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(a) An effective, efficient, and safe transportation system is vital for San Francisco to achieve its goals for quality of life, environmental sustainability, public health, social justice, and economic growth. The Municipal Transportation Agency must manage San Francisco's transportation system which includes automobile, freight, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian networks to help the City meet those goals. Through this measure, the voters seek to provide the Municipal Transportation Agency with improved resources and expanded independence and authority in order to create a transportation system that is among the best in the world.
(b) This article requires the Municipal Transportation Agency to develop clear, meaningful and quantifiable measures of its performance and goals and to regularly publicize those standards. This article also recognizes that the workers of the Municipal Transportation Agency are vital to the success of the Agency and to achieving the improvements voters seek. Therefore, it authorizes incentives for excellence and requires accountability for both managers and employees.
(c) Specifically, San Francisco residents require:
1. Reliable, safe, timely, frequent, and convenient transit service to all neighborhoods;
2. A reduction in breakdowns, delays, over-crowding, preventable accidents;
3. Clean and comfortable transit vehicles and stations, operated by competent, courteous, and well trained employees;
4. Support and accommodation of the special transportation needs of the elderly and the disabled;
5. Protection from crime and inappropriate passenger behavior on the Municipal Railway;
6. Responsive, efficient, and accountable management;
7. Roads that are not gridlocked with congestion;
8. A safe and comprehensive network of bicycle lanes;
9. A safe and inviting environment for pedestrians;
10. Efficient movement of goods and deliveries;
11. A transportation sector that promotes environmental sustainability and does not contribute to global warming; and
12. A well-managed and well-coordinated transportation system that contributes to a livable urban environment.
Through this measure, the voters seek to provide the transportation system with the resources, independence and focus necessary to achieve these goals.
(d) The voters find that one of the impediments to achieving these goals in the past has been that responsibility for transportation has been diffused throughout City government. Accordingly, this Article places within the Municipal Transportation Agency the powers and duties relating to transit now vested in other departments, boards, and commissions of the City and County. This Article further requires that, to the extent other City and County agencies provide services to the Municipal Transportation Agency, those departments must give the highest priority to the delivery of such services.
(e) At the same time, this Article is intended to ensure sufficient oversight of the Municipal Transportation Agency by, among other things, preserving the role of the City's Controller as to financial matters, the City Attorney as to legal matters, and the Civil Service Commission, as to merit system issues. In addition, this Article requires that outside audits be performed to ensure that required service levels are obtained with a minimum of waste.
(f) Finally, this Article is intended to strengthen the Municipal Transportation Agency's authority to: 1) manage its employees; 2) establish efficient and economical work rules and work practices that maximize the Agency's responsiveness to public needs; and 3) protect the Agency's right to select, train, promote, demote, discipline, layoff and terminate employees, managers, and supervisors based upon the highest standards of customer service, efficiency and competency.
(g) The effective management of traffic flow and parking are vital to the operation of the Municipal Railway. Congestion on city streets causes delays in transit operations. Therefore, the Municipal Transportation Agency must manage parking and traffic flow to ensure that transit vehicles move through City streets safely and efficiently.
(h) In addition, the residents of San Francisco require that the Agency: 1) value and protect the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists; 2) reduce congestion and air pollution through efficient use of the streets; and 3) protect the City's economic health by giving priority to commercial deliveries and access to local businesses.
(i) The voters find that reducing the carbon emissions from San Francisco's transit sector is fundamental to the City's health and wellbeing and shall be among the Agency's policy priorities. Because the Agency has significant influence on San Francisco's transportation sector, which is responsible for fully half of the carbon emissions produced within the City, the voters direct the Agency to develop and implement strategies for substantially reducing those emissions. The voters further affirm the goals of the City's Climate Action Plan.
(j) This Article shall be interpreted and applied in conformance with the above goals.
(Added November 1999; Amended by Proposition A, Approved 11/6/2007)
(a) There shall be a Municipal Transportation Agency. The Agency shall include a Board of Directors and a Director of Transportation. The Agency shall include the Municipal Railway and the former Department of Parking and Traffic, as well as any other departments, bureaus or operating divisions hereafter created or placed under the Agency. There shall also be a Citizens Advisory Committee to assist the Agency.
