(a) Establishment of Fund. There is hereby established the Library Preservation Fund (“the Fund”) to be administered by the Library Department as directed by the Library Commission. Monies therein shall be expended or used solely by the Library Department, subject to the budgetary and fiscal provisions of the Charter, to provide library services, acquire books and other materials and equipment, and construct, improve, rehabilitate, maintain, and operate library facilities.
(b) Annual Set-Aside. The City will continue to set aside from the annual property tax levy, for a period of 25 years starting with the fiscal year 2023-2024 an amount equivalent to an annual tax of two and one-half cents ($0.025) for each one hundred dollars ($100) assessed valuation (“Annual Set-Aside”).
The Controller shall set aside and maintain such an amount, together with any interest earned thereon, in the Fund. Revenues obtained from the Annual Set-Aside shall be in addition to, and not in place of, any General Fund monies appropriated to the Library pursuant to subsection (c).
(c) Baseline Maintenance of Effort. The Annual Set-Aside shall be used exclusively to increase the aggregate City appropriations and expenditures for services, materials, facilities, and equipment that will be operated by the Library Department for Library purposes. To this end, in any of the 25 years during which funds are required to be set aside under this Section 16.109, the City shall not reduce the Baseline for the Library Department below the fiscal year 2022-2023 Required Baseline Amount (as calculated by the Controller), except that the Baseline shall be adjusted as provided below.
The Baseline shall be adjusted for each year after fiscal year 2022-2023 by the Controller based on calculations consistent from year to year, by the percentage increase or decrease in aggregate City and County discretionary revenues, except as provided in subsection (h). In determining aggregate City and County discretionary revenues, the Controller shall only include revenues received by the City which are unrestricted and may be used at the option of the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors for any lawful City purpose. Errors in the Controller’s estimate of discretionary revenues for a fiscal year shall be corrected by adjustment in the next year’s estimate. For purposes of this subsection (c), (i) aggregate City appropriations shall not include funds granted to the City by private agencies or appropriated by other public agencies and received by the City, and (ii) Library Department appropriations shall not include funds appropriated to the Library Department to pay for services of other City departments or agencies, except for departments or agencies for whose specific services the Library Department was appropriated funds in fiscal year 2022-2023. Within 180 days following the end of each fiscal year through fiscal year 2047-2048, the Controller shall calculate and publish the actual amount of City appropriations for the Library Department.
The Controller shall set aside and maintain such baseline amounts, together with any interest earned thereon, in the Fund.
At the end of each fiscal year, the Controller shall pro-rate any monies from the annual Baseline and the Annual Set-Aside that remain uncommitted in the Fund, and the Baseline portion of such amount shall be returned to the General Fund. The Annual Set-Aside portion of such amount shall be carried forward to the next fiscal year and shall be appropriated then or thereafter for the purposes specified in this Section.
Adjustments in the Controller’s estimate of the Baseline, including any Baseline changes required from increases or decreases to City revenues after the enactment of the annual budget under Article IX, along with adjustments to the Annual Set-Aside for a fiscal year, shall be corrected by credits or adjustment to be carried forward and added to the annual City appropriation for the next fiscal year and, subject to the budgetary and fiscal limitations of the Charter, shall be appropriated then or thereafter for the purposes specified in this Section.
(d) Debt Authority. Notwithstanding the limitations set forth in Sections 9.107, 9.108, and 9.109 of this Charter, the Library Commission may request, and upon recommendation of the Mayor the Board of Supervisors may authorize, the issuance of revenue bonds or other evidences of indebtedness or the incurrence of lease financing or other obligations (the “Debt Obligations”), the proceeds of which are to be used for the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and/or improvement of real property and/or facilities that will be operated by the Library Department for Library purposes and for the purchase of equipment relating to such real property and/or facilities. Such Debt Obligations shall be secured by and/or repaid from any available funds pledged or appropriated by the Board of Supervisors for such purpose, which amount may include funds in the Fund allocated under subsection (e)(3) of this Section 16.109. Funds appropriated to pay debt service on the Debt Obligations in such fiscal year under the terms of this Section 16.109 shall be set aside in an account for such use until such payment is made.
(e) Spending Priorities. The Annual Set-Aside and monies carried over from prior fiscal years in the Fund shall be expended in accordance with the following priorities:
(1) Such allocations as are necessary for the Library Department to operate the Main Library, which includes the Talking Books and Braille Center, no fewer than 27 neighborhood branch libraries, and an auxiliary technical services facility, with at least 1,400 permanent service hours per week system-wide and the permanent service hours at each neighborhood branch library at least 95% of the amount set by the Library Commission as of May 31, 2018. The permanent service hours per week system-wide and the permanent service hours at any neighborhood branch library may be modified, but only as provided by subsection (f).
