Landlords of rent-controlled units in San Francisco would be allowed to pass half the cost of a Muni parcel tax along to their tenants, if voters approve the tax in November.
It’s the latest tweak to one of the city’s most closely scrutinized ballot measures, which aims to raise $183 million annually to avert steep cuts to transit. City Hall officials have spent months debating and refining the tax to strike a balance between fairness and maximizing revenue. Throughout those discussions, they left open the possibility that renters might be asked to help cover the cost.
Transportation chief Julie Kirschbaum presented a revised version of the tax in a letter Monday to Mayor Daniel Lurie, saying she had considered feedback from the mayor’s staff as well as community members. Just about every stakeholder got to weigh in, a painstaking process that Kirschbaum and others hope will make the tax bulletproof. Faced with a deficit of $307 million that could grow each year, Muni can’t afford to lose this economic lifeboat…