(b) The Board of Supervisors shall have the power, by ordinance, to abolish the Taxi Commission created in Section 4.133, and to transfer the powers and duties of that commission to the Agency under the direction of the Director of Transportation or his or her designee. In order to fully integrate taxi-related functions into the Agency should such a transfer occur, the Agency shall have the same exclusive authority over taxi-related functions and taxi-related fares, fees, charges, budgets, and personnel that it has over the Municipal Railway and parking and traffic fares, fees, charges, budgets, and personnel. Once adopted, Agency regulations shall thereafter supercede all previously-adopted ordinances governing motor vehicles for hire that conflict with or duplicate such regulations.
(c) Any transfer of functions occurring as a result of the above provisions shall not adversely affect the status, position, compensation, or pension or retirement rights and privileges of any civil service employees who engaged in the performance of a function or duty transferred to another office, agency, or department pursuant to this measure.
(d) Except as expressly provided in this Article, the Agency shall comply with all of the restrictions and requirements imposed by the ordinances of general application of the City and County, including ordinances prohibiting discrimination of any kind in employment and contracting, such as Administrative Code Chapters 12B et seq.,* as amended from time to time. The Agency shall be solely responsible for the administration and enforcement of such requirements.
(e) The Agency may contract with existing City and County departments to carry out any of its powers and duties. Any such contract shall establish performance standards for the department providing the services to the Agency, including measurable standards for the quality, timeliness, and cost of the services provided. All City and County departments must give the highest priority to the delivery of such services to the Agency.
(f) The Agency may not exercise any powers and duties of the Controller or the City Attorney and shall contract with the Controller and the City Attorney for the exercise of such powers and duties.
(Added November 1999; amended by Proposition A, approved 11/6/2007)
Editor's Note:
The Board of Supervisors exercised the power granted under division (b) of this section and abolished the Taxi Commission and transferred its functions, powers, and duties to the Municipal Transportation Agency. See Police Code Art. 16, Sec. 1075.1.
The Board of Supervisors exercised the power granted under division (b) of this section and abolished the Taxi Commission and transferred its functions, powers, and duties to the Municipal Transportation Agency. See Police Code Art. 16, Sec. 1075.1.
*Editor’s Note:
Former Administrative Code Chapters 12B et seq. are now at Labor and Employment Code Articles 131 et seq. See Ord. 221-23.
Former Administrative Code Chapters 12B et seq. are now at Labor and Employment Code Articles 131 et seq. See Ord. 221-23.
(a) The Agency shall be governed by a board of seven directors appointed by the Mayor and confirmed after public hearing by the Board of Supervisors. All initial appointments must be made by the Mayor and submitted to the Board of Supervisors for confirmation no later than February 1, 2000. The Board of Supervisors shall act on those initial appointments no later than March, 1, 2000 or those appointments shall be deemed confirmed.
At least four of the directors must be regular riders of the Municipal Railway, and must continue to be regular riders during their terms. The directors must possess significant knowledge of, or professional experience in, one or more of the fields of government, finance, or labor relations. At least two of the directors must possess significant knowledge of, or professional experience in, the field of public transportation. During their terms, all directors shall be required to ride the Municipal Railway on the average once a week.
Directors shall serve four-year terms, provided, however, that two of the initial appointees shall serve for terms ending March 1, 2004, two for terms ending March 1, 2003, two for terms ending March 1, 2002, and one for a term ending March 1, 2001. Initial terms shall be designated by the Mayor. No person may serve more than three terms as a director. A director may be removed only for cause pursuant to Article XV. The directors shall annually elect a chair. The chair shall serve as chair at the pleasure of the directors. Directors shall receive reasonable compensation for attending meetings of the Agency which shall not exceed the average of the two highest compensations paid to the members of any board or commission with authority over a transit system in the nine Bay Area counties.
