Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Mou Traffic Company topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Police commission approves MOU with SFMTA to formalize Traffic Company services
Summary
The San Francisco Police Commission approved a memorandum of understanding with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to formalize how MTA funds support SFPDTraffic Company and the Muni Response Team while preserving department authority to redeploy officers for non-transit incidents.
The San Francisco Police Commission voted unanimously to approve a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that formalizes how the SFMTA will reimburse the San Francisco Police Department for services provided by the Traffic Company and the Muni Response Team. Commissioners said the MOU documents longstanding work orders and clarifies what MTA funds cover without removing the department's ability to redeploy officers for other public-safety needs.
Commissioners and staff discussed a roughly $8,990,000 work order the MOU formalizes; SFPD staff said that amount has historically represented about 57% of Traffic Company costs related to transit activities and argued a fixed-dollar work order provides more predictability than a percentage formula tied to fluctuating staffing levels. Several commissioners asked that clarifying language be added so it is explicit when and how redeployments reduce billable MTA hours.
Deputy Chief Perra summarized the operational components the MOU covers: enforcement of transit-only lanes, pedestrian right-of-way and bicycle safety enforcement, school-safety initiatives, special-event assignments, taxi detail enforcement, and information sharing (accident and victim demographic data) to support engineering fixes from DPT and Caltrans. He emphasized that the Traffic Company will continue to perform routine traffic-enforcement and incident response across the city and that sections 8.6 and 8.7 preserve the department's ability to redeploy personnel for non-MTA incidents with notification to the Security Enforcement Director.
Commissioners pressed whether MOU language could be read to claim MTA-funded duties over broader homeland-security grants or citywide cameras. Staff said federal transit security grants are narrowly targeted to transit security and the MOU references vehicle/platform cameras used in revenue vehicles and stations, not all city crime cameras. Commissioners requested that the city attorney clarify language where command relationships are described in the organogram and that any unresolved commissioner concerns be recorded in writing and appended to the file.
With those understandings, Commissioner 7 moved to approve the MOU and Commissioner 6 seconded; the motion carried by unanimous voice vote.
The commission requested that staff send a concise memorandum to SFMTA documenting the concerns and proposed clarifications so the record is available during next year's budget discussions.
