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The Agency shall be subject to the provisions of Article IX of this Charter except:
(a) No later than May 1 of each even-numbered year, after professional review, public hearing and after receiving the recommendations of the Citizens' Advisory Council, the Agency shall submit its proposed budget with annual appropriation detail in a form approved by the Controller for each of the next two fiscal years to the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors for their review and consideration. The Agency shall propose a budget that is balanced without the need for additional funds over the Base Amount, but may include fare increases and decreases, and reductions or abandonment of service. The Mayor shall submit the budget to the Board of Supervisors, without change. Should the Agency request additional general fund support over the Base Amount, it shall submit an augmentation request for those funds in the standard budget process and subject to normal budgetary review and amendment under the general provisions of Article IX.
(b) At the time the budget is adopted, the Agency shall certify that the budget is adequate in all respects to make substantial progress towards meeting the performance standards established pursuant to Section 8A.103 for the fiscal year covered by the budget.
(c) No later than August 1, the Board of Supervisors may allow the Agency's budget to take effect without any action on its part or it may reject but not modify the Agency's budget by a seven-elevenths' vote. Any fare change, route abandonment, or revenue measure proposed in the budget shall be considered accepted unless rejected by a seven-elevenths' vote on the entire budget. Should the Board reject the budget, it shall make additional interim appropriations to the Agency from the Municipal Transportation Fund sufficient to permit the Agency to maintain all operations through the extended interim period until a budget is adopted. Any request for appropriation of General Fund revenues in excess of the Base Amount shall be approved, modified, or rejected under the general provisions of Article IX.
(d) No later than May 1 of each odd-numbered year, the Agency shall submit any budget amendment that may be required to increase appropriations over those approved in the two year budget or as may be required by law, provided that such budget amendment shall establish a detailed plan with appropriation detail only for those anticipated revenues and expenditures exceeding those approved in the two year budget or as otherwise required by law. The Agency may submit to the Board of Supervisors such additional budget amendments or modifications during the term of the budget, including but not limited to amendments reflecting fare changes, route abandonments and revenue measures, as may be required in the discretion of the Agency. The Board of Supervisors may allow any budget amendment to take effect without any action on its part or it may reject but not modify the budget amendment by a seven-elevenths' vote taken within 30 days after its submission to the Board of Supervisors.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Charter or requirements of the Annual Salary Ordinance, the Controller may authorize the Agency to move funds within its budget and hire personnel without specific Controller approval so long as the Agency's periodic and verifiable projections of spending by the Agency show the Controller that the Agency's spending will be within the approved budget. However, should the projections show that the Agency spending is likely to exceed its budget, the Controller may impose appropriate controls in his or her discretion to keep the Agency within budget.
(Added November 1999; Amended by Proposition A, Approved 11/6/2007)
(a) The Agency shall biennially contract with a nationally recognized management or transportation consulting firm with offices in the City and County for an independent review of the quality of its operations. The contract shall be competitively bid and approved by the Controller and Board of Supervisors. The review shall contain:
1. A detailed analysis of the extent to which the Agency has met the goals, objectives, and performance standards it is required to adopt under Section 8A.103, and the extent to which the Agency is expected to meet those goals, objectives, and performance standards in the two fiscal years for which the review is submitted, and independent verification of the Agency's reported performance under the performance measures adopted pursuant to Section 4 of this measure; and
2. Such recommendations for improvement in the operation of the Agency as the firm conducting the review deems appropriate.
(b) The results of the review shall be presented promptly to the Citizens' Advisory Council, the Agency, the Board of Supervisors, and the Mayor by the reviewing firm; and the Citizens' Advisory Council, the Agency, and the Board of Supervisors shall each promptly hold at least one public hearing thereon.
(Added November 1999)
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, any proposed change in fares or route abandonments shall be submitted to the Board of Supervisors as part of the Agency's budget or as a budget amendment under Section 8A.106, and may be rejected at that time by a seven-elevenths vote of the Board on the budget or budget amendment. Any changes in fares or route abandonments proposed by the Agency specifically to implement a program of service changes identified in a system-wide strategic route and service evaluation such as the Transit Effectiveness Project may only be rejected by a single seven-elevenths' vote of the Board of Supervisors on the budget or budget amendment.
(b) The Agency shall base any proposed change in Municipal Railway fares on the following criteria:
1. The Municipal Railway's need for additional funds for operations and capital improvements and optimal maintenance of assets.
2. The extent to which the increase is necessary to meet the goals, objectives, and performance standards previously established by the Agency pursuant to Section 8A.103.
3. The extent to which the Agency has diligently sought other sources of funding for the operations and capital improvements of the Municipal Railway.
4. The need to keep Municipal Railway fares low to encourage maximum patronage.
5. The need to increase fares gradually over time to keep pace with inflation and avoid large fare increases after extended periods without a fare increase.
(c) For purposes of this Article, a "route abandonment" shall mean the permanent termination of service along a particular line or service corridor where no reasonably comparable substitute service is offered. If the Agency proposes to abandon a route at any time other than as part of the budget process as provided in Section 8A.106, it shall first submit the proposal to the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors may, after a noticed public hearing, reject the proposed route abandonment by a seven-elevenths vote of its members taken within 30 days after the proposal is submitted by the Agency.
(Added November 1999; Amended by Proposition A, Approved 11/6/2007)
(a) To the extent allowed by law, the Board of Supervisors may, by ordinance, dedicate to the Agency revenues from sources such as gas taxes, motor vehicle licensing taxes or other available motor vehicle-related revenue sources.
(b) The Mayor, the Board of Supervisors, and the Agency diligently shall seek to develop new sources of funding for the Agency's operations, including sources of funding dedicated to the support of such operations, which can be used to supplement or replace that portion of the Municipal Transportation Fund consisting of appropriations from the General Fund of the City and County. Unless prohibited by preemptive state law, the Agency may submit any proposal for increased or reallocated funding to support all or a portion of the operations of the Agency, including, without limitation, a tax or special assessment directly to the electorate for approval, or to the owners of property or businesses to be specially assessed, or to any other persons or entities whose approval may be legally required, without the further approval of the Mayor or the Board of Supervisors. The Agency shall be authorized to conduct any necessary studies in connection with considering, developing, or proposing such revenue sources.
(Added November 1999; Amended by Proposition A, Approved 11/6/2007)
The planning and zoning provisions of this Charter and the Planning Code, as they may be amended from time to time, shall apply to all real property owned or leased by the Agency but shall not impede the Agency's exclusive authority to set rates and other charges pursuant to Section 8A.102(b)(5).
(Added November 1999; Amended by Proposition A, Approved 11/6/2007)
The Agency shall establish a Citizens' Advisory Council of fifteen members which shall consist of one person appointed by each member of the Board of Supervisors and four members appointed by the Mayor. Each member must be a resident of the City and County. No fewer than ten members of the Council must be regular riders of the Municipal Rail-way. At least two members must use the Municipal Railway's paratransit system, and at least three of the members must be senior citizens over the age of 60. The membership of the Council shall be reflective of the diversity and neighborhoods of the City and County. The Council may provide recommendations to the Agency with respect to any matter within the jurisdiction of the Agency and shall be allowed to present reports to the Agency's board of directors. The members of the Council shall be appointed to four-year terms and shall serve at the pleasure of their appointing power. Staggered terms for the initial appointees to the Council shall be determined by lot.
(Added November 1999)
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