Pass: 140,561 / 63.33% Yes votes ...... 81,396 / 36.67% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

THE PROPOSAL: Proposition C is a Charter Amendment that would require the Civil Service Commission to set the base salary for the Mayor, City Attorney, District Attorney, Public Defender, Assessor-Recorder, Treasurer and Sheriff. Every five years, the Commission would calculate the average salary paid to comparable officials in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The City would pay this average salary to each of these elected officials beginning July 1, 2007. The Commission would also be required to make cost-of-living adjustments to these salaries in each of the following four years. Any cost-of-living increase could not be more than five percent per year. If the compensation of other City employees is reduced to save costs, the Commission could reduce the salaries of these elected officials.

A "YES" VOTE MEANS: If you vote "yes," you want the Civil Service Commission to set the base salary for the Mayor, City Attorney, District Attorney, Public Defender, Assessor-Recorder, Treasurer and Sheriff every five years. Base salaries would be calculated from the average salaries paid to comparable officials in other Bay Area counties.

A "NO" VOTE MEANS: If you vote "no," you do not want to change the way in which the salaries of these elected officials are set.

Should the proposed charter amendment be approved by the voters, in my opinion, there would be an increase in the cost of government of approximately $207,000 annually for additional salary and fringe benefit costs.

The amendment would provide that the salaries of the Mayor, City Attorney, District Attorney, Public Defender, Assessor-Recorder, Treasurer and Sheriff be set at the average amount of the comparable positions in five Bay Area counties. Currently, all but one of the salaries of these elected officials in San Francisco is below the average of the surveyed counties. The differences range from 42% below to 5% above the average. The actual salary increases resulting from the Charter amendment would range from $55,200 for the Sheriff down to zero for the Treasurer.

Currently, salaries for these officials are set in the Charter at the base amounts that were in effect as of June 30, 1994, plus adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index of up to five percent annually that are made at the discretion of the Civil Service Commission. Under the amendment, the survey to determine the comparable salaries would be done every five years and in the years between there would be automatic annual adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index.

Meaning of Voting Yes/No

A YES vote on this measure means:

If you vote "yes," you want the Civil Service Commission to set the base salary for the Mayor, City Attorney, District Attorney, Public Defender, Assessor-Recorder, Treasurer and Sheriff every five years. Base salaries would be calculated from the average salaries paid to comparable officials in other Bay Area counties.

A NO vote on this measure means:

If you vote "no," you do not want to change the way in which the salaries of these elected officials are set.

• Proposition C will replace the rigid, outdated provision with a more equitable process that enables San Francisco's Civil Service Commission to set salaries for these elected officials every five years.

• Proposition C will normalize professional compensation for these elected officers by averaging salaries for their counterparts in five Bay Area counties - Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo and Santa Clara - so San Francisco won't lag behind again.

• Proposition C will establish a process to ensure a standardized level of executive compensation, and institutionalize a process that is professional and insulated from political favoritism or manipulation.

• Proposition C will make elective office more attractive to prospective candidates - increasing the likelihood for more choices and more competitive elections, and reducing the financial sacrifice necessary for private sector professionals to serve in San Francisco's public sector.

Vote YES on Proposition C

Supervisors Aaron Peskin, Tom Ammiano, Michela Alioto-Pier, Bevan Dufty, Ross Mirkarimi

Proponents lament that compensation for our top elected officials "lags far behind," as though their generous, six-figure salaries should make us ashamed to pay the taxes that pay their measly salaries. In reality, these officials knew what the pay was before they ran for office - if any of them are having buyer's remorse it's not the Taxpayers' problem.

Proponent's allegation that Prop C will provide a compensation process "insulated from political favoritism or manipulation" is laughable. Civil Service Commissioners are appointed by the Mayor. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all appoint the people responsible for giving us our annual raise?

Proponent argues that Prop C will provide "a standardized level of executive compensation" - no mention of a standardized level of executive performance to go with it. These "executives" oversee a $5.7 billion dollar budget, larger than the budgets of 20 states. Yet Taxpayers continue to see a declining level of service, higher fees, and a homicide rate that's setting a new record. In the real world, any "executive" responsible for this mess would be out of a job.

Finally, proponent suggests that generous, guaranteed salary increases will make "elective office more attractive to prospective candidates." The fact that every one of them is seeking reelection blows a hole in this argument.

Let's make politicians earn their raises. Vote NO on C.

San Francisco Taxpayers Union

We do not argue that all of our elected officials are nice people who deserve a raise, but consider the following:

• They knew what their pay was going to be before they sought election - all of them are well paid by public and private standards.

• They all get a raise every year already, in an amount determined by the Civil Service Commission.

• Prop C will not only raise the pay of the Mayor, it will raise the pay of his staffers whose salaries are pegged to his pay.

• Future public employee contract negotiations will be linked to the salaries of the other affected officials who will enjoy this windfall + labor costs will skyrocket.

• According to the City Controller's statement, initial raises will be as much as $55,200 annually.

It is absurd to tie the salaries of San Francisco elected officials to those doing similar jobs in neighboring cities, ignoring the 26,000 public employees + the highest employee/resident ratio in the nation + who do their jobs for them, leaving our elected officials to perform primarily public relations functions.

Taxpayers pay enough to live and work in San Francisco without funding this new entitlement for people who are supposed to be public servants.

Vote NO on C.

San Francisco Taxpayers Union

Proposition C will normalize professional compensation for San Francisco's citywide elected officers by averaging salaries for their counterparts in other Bay Area counties.

Proposition C will institutionalize a process that is professional, fair, and insulated from political favoritism or manipulation.

Proposition C will bring parity to compensation between San Francisco's citywide officials and elected officials in neighboring counties + a disparity that likely discourages participation in San Francisco's City government by too many private sector professionals.

