San Francisco County Municipal Code Art. I In General

Sec. 10.01. Effect of Appropriation Ordinance. Sec. 10.02. Cash Reserve Fund and Supplemental Appropriations. Sec. 10.03. Emergency Reserve Fund. Sec. 10.04. Annual Salary Ordinance. Sec. 10.05. Allotments. Sec. 10.06. Encumbrances. Sec. 10.07. Disbursements. Sec. 10.08. Disbursements in Advance of Revenues. Sec. 10.08-1. Invalidity of Improper Acts. Sec. 10.08-2. Penalties. Sec. 10.1. Annual Economic Statement – City-Funded Organizations. Sec. 10.2. Authorization for the Assessor-Recorder, Controller, Tax Collector, and City Attorney to Perform Certain Acts. Sec. 10.2-2. Tax Assessment Payments in Even Cents Only. Sec. 10.2-3. Assessor-Recorder Authorized to Accept Applications for Reductions in Assessments. Sec. 10.2-4. Payment of Taxes in Installments. Sec. 10.2-5. Reassessment of Property Due to Misfortune or Calamity. Sec. 10.2-6. Annual Assessment Roll to be Open to Inspection. Sec. 10.2-7. Transfer of Base Value of Substantially Damaged or Destroyed Property. Sec. 10.2-8. Exemption from Property Taxation of Low-Value Property.

Sec. 10.2-9. Assessor/Recorder Reporting of Assessor's Reductions of Assessed Values of Real Property. Sec. 10.3. Collection of Unsecured Property Taxes. Sec. 10.3-1. Collection of Secured Personal Property Taxes. Sec. 10.4. Outreach for Tax-Defaulted Properties. Sec. 10.4-1. Power to Sell Time Period for Nonresidential Commercial Properties. Sec. 10.5. Delinquent Property Tax Penalty Cancellation. Sec. 10.6. Audits and Investigations by Controller – To be Performed as Required by Charter. Sec. 10.6-1. Monitoring of Nonprofits Contracting with the City. Sec. 10.6-2. Controller's Audit of Leases Under Which City is Lessor. Sec. 10.6-3. Controller's Quarterly Audit of the Treasurer. Sec. 10.7-2. Findings and Intent. Sec. 10.7-2.1. Apportionment. Sec. 10.7-2.2. Collection and Disbursement. Sec. 10.7-2.3. Circumstances Invoking Operation of This Ordinance. Sec. 10.10. Receipt of Negotiable Paper for Collection – Definitions. Sec. 10.11. Receipt of Negotiable Paper for Collection – Receipt Authorized; Exception. Sec. 10.11-1. Payment by Credit Card, Debit Card and Automatic Teller Machine Card. Sec. 10.12. Receipt of Negotiable Paper for Collection – Return to Treasurer for Collection. Sec. 10.13. Receipt of Negotiable Paper for Collection – Return When Amount is Insufficient. Sec. 10.13-1. Charge for Personal Checks Returned without Payment. Sec. 10.14. Receipt of Negotiable Paper for Collection – When Payment is Deemed Made. Sec. 10.15. Receipt of Negotiable Paper for Collection – Payments in Excess of Obligation. Sec. 10.16. Inapplicability of Sections 10.10-10.15. Sec. 10.17. Accounting for and Reporting Income Taxes – Controller's Duties. Sec. 10.18. Accounting for and Reporting Income Taxes – Duties of City Offices, Boards and Commissions. Sec. 10.19-1. Clearinghouse Representative. Sec. 10.19-2. Custody of Moneys and Securities. Sec. 10.19-3. Fees for Licenses and Permits. Sec. 10.19-4. Notice by Departments to Board of Supervisors. Sec. 10.19-5. Quarterly Report on Departmental Spending.

Subject to the restrictions of Section 10.05, the several amounts of estimated revenue and proposed expenditures contained in the annual appropriation ordinance as adopted by the Board of Supervisors shall be and become appropriated for the ensuing fiscal year to and for the several departments, bureaus, offices, utilities, boards or commissions, and for the purposes specified, and each department for which an expenditure appropriation has been made shall be authorized to use the money so appropriated for the purposes specified in the appropriation ordinance, and within the limits of the appropriation. The appropriation ordinance shall constitute the authority for the Controller to set up the required revenue and expenditure accounts. Appropriation items for bond interest, bond redemption, fixed charges and other purposes not appropriated to a specific department shall be subject to the administration of and expenditure by the Controller for the respective purposes for which such appropriations are made. (Added by Ord. 277-96, App. 7/3/96)

