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Board approves six-month solicitation waiver for Embarcadero Plaza donations; supervisors stress ethics safeguards after Recology scandal
Summary
The Board adopted a resolution allowing Recreation and Park and mayoral staff to solicit private donations for Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Berman Park for six months, and supervisors emphasized tightened oversight after the city's past corruption case involving Recology.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on March 18 adopted a resolution authorizing the Recreation and Park Department and staff in the Mayor's Office to solicit donations for renovation of Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Berman Park for six months from the resolution's effective date, notwithstanding the city's behested payments ordinance.
Supervisor Matt Fielder, chairing the Government Audit and Oversight Committee, explained the waivers before the board and tied the discussion to the city's prior public corruption investigation involving Recology. "The payment waivers were designed to ensure that companies doing business with the city couldn't influence officials through donations," Fielder said, noting that Recology was central to the Department of Justice's corruption case and had admitted to directing hundreds of thousands of dollars in improper payments. He said Recology has since reformed leadership and implemented DOJ reforms.
Supervisor Dorsey voiced support for the resolution while stressing that waivers should be narrowly tailored and routinely reported to guard against the appearance or possibility of undue influence. "While I'm happy to support this, we are in no way retreating from the principles of public integrity that motivated the behested payments restrictions," Dorsey said.
The resolution passed without objection. Supervisors who spoke said they back renovating the plaza and park but asked for careful oversight: narrower waivers, required reporting, and continued review by the Government Audit and Oversight Committee.
The resolution permits soliciting donations from individuals, nonprofits, private organizations, grantmakers and foundations for six months and waives the city's usual behested payments restrictions for that period. The board did not specify donors in the text of the resolution; staff said future reporting and narrow waivers would be part of committee oversight.
