november 2022 VOTER GUIDE
NO ON PROP O
Parcel Tax for City College of San Francisco
Prop O is a brand-new parcel tax on residential and commercial properties in San Francisco that will fund City College of San Francisco (CCSF). Voters passed a parcel tax in 2012 and a transfer tax in 2016 to fund CCSF, but enrollment continues to decline and the college is still plagued by fiscal issues. CCSF has deep structural issues, and these funds will not address them. Plus, San Francisco homeowners already pay $700 annually in direct charges and special assessments for SFUSD and Community College District. We cannot support increasing taxes to pay for an institution that is unable to exercise sound fiscal oversight and governance.
The Context
This parcel tax, which would start January 2023, raises taxes on both residential and commercial properties and to raise funds will be used for student services, immigrant job development programs, social equity, and justice programs.
All of that sounds good, except that it probably wouldn’t work. CCSF has consistently proven it is unable to exercise sound fiscal oversight and governance to deliver appropriate services to its student body. In 2021, the state’s Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team declared the college at risk of insolvency and a takeover by the state, and said it had lost control of its payroll expenses. CCSF is prone to turnover at the highest level of leadership—in 2021, the college hired its ninth Chancellor in eight years. And recent structural issues with their finances include a massive loss in general fund money, declining enrollment, and very low reserve funds due to constant excess spending on ever-increasing payroll and benefits costs.
Second, San Francisco homeowners already pay a lot in property taxes. They pay approximately $700 annually in direct charges and special assessments for both the San Francisco Unified School District and Community College District.
The Money
If passed, Prop O would deliver approximately $43 million annually for CCSF. No more than .5 percent of the funds could go to administrative staff members in any way, including in the form of salaries and benefits.
Support & Opposition
This measure was a signature-gathering effort supported by the CCSF faculty’s union, AFT 2121, and Alan Wong, a member of the CCSF Board of Trustees who also works for Supervisor Gordon Mar as a legislative aide.
Correction: A previous version of this page erroneously stated that 86,940 seniors on fixed incomes would be subject to the parcel tax. In fact, homeowners who are 65+ are exempt from this tax. We regret the error.
Paid for by TogetherSF Action. Not authorized by any candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate. Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.
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