San Francisco uses a variety of funding sources to implement the broad array of building and infrastructure projects planned each year. These include the
San Francisco General Fund, publicly issued debt, federal and state grants,
and other local funding sources. These funds have been used for countless facilities, parks, streetscapes, and transportation initiatives.
For details about the policies that govern the planning for the Pay-Go Program, the General Obligation Bond Program, the General Fund Debt Program, and Infrastructure Financing Districts, as well as general policies for the Plan overall, please refer to the Introduction.
Pay-As-You-Go Program
Over the 10-year timeframe of this Capital Plan, the primary source of revenue to fund our ongoing annual needs or Pay-As-You-Go Program (“Pay-Go”), is the San Francisco General Fund. The General Fund is comprised of various taxes collected by the City, which include property, sales, business, and hotel taxes. It serves as the primary funding stream for ongoing programs and services for the entire city. As infrastructure underpins these programs and services, it is appropriate for the General Fund set-aside funds to ensure buildings, streets, parks, and related infrastructure are in a state of good repair. All San Francisco residents, businesses, and visitors benefit from investments in local infrastructure.
Improvements paid through the Pay-Go Program tend to be smaller in scale than programs that require debt financing over a multi-year period. By using the Pay-Go Program for maintenance and repair projects, the City is less reliant on debt financing and ultimately spends less to deliver those projects.
Capital Planning Fund
The Capital Planning Fund supports critical project development and
pre-bond planning outside the regular General Fund budget. This investment in planning helps increase public confidence and the likelihood that these projects will be delivered on time and on budget. The advance work helps improve cost estimation reliability and refine project delivery methods.
Historically, the General Fund supported pre-bond critical project development on the condition that once bonds for that project were issued, the General Fund would be reimbursed. This Plan assumes that bond reimbursements will flow into the Capital Planning Fund and be used for future project development. The Capital Planning Fund may be used for planning projects that are funded through sources other than bonds, but those funds are not reimbursable. Capital Planning Funds to support the next planned bond programs will be appropriated through the annual budget process.