Making elective office in San Francisco more attractive to prospective candidates is a small investment when balanced against the significant benefits of more choices and more competitive elections.

Let's not be pennywise and pound foolish.

Vote YES for parity. Vote YES for professionalism. Vote YES on Proposition C.

Supervisors Aaron Peskin, Michela Alioto-Pier, Bevan Dufty, Ross Mirkarimi

The Board of Supervisors hereby submits to the qualified voters of the City and County, at an election to be held on November 7, 2006, a proposal to amend the Charter of the City and County by amending Section A8.4091 to read as follows:

Additions are italics. Deletions are strikethrough.

SEC. A8.409-1. EMPLOYEES COVERED These Sections A8.409 through A8.4096, inclusive, shall apply to all miscellaneous officers and employees except as set forth in Section A8.590-1 et seq. and including employees of San Francisco Unified School District and San Francisco Community College District to the extent authorized by state law. The provisions of charter sections 8.400(h), 8.401-1, and
8.407 are hereby repealed and shall be of no further force and effect. Employee organizations representing employees in classifications covered by section A8.403 and A8.404 of this Charter may elect to include those classifications within the coverage of this part as a separate bargaining unit, provided however, that the election shall not become effective without the written approval of the Mayor and Board of Supervisors. The election shall be irrevocable and such employees shall not thereafter be subject to the provisions of section A8.403 and A8.404. Employees in classifications not represented by a recognized employee organization shall be entitled to represent themselves with the city and county over wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment to the extent required by state law and shall not be subject to the arbitration provisions of Section A8.409-4 of this charter. The Mayor annually shall propose all forms of compensation for unrepresented employees including salaries, hours, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment subject to approval or disapproval of the board of supervisors. Consistent with other provisions of this charter, the civil service commission may adopt rules and procedures relating to said unrepresented employees.

Except as otherwise provided by this charter the Civil Service Commission shall set the wages and benefits of all elected officials of the City and County of San Francisco as follows: wages shall be frozen for fiscal year 1994-95 and 1995-96 at the rates in effect on June 30, 1994, thereafter wages and benefits may be adjusted on July 1, of each fiscal year to reflect upward change in the CPI as of the preceding January 1; however, wage increases may not exceed 5%. Benefits of elected officials may equal but may not exceed those benefits provided to any classification of miscellaneous officers and employees as of July 1 of each fiscal year.

The Commission shall conduct a salary survey of the offices of chief executive officer, county counsel, district attorney, public defender, assessor-recorder, treasurer, and sheriff, in the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. The Commission shall then average the salaries for each of those offices to determine respectively the base fiveyear salaries for the Mayor, City Attorney, District Attorney, Public Defender, Assessor-Recorder, Treasurer, and Sheriff.

If any of the aforementioned counties do not have an office of public defender, that county shall be omitted from the salary survey for purposes of determining the base five-year salary of the Public Defender. Among the aforementioned counties, any freestanding county assessor's office or any county office in which the assessor's function is combined with other county functions, shall be deemed comparable to the office of Assessor-Recorder for purposes of determining the base five-year salary of the Assessor-Recorder. If any of the aforementioned counties do not have a comparable county office of treasurer, the county office whose functions most closely resemble the Treasurer's functions in San Francisco shall be deemed comparable to the office of Treasurer for purposes of determining the base five-year salary of the Treasurer.

The initial base five-year salary determination for the respective salaries of the Mayor, City Attorney, District Attorney, Public Defender, Assessor-Recorder, Treasurer, and Sheriff shall apply to the period from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2012. Subsequent base five-year salary determinations for those offices shall apply to subsequent five-year periods, for example, July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2017.

For the second, third, fourth, and fifth years of the period for which any base five-year salary has been set, the Commission shall annually adjust the respective salaries of the Mayor, City Attorney, District Attorney, Public Defender, Assessor-Recorder, Treasurer, and Sheriff, to account for upward annual movement in the Consumer Price Index during the prior calendar year; provided, that whenever the upward movement in the Consumer Price Index during the prior calendar year exceeds 5%, the cost-of-living adjustment shall not be the actual increase in the Consumer Price Index for the prior calendar year but instead shall be 5%. The annual cost-of-living adjustment shall take effect July 1 of the second, third, fourth, and fifth years of the period for which the base five-year salary has been set.

Except as noted below, in setting the initial and subsequent base five-year salary determinations for the offices of Mayor, City Attorney, District Attorney, Public Defender, Assessor-Recorder, Treasurer, and Sheriff, the Commission may not reduce the respective salaries of any of those offices. If implementation of the process for setting the base five-year salary would otherwise result in a salary reduction for any of those offices, the base five-year salary for the affected office or offices shall be the existing salary for the office.

If the City and County of San Francisco and employee organizations agree to amend the compensation provisions of existing memoranda of understanding to reduce costs, the Commission shall review and amend the respective salaries of the Mayor, City Attorney, District Attorney, Public Defender, Assessor-Recorder, Treasurer, and Sheriff as necessary to achieve comparable cost savings in the affected fiscal year or years.

The Commission shall annually set the benefits of elected officials, to take effect July 1 of each year. Benefits of elected officials may equal but may not exceed those benefits provided to any classification of miscellaneous officers and employees as of July 1 of each year.

In addition, subject to the approval or disapproval of the Board of Supervisors, the Mayor may create, for employees designated as management, a management compensation package that recognizes and provides incentives for outstanding managerial performance contributing to increased productivity and efficiency in the work force. In formulating such a package, the Mayor shall take into account data developed in conjunction with the civil service commission regarding the terms of executive compensation in other public and private jurisdictions.