San Francisco will vote on $390M infrastructure bond and police pay increase

San Francisco voters will decide two key measures this November after the Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to advance them to the ballot.

The big picture: One would establish a $390 million bond for infrastructure improvements while the other could increase some police officers' annual pay to over $400,000 if they qualify for a new retention program.

Driving the news: The bond , spearheaded by Mayor London Breed, would finance health infrastructure upgrades, public space improvements, family and emergency shelter expansions, street safety efforts and road repavings, among other things.

• Projects would include addressing seismic vulnerabilities in major medical institutions and renovating Harvey Milk Plaza.

Yes, but: At $5,200 per square meter on average, San Francisco has the second-most expensive construction costs in the world, per a 2023 analysis from real estate consultancy Turner & Townsend.

• Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who is running against Breed in November, initially accused her of prioritizing "nice vanity projects" to get votes but struck a deal after Breed agreed to slot in infrastructure improvements for San Francisco General Hospital and Laguna Honda nursing home.

Voters will also be asked to decide on a proposed charter amendment that would incentivize some officers to defer their retirement for five years in exchange for a salary increase.

• The program, which could cost between $600,000 and $3 million per year, is aimed at helping retainment amid a continued staffing issue that saw the number of full-time sworn officers drop from over 1,800 in 2019 to about 1,500 in 2024.

The other side: Critics say San Francisco's police officers are already among the highest paid in the Bay.

• A similar program that ran in San Francisco from 2008 to 2011 proved to be less cost-effective than hiring recruits from academies, according to the city controller .

What's next: The measures will be on the Nov. 5 ballot and each requires two-thirds approval to pass.

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