In September 2004, Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed José Cisneros Treasurer for the City and County of San Francisco. As Treasurer, José serves as the City's banker and chief investment officer, managing all tax and revenue collection for San Francisco.

Treasurer Cisneros uses his 25 years of financial expertise gained in both business and public service to maximize the City’s revenue through smart, socially responsible investments and aggressive tax collection.

San Franciscans deserve a well-qualified city treasurer to safeguard their hard-earned money.

Identifying new sources of revenue and helping to close the City’s budget gap are among Treasurer Cisneros’ top priorities. He has already re-focused staff to provide the city with more tax collectors, increased the collection of delinquent taxes, and closed loopholes to ensure that everyone pays their fair share. These and other initiatives have resulted in over $40 million more collected over last year, far exceeded targeted projections, cut the deficit in half, and restored funding for healthcare, public safety and more. This means more vital services for the people of San Francisco and less need to increase taxes.

José Cisneros believes that the Treasurer’s Office is much more than a collection agent, that promoting financial justice and education should be a top priority. Last year San Francisco citizens – and our local economy – lost out on over $12 million in federal earned income tax credits. In January 2005, Treasurer Cisneros launched the Working Families Credit Program, an easy application process to help low-income families secure these funds. Over 11,000 applications were submitted, double the number expected. These families have already received more than
$15 million in federal money through this innovative public/private partnership that also provides each family an estimated 12% match from the City and its philanthropic partners.

Treasurer Cisneros also pioneered a financial empowerment project called Bank on San Francisco. Nearly 25% of Californians do not have bank accounts. Instead, too many take their paychecks to check cashing companies that charge up to 30% or more. One of Bank on San Francisco’s top priorities will be to coordinate community-based leaders and local banks to provide low-income families with financial literacy education and free checking accounts to help them begin to achieve financial security.

Prior to his appointment as Treasurer, José served as Deputy General Manager of Capital Planning and External Affairs for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (MUNI). In this capacity, he managed MUNI’s $7 billion capital program designed to repair, replace and enhance system assets – including the 3rd Street Rail extension to help continue to encourage economic improvement in Chinatown, Mission Bay and for the residents of Bay View and Hunters Point.

Treasurer Cisneros has a strong business background in the private sector, previously working for IBM Corporation and Lotus Development Corporation as a Senior International Product Manager. At Lotus, he was a pioneering member of its diversity committee – an effort that resulted in Lotus being the first major American corporation to provide domestic partner benefits. Prior to this he was the Assistant Vice President at Bank of Boston where he managed financial product portfolios valued at over $100 million.

A San Francisco resident for over ten years, Treasurer Cisneros has been active in the community including serving on the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club board. Before working at MUNI full-time, while still at IBM, José was s a volunteer member of the MTA Board of Directors and was instrumental in creating Proposition E, the MUNI Reform Charter Amendment. Previous to the MTA Board, José volunteered with the former Parking and Traffic Commission where he worked closely with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition to help expand the number of dedicated bike lanes throughout the city.

José Cisneros received his Bachelor of Science from Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and studied for his MBA at Boston University. He is also a graduate of an intensive International Business Program at Stichting Nijenrode University in the Netherlands.