Supervisor Carmen Chu: Budget, Pensions, Great Hwy.

City's Budget
As we head into the month of June, the SF Board of Supervisors' Budget Committee will be considering the mayor's 2011-2012 budget proposal for the City. Over the past several months, I have been meeting with community organizations and have heard from many constituents about their budget priorities. In addition to contacting us directly, all residents also have a formal opportunity to weigh in on the city's budget at the Budget Committee on Friday, June 24, Room 250. The committee will be hearing public comment between 10 a.m. – noon and after 2 p.m. until all members of the public have had an opportunity to speak. For more information regarding the budget process and hearing schedule, please visit www.sfgov.org/budget.

Pension Reform Efforts
In addition to working on balancing our annual budget, the City, through the leadership of Mayor Ed Lee, SF Supervisor Sean Elsbernd and other elected and labor leaders, have been meeting to deal with the long-term structural imbalances of our budget. Without structural reform, it is estimated that the city's pension and health costs will increase to more than $2 billion per year over the next 10 years. On top of that, the City's unfunded liability for retiree health care stands at more than $4.3 billion. That is why I recently co-sponsored a proposed Charter amendment that takes a comprehensive approach to these challenges. Under consideration by the Board of Supervisors, the pension reform measure may come to San Francisco residents for a vote in November.
The proposed measure provides for additional cost sharing for all city employees that is based on an employee's salary. This component alone is estimated to save the City at least $800 million to $1 billion over 10 years. The proposal also creates a new retirement tier for new employees that raises the retirement age and reduces costs, caps pensionable salary, reduces plan costs and addresses "pension spiking," requires existing employees to begin contributing to the retiree Health Care Trust Fund, and amends the make-up of the Health Services Board to ensure balanced decision-making. This proposed Charter amendment will be discussed and considered by the board in the coming months.

Great Highway Closures
Every spring the strong westerly winds pick up sand from Ocean Beach and the dunes and sweeps it onto the Great High­way, creating unsafe driving conditions. The SF Department of Public Works (DPW) operations staff has the responsibility to remove the sand, and to close and reopen the Great Highway. This spring has been particularly windy, requiring more sand removal and causing more road closures than usual. The City and the National Park Service have an agreement that all suitable sand swept up from the Great Highway is to be placed back on the beach or dunes. However, due to federal regulations regarding the snowy plover, this work can only be done during a very limited time. In June, when the snowy plovers leave the beach for their breeding season, the City will move the large stockpiles of sand that have built up along the Great Highway onto the beach.
One of the unfortunate consequences of these closures is increased traffic on the Lower Great Highway. Our office has worked with DPW to install detour signs on the Great Highway gates, directing motorists to use Sunset Boulevard as an alternate route. We have also worked with the SFPD to monitor traffic on the Lower Great Highway when these closures occur. For questions or complaints regarding the closures, please call 3-1-1, where there will be the most updated information.
These are short term fixes for just one of the ongoing issues at Ocean Beach. Infrastructure, erosion and sea level rise, traffic and accessibility are all topics that are currently being studied by the San Francisco Planning & Urban Research Association (SPUR) as part of the Ocean Beach Master Plan, which will determine an approach that best serves the future of Ocean Beach. If you are interested in providing input during this process, please attend SPUR's public workshop on Saturday, June 4, at the Golden Gate Park Senior Center (6101 Fulton St.), from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. To find out more information about the plan, visit www.spur.org/ocean-beach.

New N-Judah Service
Over the last few years one of the most consistent service complaints we have received surrounds the performance and reliability of our transit service. For many of you who ride the N-Judah line, it goes without saying that the N-Judah has had its share of problems. In the outer avenues, some of the concerns include early turn-backs, bunching of rail cars, or sometimes trains that are very late or even missing.
On June 13, the Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) will launch a six-month pilot N-Judah express bus service, called the Nx. The intent of the N-Judah Express is to be an additional service to the existing N-Judah LRV service – not a substitution. For more information about the N-Judah Express service, please visit www.sfmta.com or call 311.
Our office has also called for a public hearing on the recent performance of the Muni LRV lines, including the N-Judah and L-Taraval. The meeting has not yet been scheduled. Please check with our office if you are interested in following up.
Supervisor Carmen Chu represents District 4.