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Board agrees ERAF spending plan; SFMTA to receive $38.1 million including funds for light‑rail vehicles and a $5 million small‑business mitigation fund
Summary
On Feb. 12 the board approved a unanimous ERAF spending plan that includes $38.1 million for the SFMTA — split roughly into $19 million for light‑rail vehicles, $13.8 million for energy upgrades and $5 million to help small businesses harmed by construction — while placing some funds on reserve pending state cash‑flow confirmation.
The Board of Supervisors on Feb. 12 voted to advance an Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF) spending plan that directs windfall property tax revenues to housing, homelessness, behavioral health, educators’ pay and transit. The board’s package was presented and championed by Budget Committee Chair Supervisor Sandra Fewer and passed on first reading unanimously.
Item 29, sponsored by the executive, appropriates $38.1 million in excess ERAF receipts for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. The ordinance identifies approximately $19 million for the purchase of light‑rail vehicles (LRVs), $13.8 million for energy audits and efficiency improvements at SFMTA facilities, and $5 million for a small‑business impact mitigation fund to support merchants affected by major transit and street projects. The ordinance places funds on controller’s reserve pending state cash‑flow confirmation.
Mayor London Breed had told the board earlier that she proposed dedicating $38 million to accelerate new light‑rail vehicle purchases, but Supervisor Fewer said the budget committee reduced that initial allocation by $19 million to fund solar panels at Muni Yards and other priorities. Several supervisors, including Rafael Mandelmann and Supervisor Peskin, pressed for a commitment to close the remaining LRV funding gap in a future ERAF round and for ongoing revenue sources for the SFMTA.
Supervisor Mandelmann warned that population and job growth will place strain on Muni, and urged the administration to prioritize reliability and deferred maintenance. "If we actually want to move the needle on our climate goals, we must make our transit system a reliable source so that people get out of their cars," Breed said in response. She said the administration had received commitments to pursue additional ERAF funds if they materialize to close the LRV gap.
The spending plan overall (item 28 and associated ordinances) also allocates funds across affordable housing small‑site acquisitions, behavioral health acquisition and renovation, homelessness services, early care and educator pay reserves, and mandatory baseline contributions to city services. Budget Chair Fewer emphasized that the package was a negotiated, unanimous plan that reflects multiple priorities and that the board would continue to seek funds for remaining priorities during future budget rounds.
Ending: The ERAF measures passed first reading unanimously; some appropriations are held on the controller’s reserve pending state timing. Supervisors emphasized that additional ERAF or other revenues will be needed to fully fund some SFMTA priorities, including a remaining LRV funding gap.
