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Mayor Breed outlines new contracting and ethics reforms, says city has debarred 14 contracts
Summary
Mayor London Breed told the San Francisco Board of Supervisors she is proposing contract reform legislation and an executive directive intended to increase oversight, transparency and accountability in city contracting, and said the city has suspended or debarred 14 contracts and recovered significant funds.
Mayor London Breed told the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Sept. 10 that her administration is introducing new contract-reform legislation and an executive directive to standardize contracting practices and strengthen oversight across city departments.
"Nothing is more important than the trust the public has in its government," Breed said, describing a package of reforms she said builds on more than 60 good-government recommendations from the controller and city attorney. She said the administration is also issuing executive directives to implement new laws and to standardize contracting practices across departments.
Breed said the city has taken enforcement actions during the reform effort, including suspending or debarring 14 contracts. "These contracts have performed over $10,000,000 worth of work for San Francisco over the years with over $30,000,000 worth of work left on the contracts," she said. She also cited a financial recovery from Recology described in her remarks as "over a hundred million dollars" tied to a settlement.
The proposed legislation and executive directive, she said, would increase oversight of contractors and grantees, require better records to facilitate audits and investigations, and create fairer processes for selecting and monitoring grantees. "It will ensure that public funds are awarded fairly and managed effectively," Breed said, and she said the reforms aim to prevent misuse of public funds for political activity, lobbying or lawsuits against the city.
Breed thanked Supervisor Stephanie for cosponsoring the forthcoming legislation and said she expects to work with the board in the coming weeks to pass it. The board accepted the mayor's remarks for the record; no questions were presented by supervisors during the appearance and the item was filed.
The mayor framed the effort as both ethics reform and a process-improvement initiative, saying it also seeks to reduce permitting delays for small businesses and construction projects that she said can create opportunities for favoritism. She did not introduce final ordinance text at the meeting; staff indicated legislation and an executive directive would follow for the board's consideration.