(b) The Agency shall:
1. Have exclusive authority over the acquisition, construction, management, supervision, maintenance, extension, operation, use, and control of all property, as well as the real, personal, and financial assets of the Agency; and have exclusive authority over contracting, leasing, and purchasing by the Agency, provided that any Agency contract for outside services shall be subject to Charter Sections 10.104(12) and 10.104(15) and that the Agency may not transfer ownership of any of the real property of the City and County without approval from the Board of Directors and the Board of Supervisors;
2. Have exclusive authority to enter into such arrangements and agreements for the joint, coordinated, or common use with any other public entity owning or having jurisdiction over rights-of-way, tracks, structures, subways, tunnels, stations, terminals, depots, maintenance facilities, and transit electrical power facilities;
4. Notwithstanding any restrictions on contracting authority set forth in the Administrative Code, have exclusive authority to enter into agreements for the distribution of transit fare media and media for the use of parking meters or other individual parking services;
6. Notwithstanding Section 2.109, and except as provided in Sections 8A.106 and 8A.108, have exclusive authority to fix the fares charged by the Municipal Railway, rates for off-street and on-street parking, and all other, rates, fees, fines, penalties and charges for services provided or functions performed by the Agency;
7. Notwithstanding any provision of the San Francisco Municipal Code (except requirements administered by the Department of Public Works governing excavation, street design and official grade) have exclusive authority to adopt regulations that control the flow and direction of motor vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic, including regulations that limit the use of certain streets or traffic lanes to categories of vehicles and that limit the speed of traffic; and to design, select, locate, install, operate, maintain and remove all official traffic control devices, signs, roadway features and pavement markings that control the flow of traffic with respect to streets and highways within City jurisdiction, provided that:
(i) Notwithstanding the authority established in subsection 7, the Board of Supervisors may by ordinance establish procedures by which the public may seek Board of Supervisors review of any Agency decision with regard to the installation or removal of a stop sign or the creation or elimination of a bicycle lane. In any such review, the Agency's decision shall stand unless the Board of Supervisors reverses the decision of the Agency not later than 60 days after submission of a request to the Board of Supervisors.
(ii) Nothing in this subsection 7 shall modify the authority of ISCOTT, or any successor body, over the temporary use or occupancy of public streets, or the authority of the Board of Supervisors to hear appeals regarding the temporary use or occupancy of public streets.
(iii) Nothing in subsection 7 shall modify the power of the Board of Supervisors to establish civil offenses, infractions and misdemeanors.
(iv) Notwithstanding the authority established in subsection 7, to the extent state law contemplates that Agency action authorized by subsection 7 be effectuated by ordinance, such action shall be effectuated by resolution of the Board of Directors and shall be subject to referendum in accordance with Article 14, and, if a referendum petition contains the requisite number of signatures, the Board of Supervisors shall have the power to reconsider or repeal the action as provided in Article 14.
8. Have exclusive authority to adopt regulations limiting parking, stopping, standing or loading as provided by state law and to establish parking privileges and locations subject to such privileges for categories of people or vehicles as provided by state law; to establish parking meter zones, to set parking rates, and to select, install, locate and maintain systems and equipment for payment of parking fees, provided that:
(i) Notwithstanding the authority established in subsection 8, the Board of Supervisors may by ordinance establish procedures by which the public may seek Board of Supervisors review of any Agency decision with regard to the creation or elimination of any preferential parking zone, the creation or elimination of any parking meter zone, the adoption of any limitation on the time period for which a vehicle may be parked, or reservation of any parking space for persons with a disability that qualifies for parking privileges under state law. In any review of a decision of the Agency pursuant to this section, the Agency's decision shall stand unless the Board of Supervisors reverses the decision of the Agency not later than 60 days after submission of a request to the Board of Supervisors.
(ii) Nothing in subsection 8 shall modify the power of the Board of Supervisors to establish civil offenses, infractions and misdemeanors.
(iii) Notwithstanding the authority established in subsection 8, to the extent state law contemplates that any Agency action authorized by subsection 8 be effectuated by ordinance, such action shall be effectuated by resolution of the Board of Directors and, if a referendum petition contains the requisite number of signatures, shall be subject to referendum in accordance with Article 14, and the Board of Supervisors shall have the power to reconsider or repeal the action as provided in Article 14.
