I thought I had heard every possible screwball idea from the Board of Supervisors. But the proposed charter amendment orchestrated by Supervisor Scott Wiener for the November ballot takes the academy award for screwball ideas. He actually wants to give the Board of Supervisors the power to amend or repeal ballot measures approved by the voters. You heard right, If the Board of Supervisors do not agree with the voters on amendments passed at the polls, they simply amend or repeal the amendment. Read More

It was a little embarrassing seeing our city officials falling all over themselves to tout a proposal that does not adequately address out-of-control employee benefit costs that threaten our most basic public services.Financier Warren Hellman even went as far as to say he was “very pleased” with the outcome. However, Hellman stated earlier this year that the pension reform working group must come up with $300 million to $400 million in annual savings. This sentiment was echoed at the time by Mayor Ed Lee, who also said The City could be bankrupt in five to 10 years. Read More

It was a shame the California Legislative Budget and Finance Committee refused to allow the nationwide standard for a competitive bidding specification law to be implemented in California. The Legislative Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review put the bill forward, in order to stop massive scams of school and public construction dollars. Nationwide, minimum good competitive bidding practice for best use of taxpayer money is to write in three different manufacturer’s products and the term “or equal” into contract specifications. Read More

It’s easier for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to devise new ways to tax city residents instead of tackling its balance sheet and revenue problems. Half the new parking smart meters installed by SFMTA over the past three years are largely vacant during business hours because street parking is now just too expensive. Another quarter is occupied by handicapped placards getting free parking. Placard abuse is even higher around commuter-heavy city and state administration buildings. Read More

It is height of absurdity that San Francisco, a city with a $7 billion budget (bigger then that of 20 states) can’t maintain its roads within its existing general fund and is instead asking the voters to pass a bond measure to pay for it. It is fiscally reckless to pay for ongoing street repair through bond debt. Bonds are meant for one-time capital projects, not ongoing maintenance needs. This would saddle San Francisco residents with 10-plus years of interest payments so that the $200 million a year The City wastes on the homeless-industrial complex can be preserved. Read More

The Mayor’s Office on Disability has received calls and emails because of a misleading paragraph about me in your Thursday cover story “Disability-placard use spurs worries of abuse.” For the record, I think only people whose disability makes it difficult or impossible to use public transit should have and use a placard. Read More

I can’t believe the California Public Utilities Commission is allowing these PG&E executives to flee the sinking ship and keep their ill-earned bonuses and incentive packages. The CEO is leaving with his $35 million retirement bonus while the San Bruno victims continue to wait for a monthly handout. PG&E now wants to employ set-aside accounting so it can bill ratepayers for its mismanagement of the San Bruno gas explosion. Read More