Pass: 117,283 / 56.13% Yes votes ...... 91,680 / 43.87% No votes

See Also: Index of all Propositions

Summary:

Proposition D is a Charter amendment that would grant certain former Redevelopment Agency and Successor Agency employees the same health benefits as City employees hired during the same period.

Under Proposition D, employees who started working for the Redevelopment Agency before January 10, 2009, and later started working for the City between February 1, 2012, and February 28, 2015, without a break in service, would be eligible for full retiree health care coverage after five years of employment with the City, the Redevelopment Agency, and/or the Successor Agency combined.

For employees who started working for the Redevelopment Agency between January 10, 2009, and August 31, 2010, and later started working for the City between February 1, 2012, and February 28, 2015, without a break in service, Proposition D would credit the employees' years working for the former Redevelopment Agency and the Successor Agency toward the 20-year vesting period for retiree health care benefits.

Under Proposition D, employees who started working for the Redevelopment Agency before January 10, 2009, and then started working for the City before March 1, 2015, without a break in service would pay 0.25% of compensation into the Fund after July 1, 2016, increasing to 1% of compensation after July 1, 2019, rather than 2% of compensation.

Fiscal Impact:

Should the proposed charter amendment be approved by the voters, in my opinion, it would have a significant impact on the cost of government.The proposed Charter amendment would increase the City's costs to fund retiree health benefits for certain employees of the former San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRDA) in the event that they become City employees.The total cost would range widely depending on many factors including the pay rates of the employees, their years of service, retirement decisions and eventual hiring decisions by the City.

The proposed amendment could affect the status of up to 50 people who were employed by the SFRDA before it was dissolved by state mandate and who now are, or may become, employees of the City. Most of the individuals are currently employees of the Office of City Infrastructure and Investment (OCII), the agency established following the dissolution of the SFRDA.

City employees hired after 2009 currently contribute 2% of payroll into a trust fund for retiree health costs. Employees hired before 2009 will pay into this fund at lower rates beginning in fiscal year 2016+17. City employees hired after 2009 receive City funding for health benefits when they retire at levels from 50% to 100% of premium costs based on their years of service and they must retire from the City to receive this fund- ing. Employees hired before 2009 generally receive fully paid health benefits when they retire after only five years of working for the City and receive these benefits regardless of whether they continue to work, and eventually retire from, City employment.

In general, the amendment would treat any OCII employees hired by the City between January 31, 2012 and March 1, 2015 as having begun City employment from the date of their earlier employment with SFRDA before 2009. In effect, should these OCII employees become City employees, their payroll contributions to the retiree health care trust fund will be less than they would have been without the amendment, and a greater share of their health care premium cost after retirement will be paid by the City. For a typical employee who works an additional 20 years and retires from the City the increased cost to the City under the proposed Charter amendment would be in the range of $75,000 in today's dollars and this cost would be spread over many years.

As with most costs for OCII staff, the cost of these benefits is expected to be eligible to be paid for from developer fees generated by development projects under OCII management and from additional property tax revenue (tax increment). Approximately 65% of property tax revenues would ordinarily go directly to the City's General Fund.

Meaning of Voting Yes/No

A YES vote on this measure means:

If you vote "yes," you want to change the Charter to make retiree health care benefits available to certain employees of the former San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and the Successor Agency.

A NO vote on this measure means:

If you vote "no," you do not want to make these changes to the Charter.