An emergency reserve fund is hereby created, for the purposes of meeting any emergency as defined in Sections 2.107 or 3.100 of the Charter. Appropriations from such emergency reserve fund shall be made only on the recommendation of the department head concerned and the recommendation of the Mayor to the Board of Supervisors that such appropriation be made, and the vote of ¾ of the Board of Supervisors. The balance in said emergency reserve fund at the end of any fiscal year shall be maintained and carried forward in said fund. (Added by Ord. 277-96, App. 7/3/96; amended by Ord. 313-00, File No. 001908, App. 12/28/2000)

(a) Under California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 2610.5, the Board of Supervisors authorizes the Tax Collector to establish specific procedures for the consideration of delinquent property tax penalty cancellations. (b) The procedures established under Section 10.5(a) shall require the Tax Collector to cancel delinquent property tax penalties if the assessee or fee owner demonstrates to the Tax Collector that the delinquency was due to the City’s failure to send a notice of taxes to the owner of property acquired after the lien date on the secured roll, provided payment of the amount of taxes due, minus any penalties and costs, is made no later than June 30 of the fiscal year in which the property owner is named as the assessee for taxes coming due. (Added by Ord. 192-22, File No. 220541, App. 9/16/2022, Eff. 10/17/2022) (Former Sec. 10.5 added by Resolution No. 2141(C.S.); repealed by Ord. 313-00, File No. 001908, App. 12/28/2000)

Negotiable paper shall mean, for the purposes of the six following sections, a draft, bank or personal check; and express or post office money order; provided, that the City and County is the payee named on the face of the instrument, and such instrument is payable in full on demand. "Obligation" shall mean, for the purposes of the six following sections, any tax, assessment, license, fee or other account in which money is owed or is payable to the City and County. (Ord. No. 2334(1939), Sec. 1)

COLLECTION. All negotiable paper received under the provisions of the preceding section shall be submitted for collection to the Treasurer of the City and County not later than the next business day after it is received. (Ord. No. 2334(1939), Sec. 1)

MADE. When negotiable paper is honored and paid upon presentation and the proceeds thereof deposited in the Treasury of the City and County in the usual course of business, then and not before, the obligation for which it was tendered shall be deemed paid as at the date of receipt of the negotiable paper. (Ord. No. 2334(1939), Sec. 1)

OBLIGATION. In the event the proceeds collected from negotiable paper are in excess of the amount of the obligation to be paid, refund of the amount of the excess may be made in accordance with the procedure prescribed in the permit procedure ordinance of the City and County. (Ord. No. 2334(1939), Sec. 1)

Except for Section 10.13-1, the provisions of Sections 10.10 through 10.15 shall not apply to the collection and refunding procedure of the offices of the Tax Collector and Assessor-Recorder, to collections of the Superior Courts, nor to the collection of revenues of the Public Utilities Commission, which revenues are the result of utility rates fixed pursuant to the provisions of Section 2A.134 of this Code. (Amended by Ord. 179-79, App. 4/20/79; amended by Ord. 313-00, File No. 001908, App. 12/28/2000)

To comply with income tax or other related tax provisions of the government of the United States or the State, the Controller is hereby directed, and it shall be his or her duty, to render the required accounting and reporting in the manner and within the time limitations established by law. (Ord. No. 1883(1939), Sec. 1)

BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.

All offices, boards and commissions of the City and County shall keep such records and render to the Controller such reports as the Controller may require to comply with the provisions of the preceding section. The failure of any officer to keep such records and to furnish the reports to the Controller upon the demand of the latter shall be deemed dereliction of duty and the failure shall be reported by the Controller to the Mayor. (Ord. No. 1883(1939), Sec. 3)

(Added by Ord. 210-06, File No. 060768, App. 8/2/2006; Ord. 150-09, File No. 090723, App. 7/10/2009; amended by Ord. 181-20, File No. 200845, App. 10/1/2020, Eff. 11/1/2020; repealed by Ord. 129-25, File No. 250595, App. 8/1/2025, Eff. 9/1/2025) Editor’s Note: Former subsection 10.20(e), authorizing use of funds for COVID-19 response purposes during FY2020-2021 and FY2021-2022, expired on 7/1/2022 per the terms of its sunset clause and was removed from the Code at the direction of the Office of the City Attorney.