San Francisco Finances

A $3 toll has been approved by the board of the Golden Gate Bridge Transportation District, which faces a deficit of $120 million over the next five years. The vote to approve the $1 hike came a day after the increase won the backing of the board's finance committee. The deficit stems at least in part from losses in the toll-supported Golden Gate Transit bus and ferry system. In addition, a consultant has recommended spending $120 million to reinforce the span against a major earthquake.

Mayor Art Agnos has frozen city hiring after a report showed that the city will fall $20 million below budget projections by the end of the year. Only employees required by court order, state or federal law or other legal agreement will be hired, Agnos said in a memo to department heads. Agnos called the revenue shortfall "an early warning signal."

Despite concern over the potential costs of AIDS care, officials said they are confident that providing health insurance for the domestic partners of unmarried city workers will not lead to a budget crisis. San Francisco took a decisive step toward becoming the largest city in the nation to offer the coverage when the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a new health plan.

Mayor Art Agnos, facing a predicted $179.6-million budget deficit, said Tuesday that his staff has found a loophole to raise taxes by $20 million to $30 million, avoiding the need for massive cuts in police, fire and other services. Under an opinion by the city attorney, the city will no longer count court-ordered changes in services toward its Gann spending limit.

Just six years ago, San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein presided over a luxurious $152-million budget surplus, the largest of any U.S. city. But the savings account ran dry about the same time Feinstein left office. Feinstein's successor, Art Agnos, has spent his first six months at City Hall wrestling with a $179.6-million deficit, the worst budget crisis in city history.

The Board of Supervisors here Tuesday approved a belt-tightening, $1.9-billion budget that includes cuts and rate increases affecting everyone from cable car riders to art lovers and zoo and library patrons. The supervisors, in a meeting that began Monday afternoon and concluded at 2 a.m. Tuesday, approved most of Mayor Art Agnos' proposed cuts of $75 million and tax and fee increases totaling $61 million.