earthquake Safety Bonds
This mouthful of a proposition is a bond measure, brought to you by Mayor Gavin Newsom and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, which will ask local property owners to fork over $887,400,000 to rebuild or improve San Francisco General Hospital. The bond measure does have a 50% passthrough of the increase in property tax for all landlords, which is in accordance with Chapter 37 of the administrative code. The real question is, will the project stay on budget?

Proposition B: Establishing an Affordable Housing Fund
Supervisor Chris Daly brings us this charter amendment, which asks the city to appropriate two-and-one-half cents of every $100 of assessed property tax to fund affordable housing programs. If passed, this money will be collected for the next 15 years and the monies given to the Mayor’s Office of Housing, the Department of Public Health and the Department of Human Services. This set-aside asks these three separate departments not only to come up with an affordable housing plan every three years, but also to play nice and share. Forgive us for being cynical about the efficiency of this plan, but interagency cooperation is a luxury we’ve yet to enjoy.

Proposition C: Prohibiting City Employees from Serving on Charter Boards and Commissions
As the title states, if this measure passes, any employee of the City of San Francisco may not serve on charter boards or commissions. There are certain commissions that do not apply, like the Citizens Advisory Commission.

Proposition D: Financing Pier 70 Waterfront District Development Plan
This measure seeks to fund a revitalization of Pier 70 by authorizing the Board of Supervisors to approve a Pier 70 financial and land-use plan. The board would also need to authorize a mechanism for the city to appropriate general fund revenues in an amount up to 75% of the projected hotel and payroll tax that this development will bring in. In other words, if this passes, we can plan on seeing higher property taxes down the road to fund Pier 70. It seems like this proposition seeks to authorize the Board of Supervisors to make carte blanche decisions on a plan, which hasn’t even been decided upon. Basically, it’s a shoot first, ask questions later approach.

Proposition E: Changing the Number of Signatures Required to Recall City Officials
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors, in an effort to save their jobs, has put Proposition E on the ballot. This proposition changes the number of required signatures for a recall from 10% of registered San Francisco voters to a sliding scale based on the number of registered voters. Of course, under this method the required numbers for a recall are much higher, ensuring that an underperforming supervisor will be allowed to stay in office just a little bit longer.

Proposition F: Holding All Scheduled City Elections Only in Even-Numbered Years
As stated, the Board of Supervisors wants to change elections that occur specifically in San Francisco to even-numbered years. For the most part, local civil servants serve a four-year term. If passed, this law will require we move scheduled elections to even-numbered years, making the voting process that much more complicated at the outset.

Proposition G: Allowing Retirement System Credit for Unpaid Parental Leave
This measure will allow any member of the retirement system who has taken unpaid parental leave to purchase service credit with the retirement system for all or any part of the time they were on unpaid parental leave. The good news is that, if passed, this law will not cost taxpayers a dime. The bad news is that this unpaid leave must have been taken prior to July 1, 2003.

Proposition H: Public Power and Clean Energy
This proposition seeks to make the City of San Francisco responsible for providing its own power. It mandates that San Francisco will implement a plan that will make clean, reliable and affordable power part of the city’s responsibility. This includes building, buying or retrofitting electric facilities. This measure also gives the Board of Supervisors the right to issue revenue bonds to pay for it. Who can think of a better source for reliable and affordable energy than the San Francisco Board of Supervisors?

Proposition I: Creating the Office of an Independent Rate Payer Advocate
Proposition I creates an “independent rate payer advocate” position to fight for San Francisco property owners and end users of the Hetch Hetchy water system. This advocate will be fairly chosen by the city administrator and properly paid for by the Public Utilities Commission. If passed, the advocate will study the PUC’s water distribution and rate system and be able to make comments and recommendations to the commission. Unfortunately, in the end, the PUC doesn’t have to listen to a word the advocate has to say.

Proposition J: Creating a Historic Preservation Commission
This measure, brought to you by Supervisor Aaron Peskin and the Board of Supervisors, creates a new commission that will act through the power of the San Francisco Planning Commission. This new seven-member commission will advise the city on historic preservation matters, become involved with historic or cultural resources and take action concerning historic preservation.

Proposition K: Changing the Enforcement of Laws Related to Prostitution and Sex Workers
The biggest change Proposition K will make is the decriminalization of prostitution in San Francisco. It also includes a mandate that requires the San Francisco Police Department and the San Francisco district attorney to fully investigate and prosecute any offenders who violate a sex worker’s rights.