9. Have exclusive authority to establish policies regarding and procure goods and services for the enforcement of regulations limiting parking, stopping, standing or loading and the collection of parking-related revenues and, along with the Police Department, have authority to enforce parking, stopping, standing or loading regulations;
10. Be responsible for chairing the Interdepartmental Staff Committee on Traffic and Transportation (ISCOTT) or any successor body;
11. Be responsible for cooperating with and assisting the Police Department in the promotion of traffic safety; studying and responding to complaints related to street design, traffic control devices, roadway features and pavement markings; collecting compiling and analyzing traffic data and traffic accident data and planning improvements to improve the safety of the City's roadways; and conducting traffic research and planning;
12. Have exclusive authority to apply for, accept, and expend state, federal, or other public or private grant funds for Agency purposes;
13. To the maximum extent permitted by law, with the concurrence of the Board of Supervisors, and notwithstanding the requirements and limitations of Sections 9.107, 9.108, and 9.109, have authority without further voter approval to incur debt for Agency purposes and to issue or cause to be issued bonds, notes, certificates of indebtedness, commercial paper, financing leases, certificates of participation or any other debt instruments. Upon recommendation from the Board of Directors, the Board of Supervisors may authorize the Agency to incur on behalf of the City such debt or other obligations provided: 1) the Controller first certifies that sufficient unencumbered balances are expected to be available in the proper fund to meet all payments under such obligations as they become due; and 2) any debt obligation, if secured, is secured by revenues or assets under the jurisdiction of the Agency.
14. Have the authority to conduct investigations into any matter within its jurisdiction through the power of inquiry, including the power to hold public hearings and take testimony, and to take such action as may be necessary to act upon its findings; and
15. Exercise such other powers and duties as shall be prescribed by ordinance of the Board of Supervisors.
(c) The Agency's Board of Directors shall:
1. Appoint a Director of Transportation, who shall serve at the pleasure of the Board. The Director of Transportation shall be employed pursuant to an individual contract. His or her compensation shall be comparable to the compensation of the chief executive officers of the public transportation systems in the United States which the Board of Directors, after an independent survey, determine most closely resemble the Agency in size, mission, and complexity. In addition, the Board of Directors shall provide an incentive compensation plan consistent with the requirements of Section 8A.104(k) under which a portion of the Director's compensation is based on achievement of service standards adopted by the Board of Directors.
2. Appoint an executive secretary who shall be responsible for administering the affairs of the Board of Directors and who shall serve at the pleasure of the Board.
3. In addition to any training that may be required by City, State or federal law, attend a minimum of four hours of training in each calendar year, provided by the City Attorney and the Controller regarding the legal and financial responsibilities of the Board and the Agency.
(d) The Director of Transportation shall appoint all subordinate personnel of the Agency, including deputy directors. The deputy directors shall serve at the pleasure of the Director of Transportation.
(e) Upon recommendation of the City Attorney and the approval of the Board of Directors, the City Attorney may compromise, settle, or dismiss any litigation, legal proceedings, claims, demands or grievances which may be pending for or on behalf of, or against the Agency relative to any matter or property solely under the Agency's jurisdiction. Unlitigated claims or demands against the Agency shall be handled as set forth in Charter Section 6.102. Any payment pursuant to the compromise, settlement, or dismissal of such litigation, legal proceedings, claims, demands, or grievances, unless otherwise specified by the Board of Supervisors, shall be made from the Municipal Transportation Fund.
(f) The Agency's Board of Directors, and its individual members, shall deal with administrative matters solely through the Director of Transportation or his or her designees. Any dictation, suggestion, or interference by a director in the administrative affairs of the Agency, other than through the Director of Transportation or his or her designees, shall constitute official misconduct; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall restrict the Board of Directors' powers of hearing and inquiry as provided in this Section.
(g) Notwithstanding any provision of Chapter 6 or 21 of the Administrative Code establishing any threshold amount for exercise of executive authority to execute contracts, or any successor provision of the San Francisco Municipal Code, the Agency's Board of Directors may adopt threshold amounts under which the Director of Transportation and his or her designees may approve contracts.
(h) Except provided in this Article, the Agency shall be subject to the provisions of this Charter applicable to boards, commissions, and departments of the City and County, including Sections 2.114, 3.105, 4.101, 4.103, 4.104, 4.113, 6.102, 9.118, 16.100, and A8.346. Sections 4.102, 4.126, and 4.132 shall not be applicable to the Agency.
(Added November 1999; Amended by Proposition A, Approved 11/6/2007)
(a) The Municipal Railway shall provide a level of service measured in service hours which is not less than that provided under the schedule of service published in the April 1996 timetable, although not necessarily in that configuration.
