SFMTA reports progress on 2014 GO bond; second general obligation bond planned for June 2022 ballot

Jonathan Ruers, acting chief financial officer of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the bond manager for the 2014 transportation and road improvement bond, briefed the Citizens’ GO Bond Oversight Committee on Nov. 1.

Ruers said the program has had four total issuances; the first issuance is about 98% expended, the second 87%, and the third is moving into project expenditures after a recent issuance. He told the committee that lessons learned across issuances included starting with many small projects and then shifting to fewer, larger projects that were ready for construction in order to spend bond proceeds more quickly. He cited regional components funded in part by the bond, including Caltrain electrification and canopies at Market Street stations shared by BART and Muni.

Ruers listed examples of projects funded in the different issuances and said some large projects included in the final issuance; the presentation listed a $100,000,000 project as an example. He also said the agency plans to place a second general obligation bond on the ballot in June 2022.

Committee liaisons reported reviewing the June 30 quarterly report with SFMTA staff and said they discussed contractor delay risks and the procedural overhead of transferring money between program categories, which currently can require Board of Supervisors approval. Members praised the shift to larger, ready-to-build projects but urged staff to monitor claims and project schedules closely.

Ruers and liaisons agreed to follow up on any contractor claims and to provide additional detail as needed to the committee.