Budget panel forwards annual property tax rate; pass-through rate for tenants set

The Budget & Finance Committee on Sept. 20 voted to forward to the full Board a resolution that sets the city and county of San Francisco’s secured property tax rate at roughly 1.1776938382% for fiscal year 2023–24 and establishes a pass-through rate of about 7¢ per $100 in assessed value for residential tenants.

Jamie Whitaker, property tax manager in the Controller’s Office, told the committee the composite rate combines the fixed 1% share for general operations with voter-approved bond debt service and other district levies. For a median-valued home assessed at $683,637 in 2022–23 (adjusted to $697,310 under the 2% CPI growth), Whitaker said the change would raise that homeowner’s tax by about $147.18 compared with the prior year.

Nick Menard of the Budget and Legislative Analyst’s office said the overall tax rate is down 0.17 percentage points from the prior year and that secured property taxes remain one of the city’s largest general-fund revenue sources, contributing roughly $2.5 billion in the current budget. The BLA recommended committee approval.

There was no public comment on the item during the meeting. Chair Supervisor Connie Chan moved to forward the resolution with a positive recommendation; Vice Chair Rafael Mandelman and Supervisor Asha Safaie joined the roll call. The committee recorded a unanimous 3–0 vote to send the item to the full Board with a positive recommendation.

The full Board of Supervisors will consider the measure on its September 26 agenda unless the Board acts otherwise.