Newsom’s Muni Budget Heist

by Paul Hogarth, 2008-01-28

As the SF Chronicle and Examiner reported on Friday, Mayor Gavin Newsom has taken $725,644 out of the MTA budget to pay the salaries of seven top members of his “new team” – all but one of whom will make over $100,000. If the Mayor can dip into any department budget at any time, why go through a formal budget process every year? The MTA Commission controls the Muni budget, but don’t expect them to complain about this because the Mayor appoints – and can fire – all seven of them. Finally, Newsom’s move could not come at a worse time because the voters just passed Proposition A – which gave the MTA an extra $26 million in revenue. We were told this money would go towards improving Muni – especially for the City’s transit-dependent population. Muni’s Lifeline pass doesn’t work for most low-income riders because there isn’t enough money, which makes the Mayor’s all the more troubling.

The $725,644 will pay the full salaries of four special assistants – and a portion of three others. All seven will be working in the Mayor’s Office – except for the $140,000-a-year lobbyist, who will be in Sacramento on behalf of the whole City. The MTA will pay 40% of Wade Crowfoot’s six-figure salary as Newsom’s Director of Climate Protection. $85,000 will pay the full salary of a Deputy Press Secretary.

What Newsom did was probably not illegal (and other Mayors have done it before) – but it threatens the integrity of how we pass a City budget. If a Mayor can dip into any department budget, what’s the purpose of going through a long and tedious process each year at the Board of Supervisors? Hundreds of San Franciscans put in hours to craft this year’s budget, and the Supes negotiated feverishly with the Mayor. Newsom’s action calls into question whether this was just an exercise in futility.

Of course, the Supervisors can’t tweak the MTA Budget – besides rejecting it as a whole by a 7-4 vote. But the Mayor’s not supposed to touch it either. The City Charter gives this power to the MTA Commission, a seven-member body that approves fare hikes, service cuts and is empowered to oversee the entire Muni budget. But don’t expect the MTA Commissioners to complain publicly that Newsom usurped their power – because the Mayor appoints them all.

Newsom has not hesitated to remove MTA Commissioners who are willing to stand up to him. Leah Shahum, Executive Director of the SF Bicycle Coalition, was told by the Mayor’s Office on January 8th that he would no longer need her services – so she’s off the MTA Commission. Shahum is aligned with the Mayor’s progressive adversaries on the Board of Supervisors, and this move was widely viewed as political. If you’re on the MTA Board, would you be criticizing the Mayor right now?

Does this recent episode prove that we need a Charter Amendment for the MTA Commission? In 2005, Supervisor Tom Ammiano and transit activists crafted Proposition D – which would have split appointments on the MTA between the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors. It failed, because Newsom prioritized its defeat. Last week, Supervisor Jake McGoldrick proposed at the Rules Committee to have an elected MTA Board. Regardless of what plan goes ahead, it’s time to get busy.

But what is most troubling about Newsom’s action is that voters just passed Proposition A last November to give the MTA an extra $26 million. Muni’s been operating a structural deficit for years now, and transit-dependent riders have struggled with an onslaught of fare hikes, service cuts and a general malaise about what should be a world-class transit system. Every time community groups lobby the MTA to get better service, we always get told the same thing: Muni doesn’t have the money.

As others have pointed out, $725,000 is not a lot of money given the MTA's huge budget -- but it's the principle that matters the most. And the fact that he did this right after Prop A passed is troubling. Especially when you consider how much transit-dependent riders have struggled under Muni's inability to provide better service.

Right after Prop A passed, I wrote a piece for BeyondChron outlining various proposals for what Muni should spend its money on that would directly help our City’s low-income riders. There are issues in Bayview-Hunters Point about the elimination of the 15-line, diesel buses that are situated in communities of color need to be replaced, and Muni service has to be affordable and accessible for people who need it the most.

And then you have the low-income pass that Muni provides, which needs money to be of better use. After the MTA raised fares and cut service, Muni created the Lifeline pass two years ago for San Franciscans who make less than 200% of the federal poverty line ($20,000-$27,000 a year.) But the pass only gives riders a $10 monthly discount ($35 instead of $45), and unlike the Regular Fast Pass does not work on BART. For the working-class bus rider who lives in the Mission District and relies heavily on BART, many have chosen to eat the $10 difference.

Muni set the Lifeline Pass at $35/month (whereas the Senior and Disabled passes are at $10/month) to make the program “cost-neutral.” Now that the MTA has an extra $26 million through Prop A, they could give the program a slight subsidy. Muni reimburses BART ninety cents for each San Francisco rider who slips a Regular Fast Pass through the fare gates, giving such riders BART access. We should now do that with the Lifeline Pass – and if not, make the Lifeline Pass cheaper for low-income riders.

Instead, we’re seeing Mayor Gavin Newsom use the MTA’s precious funds to pay six-figure salaries to his special assistants. The Mayor’s Office should return this money to the MTA immediately.