LPSF MEETING SATURDAY SEPT. 8 - BALLOT INITIATIVES RECOMMENDATIONS VOTE

Dear Everyone;

On Saturday Sept. 8 at the monthly LPSF meeting at 3:00 pm at Milano's 9th Ave/Irving we will be voting on the LPSF ballot recommendations. At the August 11 meeting ballot suggestions were made. These were for discussion purposes only.

Final vote recommendations on the ballot initiatives will be made at the Sept. 8 meeting. Please be there to voice your vote.

Below are the ballot suggestions made for your consideration. In additon please down load and copy and bring with you to the meeting. Attached is a copy of the same list and additionally a copy will be posted in the files section of LPSF Activists and Discussion groups.

Please note there are some additonal updates to the information on the initiatives.

Ron Getty
Chair Initiaitves Committee
SF Libertarian

LPSF VOTE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NOVEMBER 2007 BALLOT

At the monthly meeting of the LPSF Saturday August 11 we reviewed these ballot initiatives and made suggestions on those initiatives.

A final official vote needs to be made at the LPSF meeting Saturday Sept.8, 2007 at Milano’s 3:00 pm 9th Ave. @ Irving.

The suggestions gathered at the LPSF meeting Saturday August 11 are suggestions only. They are not the final official LPSF voter recommendations for the ballot initiatives which will be made at the LPSF meeting Saturday Sept. 8.

Please review these ballot measures. By clicking on the highlighted URL and holding down Control (CTRL) the pdf will be opened up for your reading pleasure.

Charter Amendments:

PROPOSITION A - Emissions Reductions and Transit Reform (PDF)

The Save the Muni law to require a larger percentage of revenue be directed from parking fees and other internal Muni matters would relate to pay scale determination and driver discipline.

UPDATED INFORMATION

A provision of the initiative would require the Taxicab Commission and taxi cab functions to be assigned to the MTA as part of the overall design to control traffic and transportation throughout San Francisco.

Vote NO ( requires taking a higher percentage of parking fees to go to Muni but no provisions for replacing the loss of fees which is currently used for other purposes and thereby creating a potential tax increase to cover those expenses)

Supervisors: Peskin, Ammiano, Daly, Dufty, Elsbernd, Maxwell, Mirkarimi

PROPOSITION B - Limiting Hold-Over Service on Boards and Commissions (PDF)

Allows appointed commission members to stay over for up to an additional 60 days from time of expiration of their service unless re-appointed to another term.

UPDATED INFORMATION

This initiative was placed on the ballot due to the fact in some cases appointees had stayed on a commission or board up to a couple years after their appointment expired. The charter amendment is for the purposes of setting procedures to have appointed people either replaced or have their appointment renewed.

Supervisors: McGoldrick, Ammiano, Alioto-Pier, Daly, Dufty, Elsbernd, Maxwell, Mirkarimi, Peskin, Sandoval

PROPOSITION C - Public Hearing on Initiatives (PDF)

Requires public hearings to be held at least 45 days before the deadline to place an initiative on the ballot by the Supervisors or the Mayor.

Vote YES (stopping last second stealth legislation being put on the ballot by 4 supervisors)

Supervisors: Elsbernd, Peskin, McGoldrick, Alioto-Pier, Maxwell

PROPOSITION D - Library Preservation Fund (PDF)

Renews the Preservation Fund previously approved by voters.

Vote NO (renews for 15 years a 2 and 1/2 cent tax per $100 of assessed property value – stop a tax renewal)

Supervisors: Peskin, Maxwell, Elsbernd, Alioto-Pier, Mirkarimi, McGoldrick, Dufty, Ammiano and Sandoval

PROPOSITION E - Mayor to Appear at Board (PDF)

This would require the Mayor to attend a Supervisors meeting once a month to answer questions.

Vote of: No Recommendation (politics as usual between the supervisors and the mayor)

Supervisor Daly, Ammiano, McGoldrick, Mirkarimi, Peskin, Sandoval

PROPOSITION F - Retirement Benefits for Police Department Employees Who Were Airport Police Officers (PDF)

UPDATED INFORMATION ON PROPOSITION F.

The 62 SF Airport police officers asking to be included in the SF pay/benefits/retirement program to have parity with City employees. The $670,000 to transfer to the City plan is being paid by the SF Airport from previously allocated and budgeted funds from the SF Airport for the 62 police officers pay and benefits. Any additional funds required to match pay and benefits and retirement is mandated to come from the officers themselves. There are to be no funds provided by the SF City General Fund. The transfer is somewhat similar to when SF City took over the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and rolled the police and firefighters into SF police and fire departments.

Vote NO (due to insufficient information at the time of the August 11 meeting it was not known that the SF General fund would not be contributing any funds to the roll over and would be paid by either the SF Airport and the officers themselves.)

Supervisor McGoldrick, Alioto-Pier, Ammiano, Dufty, Elsberned, Jew, Maxwell, McGoldrick, Mirkarimi, Peskin, Sandoval

Ordinances:

PROPOSITION G - Golden Gate Park Stables Ordinance (PDF)

A matching funds program where SF would allocate up to a maximum of $750,000 on a 3:1 basis of contributions to City funds for repair upkeep and maintenance of the stables.

Vote NO (It means taking up to $750,000 out of general funds to maintain a horse stable)

Supervisors: McGoldrick, Daly, Mirkarimi and Sandoval

PROPOSITION H – Parking initiative (PDF)

This initiative would have opened up more parking spaces in new projects in selected neighborhoods. It competed with a last minute addition to the new Muni Amendment by Peskin. A last minute agreement has been made by Peskin and the Parking group to place an initiative on the February ballot to address these issues. The Parking group has agreed to not promote the parking initiative on the ballot as it can not be pulled at this time.

Vote of: No Recommendation (further investigation is suggested)

Placed on ballot by voter initiative

PROPOSITION I - Small Business Assistance Center Ordinance (PDF)

The Mayors proposal to have a one stop shop for small businesses in SF.

Vote NO ( The Mayor can reorganize the City Departments to address the issue of providing easy access to small businesses for permits and licenses – no special program is needed at $950,000)

Mayor Gavin Newsom

Declaration of Policy:

PROPOSITION J - Universal Wi-Fi Declaration of Policy (PDF)

Adopting a Policy to Offer Free City-Wide Wireless High-Speed Internet Network

A request for an endorsement of the proposed privately installed WI-FI network for SF.

UPDATED INFORMATION

Earthlink as of last week has pulled out from participating in the Google/Earthlink Wi-Fi network proposal.

Vote of: No Recommendation

Mayor Gavin Newsom

PROPOSITION K - Street Furniture Declaration of Policy (PDF)

Adopting a Policy to Restrict Advertising on Street Furniture and City Buildings

Vote of: No Recommendation

Limits the amount of advertising placed on benches and news racks and kiosks and city buildings bus shelters.

Supervisors: McGoldrick, Daly, Mirkarimi and Peskin

LPSF VOTE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NOVEMBER 2007 BALLOT.doc (35 KB)