(b) By July 1 of each year, the Agency shall adopt mile-stones toward achievement of the goals specified in subsections (c) and (d). Milestones shall be adopted for each mode of transportation of the Municipal Railway, and for the Municipal Railway as a whole, with the goal of full achievement of the standards set in subsection (c).
(c) The standards for the Agency with respect to the services provided by the Municipal Railway shall include the following minimum standards for on-time performance and service delivery:
1. On-time performance: at least 85 percent of vehicles must run on-time, where a vehicle is considered on-time if it is no more than one minute early or four minutes late as measured against a published schedule that includes time points; and
2. Service delivery: 98.5 percent of scheduled service hours must be delivered, and at least 98.5 percent of scheduled vehicles must begin service at the scheduled time.
(d) The Board of Directors shall adopt Agency rules setting additional measurable standards for system reliability, system performance, staffing performance, and customer service, including:
1. Passenger, public, and employee safety and security;
2. Coverage of neighborhoods and equitable distribution of service;
3. Level of crowding;
4. Frequency and mitigation of accidents and breakdowns;
5. Improvements in travel time, taking into account adequate recovery and lay-over times for operators;
6. Vehicle cleanliness, including absence of graffiti;
7. Quality and responsiveness of customer service;
8. Employee satisfaction;
9. Effectiveness of the preventive maintenance program; and
10. Frequency and accuracy of communications to the public.
11. The Agency's duties related to parking and traffic functions and any other functions that may be added to the Agency's responsibilities.
(e) The Board of Directors shall adopt Agency rules setting forth the methods by which performance shall be measured with respect to each standard established pursuant to subsections (c) or (d) above in accordance with industry best practices to enhance the Agency's ability to compare its performance to that of other comparable transit systems. The Agency shall regularly publish reports documenting the Agency's performance for each standard. Each performance report shall note any changes in the rules governing the methods by which performance is measured so as to inform interpretation of performance trends over time. Nothing herein shall prohibit the Agency from using additional performance measures.
(f) The Agency shall issue a Climate Action Plan to the Board of Supervisors and the Commission on the Environment by January 1, 2009, and every two years thereafter. The plan shall describe measures taken and progress made toward the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from San Francisco's transportation sector to 80% of 1990 levels by 2012 and shall further address progress toward the following goals:
1. Zero greenhouse gas emissions for Municipal Railway transit vehicles;
2. Lowering energy consumption in Agency facilities and by non-transit vehicles;
3. Maximizing waste reduction in Agency operations;
4. Increasing transit trips and reducing private vehicle trips within the City;
5. Increasing the use of bicycling and walking as alternate forms of transportation; and
6. Improving regional transit connections to reduce private vehicle use by commuters.
No later than January 1, 2010, and no less than every ten years thereafter, the Board of Supervisors shall adopt legislation setting goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from San Francisco's transportation sector, and other climate action measures set forth above, for periods after 2012.
(Added November 1999; Amended by Proposition A, Approved 11/6/2007)
(a) The Agency shall establish its own personnel/labor relations office. The Director of Transportation shall appoint a personnel/labor relations manager, who shall serve at the pleasure of the Director of Transportation and shall establish regular meetings with labor to discuss issues within the scope of representation on terms to be determined through collective bargaining.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, the Agency shall be governed by the rules of the civil service system administered by the City and appeals provided in civil service rules shall be heard by the City's Civil Service Commission. Unless otherwise agreed by the Agency and affected employee organizations, appeals to the Civil Service Commission shall include only those matters within the jurisdiction of the Civil Service Commission which establish, implement, and regulate the civil service merit system as listed in Section A8.409-3.
(c) Effective July 1, 2000, except for the administration of health services, the Agency shall assume all powers and duties vested in the Department of Human Resources and the Director of Human Resources under Articles X and XI of this Charter in connection with job classifications within the Agency performing "service-critical" functions. Except for the matters set forth in subsection (f), the Department of Human Resources and the Director of Human Resources shall maintain all powers and duties under Articles X and XI as to all other Agency employees.
(d) On or before April 15, 2000, the Agency shall designate "service-critical" classifications and functions for all existing classifications used by the Municipal Railway; provided, however, that employees in classifications designated as "service-critical" shall continue to be covered by any Citywide collective bargaining agreement covering their classifications until the expiration of that agreement.
