I spent the last year and a half doing a listening tour. I heard from people around the City, in their homes, businesses and schools. I heard about how much they love San Francisco. I learned that most people are willing to pay for support and services to make the City feel safe and clean. But I also heard, loud and clear, that people wanted to know what they were paying for and where the money goes. I listened to tales of potholes, dirty streets, parking fines and fees. There was a real lack of understanding regarding the money that comes into our city coffers and how it is spent.

GOVERNMENT IS ONLY AS STRONG AS THE BONDS OF TRUST

Our government is only as strong as the bonds of trust between our institutions and citizens. An effective government must communicate its goals and actions. Yet every year it seems like San Francisco budgets become harder to understand – it is often difficult to find out how the money is being spent and from where it is coming. We can change that.

STOP THE PUNITIVE TAXATION

Arbitrary and excessive parking fines are the clearest examples of how we are increasingly funding our local government. These fines, which hit working families the hardest, break down our citizens trust in city government. Almost everyone in our City has experienced heavy-handed fines for simple parking mistakes. This sort of punitive taxation is no way to balance a budget. It is time for complete clarity in how we spend our money and how we take it in.

TRANSPARENT BUDGETS

Thanks to modern technology, there is no reason the San Francisco budget should be cumbersome and impenetrable. Our City budget should be an accessible on-line document that any citizen can understand. Everyone, not just political professionals, should have the opportunity to make their opinions heard by City Hall. All our citizens deserve to understand where their money goes and have a voice in how it is spent.