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Board grants behested payment waiver for Embarcadero Plaza renovations amid warnings about past Recology corruption
Summary
The Board adopted a resolution authorizing Recreation and Park Department to solicit donations for renovations at Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park, including a behested payments waiver; several supervisors stressed ethics safeguards because Recology was central to a prior public corruption case.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on March 18 adopted a resolution authorizing the Recreation and Park Department and mayoral staff to solicit donations for renovation of Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park and to accept donations for six months from the resolution's effective date, notwithstanding the Behested Payments Ordinance.
Supervisor Joel Fielder, speaking as chair of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee, acknowledged support for the project but warned that behested payment waivers must be narrowly tailored and accompanied by regular reporting. "Recology was at the center of what the Department of Justice called one of the largest corruption scandals in San Francisco history," Fielder said, adding that Recology admitted directing hundreds of thousands in bribes to city officials and has since undertaken leadership changes and DOJ-mandated reforms.
Supervisor Shamann Dorsey associated himself with Fielder's remarks and urged continued vigilance on public integrity even as he supported the waiver. Dorsey said, "While I'm happy to support this behest of payments waiver, we are in no way retreating from the principles of public integrity that motivated the enactment of behested payments restrictions in the first place."
The resolution was adopted without objection. Board members said they and the Government Audit and Oversight Committee will continue to narrow waivers to those who specifically need them and to require regular reporting and oversight when waivers are granted.