(e) For purposes of this Article, "service-critical" functions are:
1. Operating a transit vehicle, whether or not in revenue service;
2. Controlling dispatch of, or movement of, or access to, a transit vehicle;
3. Maintaining a transit vehicle or equipment used in transit service, including both preventive maintenance and overhaul of equipment and systems, including system-related infrastructure;
4. Regularly providing information services to the public or handling complaints; and
5. Supervising or managing employees performing functions enumerated above.
The Agency shall consult with affected employee organizations before designating particular job classifications as performing "service-critical" functions. If an employee organization disagrees with the Agency's designation of a particular job classification as "service-critical" pursuant to the above standards, the organization may, within seven days of the Agency's decision, request immediate arbitration. The arbitrator shall be chosen pursuant to the procedures for the selection of arbitrators contained in the memorandum of understanding of the affected employee organization. The arbitrator shall determine only whether the Agency's designation is reasonable based on the above standards. The arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding.
The Agency may designate functions other than those listed above, and the job classifications performing those additional functions, as "service-critical," subject to the consultation and arbitration provisions of this Section. In deciding a dispute over such a designation, the arbitrator shall decide whether the job functions of the designated classes relate directly to achievement of the goals and milestones adopted pursuant to Section 8A.103 and are comparable to the above categories in the extent to which they are critical to service.
(f) In addition, the Agency shall, with respect to all Agency employees, succeed to the powers and duties of the Director of Human Resources under Article X to review and resolve allegations of discrimination, as defined in Article XVII, against employees or job applicants, or allegations of nepotism or other prohibited forms of favoritism. To the extent resolution of a discrimination complaint or request for accommodation involves matters or employees beyond the Agency's jurisdiction, the Agency shall coordinate with and be subject to applicable determinations of the Director of Human Resources.
(g) The Agency shall be responsible for creating and, as appropriate, modifying Agency bargaining units for classifications designated by the Agency as "service-critical" and shall establish policies and procedures pursuant to Government Code sections 3507 and 3507.1 for creation and modification of such bargaining units. When the Agency creates or modifies a bargaining unit, employees in existing classifications placed in such bargaining unit shall continue to be represented by their current employee organizations.
(h) The Agency may create new classifications of Agency employees. Such classifications shall be subject to the civil service provisions of the Charter unless exempted pursuant to Section 10.104, or subsection (i).
(i) The Agency may create new classifications and positions in those classifications exempt from the civil service system for managerial employees in MTA bargaining units M and EM in addition to those exempt positions provided in Section 10.104; provided, however, that the total number of such exempt managerial positions within the Agency shall not exceed 2.75 percent of the Agency's total workforce, exclusive of the exempt positions provided in Section 10.104. This provision shall not be utilized to eliminate personnel holding existing permanent civil service managerial positions on November 2, 1999.
Persons serving in exempt managerial positions shall serve at the pleasure of the Director of Transportation. Such exempt management employees, to the extent they request placement in a bargaining unit, shall not be placed in the same bargaining units as non-exempt employees of the Agency.
(j) The Civil Service Commission shall annually review both exempt and non-exempt classifications of the Agency to ensure compliance with the provisions of subsections (h) and (i).
(k) Upon the expiration of labor contracts negotiated by the Department of Human Resources and approved by the Board of Supervisors, and except for retirement benefits, the wages, hours, working conditions, and benefits of the employees in classifications within the Municipal Railway designated by the Agency as "service-critical" shall be fixed by the Agency after meeting and conferring as required by the laws of the State of California and this Charter, including Sections A8.346, A8.404 and A8.409. These agreements shall utilize, and shall not alter or interfere with, the health plans established by the City's Health Service Board; provided, however, that the Agency may contribute toward defraying the cost of employees' health premiums. For any job classification that exists both as a "service-critical" classification in the Agency and elsewhere in City service, the base wage rate negotiated by the Agency for that classification shall not be less than the wage rate set in the Citywide memorandum of understanding for that classification.
(l) Notwithstanding subsection (k), the Agency may, in its sole discretion, utilize the City's collective bargaining agreements with any employee organization representing less than 10 percent of the Agency's workforce.