(2) Such allocations as are necessary to provide for library services and collections in all formats in order to meet the current and changing needs of San Francisco communities, as the Library Commission in its sole discretion shall approve.
(3) Notwithstanding the spending priorities set forth in this subsection (e), a portion of the Annual Set-Aside may be used each fiscal year to pay debt service relating to Debt Obligations issued or incurred by the City under subsection (d). To ensure that debt service payments do not reduce overall funding available for other Library priorities from current levels, debt service may be payable from the Annual Set-Aside in any fiscal year in an amount no greater than:
(A) the annual debt service that would be payable under a financing with the term and principal amount reflected in a Library Commission request for bond issuance under subsection (d); and
(B) the aggregate growth of the Annual Set-Aside amount and the Baseline amount over the base fiscal year 2022-2023.
Amounts on deposit in the Annual Set-Aside in excess of such annual debt service shall be used according to the other priorities of this subsection.
(4) To the extent there are unexpended funds remaining in the Fund after the requirements of subsections (e)(1) through (e)(3) have been satisfied, such funds may be used for any lawful purpose of the Library Department; provided that no such funds shall be used for debt service payments in any fiscal year in excess of the amount allowed under subsection (e)(3).
(f) Library Service Hours. Except as provided in subsections (f)(3) and (f)(4), the Library Commission shall maintain at least the permanent service hours per week system-wide and the permanent hours at each neighborhood branch Library as required by subsection (e)(1) until July 1, 2028. On or after that date, the Library Commission may modify permanent service hours per week system-wide and at specific neighborhood branch libraries for succeeding five-year intervals, or at shorter intervals as the Commission may adopt, and in accordance with the following procedures:
(1) No later than March 1, 2028, and at least four months before adopting each service hour interval thereafter, the Library Commission shall establish a community input process, which may include an informal survey of library users and meetings with the Council of Neighborhood Libraries or any successor entity, and neighborhood groups, through which citizens of the City may provide assistance to the Library Commission as it develops criteria to set system-wide and branch service hours for the upcoming interval. Prior to the Library Commission setting service hours for the next interval, the Library Department shall conduct at least one hearing in each supervisorial district to receive and consider the public’s comments about existing and potential Library service hours. At least six of these hearings, distributed geographically throughout the City, shall be held in the evenings or on weekends for the public’s convenience.
(2) Following input of the public as described in subsection (f)(1), and based on the public input, a comprehensive assessment of needs, and the anticipated adequacy of library resources, the Library Commission may, on or after July 1, 2028, modify the system-wide and individual neighborhood branch service hours for the next five-year interval or such shorter interval as the Library Commission may adopt. The Library Commission shall repeat this public process and set service hours at least once every five years for the duration of the Fund.
(3) The service hours requirements set in subsection (e)(1) and any modifications thereto made pursuant to this subsection (f) shall be temporarily reduced by the normal operating hours for any neighborhood branch temporarily closed for construction, renovation, or maintenance purposes. In such cases, the Library Department shall add temporary services elsewhere by adding temporary hours at nearby branches, providing bookmobile services, securing programming partners in the affected neighborhoods, or similar means.
(4) If library services at any branch or system-wide are interrupted due to fire, earthquake, or other emergency, the Library Department shall be relieved of these service hour requirements, provided that the Library Department shall provide service hours consistent with such exigent circumstances.
(g) Unspent Funds. All unspent funds in the Fund on November 8, 2022 shall continue to be held for the use and benefit of the Library Department, and the funds therein shall be used consistent with the requirements of this Section 16.109.
(h) Temporary Freezes to Baseline. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Section 16.109, the City may freeze the Baseline for any fiscal year after fiscal year 2022-2023 at the prior year amounts when the City’s projected budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year at the time of the March Joint Report or March Update to the Five Year Financial Plan as prepared jointly by the Controller, the Mayor’s Budget Director, and the Board of Supervisors’ Budget Analyst exceeds $300 million, adjusted annually beginning with fiscal year 2022-2023 by the percentage increase or decrease in aggregate City discretionary revenues, as determined by the Controller, based on calculations consistent from year to year. In determining aggregate City discretionary revenues, the Controller shall include only revenues received by the City that are unrestricted and may be used at the option of the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors for any lawful City purpose.
In the first two fiscal years following such a freeze, the Controller shall adjust the Baseline under subsection (c) such that the amount of the Baseline in the second fiscal year following the freeze shall be the same as it would have been if there had been no freeze under this subsection (h). Based on projections of anticipated revenue, the Controller shall implement this adjustment to the Baseline in approximately equal amounts in each of the two fiscal years.
(i) Expiration. This Section 16.109 shall expire by operation of law on December 31, 2048, after which the City Attorney may cause it to be removed from the Charter unless the Section is extended by the voters.
(Amended by Proposition D, Approved 11/6/2007; Proposition F, Approved 11/3/2020; Proposition F, Approved 11/8/2022)