SFMTA tells oversight committee 2014 transportation geobond is nearly 90% spent; $8.3M reprogrammed to facilities

Rob Jacquez, director of capital budget and funding strategy at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, told the Obligation Bond Oversight Committee that the 2014 Transportation and Road Improvement Geobond has been nearly fully spent and that staff are reallocating savings to finish outstanding projects. "As of 06/30/2025, nearly 90% of the $500,000,000 of bond proceeds was expended across the 8 program areas," Jacquez said.

Jacquez said the largest expenditures have gone to accessibility and major transit corridor improvements, while traffic-signal work has lagged. To accelerate spending before regulatory and ballot-program deadlines, SFMTA plans to reprogram $8,300,000 in cost savings from projects (including Better Market Street and El Toro) into the facilities upgrade category. He cited planned facilities work that includes Powell Street station elevator projects and headquarters improvements.

The SFMTA presentation summarized the bond history and issuances, noting four issuances in 2015, 2014 (corrected during the presentation), 2020 and 2021 that together funded the $500 million program. Jacquez also described regulatory spending requirements from agencies such as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the state, which can require agencies to spend certain federal or state funds before local bond proceeds, and said the program must be completed by 2026 while meeting those constraints.

Jacquez flagged traffic signals as a lagging category and said the capital budget team is identifying project savings and reprogramming funds to categories where dollars will be spent more quickly. He also noted that 2024's Prop b authorized a new "Healthy, Safe, and Vibrant San Francisco" geobond program up to $390,000,000, and that the first issuance of that program includes funding for traffic-signal modernization and a Central Embarcadero enhancement project.

During Q&A, Brian Lark, a committee liaison with construction-management experience, raised a specific concern about a change order on the Mission Bay Loop and said he had sent written questions. Jacquez told the committee he had not yet circled back with the project team but would provide responses and circulate them to the committee when available.

The presentation concluded with Jacquez saying the agency is working to meet spending timelines and offered to follow up with details the committee requested. The committee did not take any formal action on the presentation at this meeting.