(m) In addition to the base pay established in collective bargaining agreements, agreements negotiated by the Agency relating to compensation for Agency managers and employees in classifications designated by the Agency as "service-critical" may provide incentive bonuses based upon the achievement of the service standards in Section 8A.103(c) and other standards and milestones adopted pursuant to Section 8A.103. Such agreements may also provide for additional incentives based on other standards established by the Board of Directors, including incentives to improve attendance. The Board of Directors may also establish a program under which a component of the compensation paid to the Director of Transportation and l exempt managers is based upon the achievement of service standards adopted by the Board of Directors. Notwithstanding any other provision of Article 8A, all such incentive programs shall be at the sole discretion of the Agency Board of Directors, subject to any bargaining obligation imposed by state law.
(n) For employees whose wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment are set by the Agency, the Agency shall exercise all powers of the City and County, the Board of Supervisors, the Mayor, and the Director of Human Resources under Sections A8.404 and A8.409. The mediation/arbitration board set forth in Section A8.409-4 shall consider the following additional factors when making a determination in any impasse proceeding involving the Agency: the interests and welfare of transit riders, residents, and other members of the public; the Agency's ability to meet the costs of the decision of the arbitration board without materially reducing service or requiring that the Agency raise fares in a manner inconsistent with Section 8A.108(b); and the Agency's ability to efficiently and effectively tailor work hours and schedules for transit system employees to the public demand for transit service. Notwithstanding the timelines described in Section A8.409-4, to be effective the beginning of the next succeeding fiscal year, all collective bargaining agreements must be submitted to the Board of Directors no later than June 15 for final adoption on or before June 30.
(o) The voters find that for transit system employees whose wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment are set by the Agency, the Agency's discretion in establishing and adjusting scheduling, deployment, assignment, staffing, sign ups, and the use and number of part-time transit system personnel based upon service needs is essential to the effective, efficient, and reliable operation of the transit system. In any mediation/arbitration proceeding under Section 8.409-4 with an employee organization representing transit system employees, the employee organization shall have the burden of proving that any restrictions proposed on the Agency's ability to exercise broad discretion with respect to these matters are justified. To meet this burden, the employee organization must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the justification for such restrictions outweighs the public's interest in effective, efficient, and reliable transit service and is consistent with best practices. The mediation/arbitration board shall not treat the provisions of MOUs for transit system employees adopted prior to the effective date of this provision as precedential in establishing the terms of a successor agreement. The mediation/arbitration board's jurisdiction shall be limited to matters within the mandatory scope of bargaining under state law.
(p) The voters find that unscheduled employee absences adversely affect customer service. Accordingly, not later than January 1, 2001, the agency shall create a comprehensive plan for the reduction of unscheduled absences. In addition, the Agency shall take all legally permitted steps to eliminate unexcused absences. Neither the Agency nor an arbitrator shall have authority to approve or award any memorandum of understanding or other binding agreement which restricts the authority of the Agency to administer appropriate discipline for unexcused absences.
(q) In addition, the voters find that Agency service has been impaired by the existence of side-letters and reliance on "past practices" that have been treated as binding or precedential but have not been expressly authorized by the Board of Directors or the Director of Transportation, and have not been and are not subject to public scrutiny. Accordingly, for employees whose wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment are set by the Agency, no side-letter or practice within the scope of bargaining may be deemed binding or precedential by the Agency or any arbitrator unless the side-letter or practice has been approved in writing by the Director of Transportation or, where appropriate, by the Board of Directors upon the recommendation of the Director of Transportation and appended to the MOU of the affected employee organization or organizations subject to the procedures set out in this charter. No MOU or arbitration award approved or issued after the November 2010 general election shall provide or require that work rules or past practices remain unchanged during the life of the MOU, unless the specific work rules or past practices are explicitly set forth in the MOU. All side-letters shall expire no later than the expiration date of the MOU.
(r) Before adopting any tentative agreement with an employee organization covering matters within the scope of representation, the Agency shall, at a duly noticed public meeting, disclose in writing the contents of such tentative agreement, a detailed analysis of the proposed agreement, a comparison of the differences between the agreement reached and the prior agreement, an analysis of all costs for each year of the term of such agreement, and whether funds are available to cover these costs. Such tentative agreement between the Agency and employee organization shall not be approved by the Agency until 15 calendar days after the above disclosures have been made.
(Added November 1999; Amended by Proposition A, Approved 11/6/2007; Proposition G, Approved 11/2/2010)
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