Yes on Proposition F
Deferred Retirement for SF Police
What is it?
Proposition F aims to shore up police staffing by giving some officers the ability to delay retirement in exchange for some extra benefits.
Officers who are near retirement will be able to to defer their retirement for up to five years in exchange for extra pay (up to 90% of their regular salary), which they can only access after retirement. In exchange, officers are required to maintain active service and do neighborhood patrols or investigative work.
This program will automatically expire in five years, but the Board of Supervisors may re-authorize it.
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Fiscal impacts
Prop F could cost the City between $600,000 and $3 million per year. It may also end up saving the City money in some years by temporarily postponing payments for retirement benefits.
Why is this on the ballot?
This is a City Charter amendment introduced by the Board of Supervisors. Since the Board of Supervisors cannot directly amend the Charter, if they want to change the Charter they must go to the voters. A vote of six or more Supervisors is required to place a Charter Amendment on the ballot, and voters must approve it by a 50% + 1 majority.
- Sponsor: Supervisor Matt Dorsey
- Co-Sponsors: Supervisors Aaron Peskin, Catherine Stefani, Myrna Melgar, Rafael Mandelman, Ahsha Safai, Connie Chan, and Joel Engardio
- Placed on ballot by: Supervisors Connie Chan, Matt Dorsey, Joel Engardio, Rafael Mandelman, Myrna Melgar, Aaron Peskin, Ahsha Safai, and Catherine Stefani
- Opposed by: Supervisors Hillary Ronen, Dean Preston, and Shamann Walton
Why vote Yes?
Prop F is a short-term stop-gap solution until San Francisco can recruit and train more officers.
We support hiring more police officers to achieve the full-staffing target of at least 2,074 officers (as determined by an independent study (PDF) commissioned by the Board of Supervisors). While Prop F doesn't help us grow the force, it slows the rate of officers leaving the force which gives a little more time.
Prop F comes with safeguards against fraud and waste: officers must be on active duty, they must perform foot patrols or investigatory work, and they can only use these benefits for a few years when they're near retirement.
Prop F is not a long-term solution, and we're glad to see that it will automatically expire after five years unless the Board of Supervisors opts to renew it for an additional five years. During this time, we believe SFPD will be able to focus on improving recruitment and retention — and we are committed to helping Supervisor Dorsey design and pass effective recruitment policy as well.
Vote Yes on Prop F to shore up the police department amid the staffing crisis.