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Committee approves temporary waiver for assessor-recorder to solicit donations with reporting conditions
Summary
The committee approved an amended resolution allowing limited solicitation of donations by the assessor-recorder’s office for six months, subject to narrowed solicitant authority and monthly reporting requirements.
The Government Audit and Oversight Committee on Feb. 20 approved a resolution authorizing the Office of the Assessor-Recorder to solicit donations for a six-month period to support legal and nonlegal services for immigrant communities and other causes, subject to committee amendments narrowing who may solicit and adding monthly public reporting requirements.
Holly Long of the Assessor-Recorder’s Office told the committee the measure provides “breathing room” to fundraise for services in response to federal actions and that the office would not “actively solicit” from interested parties. Long said all solicitations and donations would be disclosed to the Board monthly.
Committee members amended the draft to limit solicitation authority to the assessor-recorder, the director of policy and government affairs, and two deputy assessors, and to require monthly reports identifying donors or solicited parties, amounts, and interested relationships with the office. Chair Fielder said her office worked with Assessor-Recorder Joaquin Torres on the amendments and distributed the amendment language in advance.
After receiving no public comment, the committee unanimously approved the amendment and then voted to forward the amended resolution to the full Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation. The roll call for both the amendment and forwarding motion was recorded as Sauter, Sheryl, and Fielder voting “aye.”
The resolution covers donations for a range of services specified in the item text, including legal services related to immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive rights, environmental protection and racial equity initiatives, and notes it applies notwithstanding the behested payment ordinance for the six-month period.