Proposition L: Funding the Community Justice Center
Proposition L comes from Mayor Newsom and addresses the funding of the Community Justice Center. An affirmative vote on L means the Department of Public Health may accept a federal grant to the tune of $984,000 to fund the community-based court, a system that matches misdemeanor and nonviolent criminals to social services to better assist in their rehabilitation.

Proposition M: Prohibition of Specific Acts of Harassment of Tenants by Landlords
If passed, this special rights measure, submitted by Supervisor Daly, will allow tenants to seek punitive damages against their landlords for harassment committed by the owner, contractor of the owner, subcontractor of the owner or employee of the owner. It also empowers the San Francisco Rent Board and the city attorney to assist, if necessary, in the defense of the “victimized” tenant. This isn’t the first time that Supervisor Daly has proposed legislation of this nature and, as in the past, it will find its way to court. Maybe if the supervisors had to pay the legal bills for all their inane legislation, we would see fewer items like this one on the ballot.

Proposition N: Changing the Real Property Transfer
Tax Measure N seeks to increase the real property transfer tax from its current level of .75% to 1.5% for buildings that sell for $5 million or over. This new tax rate does not apply to buildings that supply affordable housing, but it does apply to many larger buildings on the market today.

Proposition O: Imposing an Access Line Tax and Revising the Telephone Users Tax
This phone tax replaces the existing Emergency Response Fee for any phone line billed in San Francisco. This new tax imposes a $2.75 fee for any line, including your cell phone, which is attributed to a San Francisco billing address. Forget about what plan offers the most minutes, you need a way to get a non-415 number to avoid this new payment.

Proposition P: Changing the Composition of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority
Proposition P, brought to you by the mayor, changes the governing body of the San Francisco Transportation Authority. If passed, elected officials chosen by the mayor, the president of the Board of Supervisors and the treasurer will control the County Transportation Authority. Clearly, our elected officials are at a loss to find something to do with their free time. Running the Transportation Authority fills this hole in their schedules.

Proposition Q: Modifying the Payroll Expense Tax
Proposition Q, brought to you by Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Bevan Dufty, establishes a “safe harbor” payroll tax for all partnerships with taxable payroll expense over $250,000. The tax will take the four highest wage earners and multiply those wages by 200% to achieve a payroll tax base. Partnerships with taxable payroll expense below the $250,000 threshold will fall under the Small Business Tax Exemption. This measure could negatively affect many larger property owners.

Proposition R: Renaming the Oceanside Water Treatment Plant
This powerful and constructive measure will change the name of the Oceanside Water Treatment Facility to the George W. Bush Sewage Plant. There are costs to taxpayers: signage, website updates, stationary and all other materials must change in accordance with this profound legislation.

Proposition S: Policy Regarding Budget Set Asides and Identification of Replacement Funds
Mayor Newsom brings Proposition S to the voters with the intention of halting money grabs through the use of set-asides. If passed, it will mandate that any new set-aside monies will need to identify a new funding source for the program as to not deplete San Francisco’s general fund for pet projects. The measure also states that no set-aside shall impede the mayor or the Board of Supervisors from limiting spending, unless it’s a new set-aside with adequate funding. It almost sounds like language that mandates San Francisco actually operate within its budget. Almost.

Proposition T: Free and Low-Cost Substance Abuse Treatment Programs
Proposition T, if passed, will offer free and low-cost substance abuse treatment programs to residents who seek treatment through the Department of Public Health. In other words, as demand increases for the treatment, the DPH will increase its output. The DPH will have to be flexible in its approach in issuing substance abuse treatment at no or low cost. This amendment to the administrative code will be paid for by general funds and funding will continue as long as there is a need.

Proposition U: Policy Against Funding the Deployment of Armed Forces in Iraq
Proposition U is a declaration of policy stating that the people of the city and county of San Francisco are against the funding of the war in Iraq and that we urge the Senate and the House of Representatives to vote against any further funding. Now, if we can just get a policy that states the City and County of San Francisco are against tyrannical potholes and high property taxes.

Proposition V: Policy Against Terminating the JROTC
Passage of Prop. V will make it a declaration of policy that the people of the City and County of San Francisco support the right of students to choose voluntarily to participate in the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps program. If passed, Proposition V will reverse the phase out of the JROTC by the Board of Supervisors.

 

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The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the SFAA or the SF Apartment Magazine. Sean Pritchard is the government and community affairs coordinator for SFAA and can be reached at 415-255-2288. Copyright © 2008 by Black Point Press. All rights reserved.