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Health Commission directs sale of Laguna Honda gift-fund stocks; commissioners require monitoring of proceeds
Summary
The San Francisco Health Commission voted to direct the City Treasurer to sell stocks donated to the Laguna Honda resident gift fund and deposit the proceeds into the resident fund for patient benefit. Public commenters urged disclosure, ethical screening of holdings and safeguards on how proceeds are used.
The San Francisco Health Commission voted to direct the City Treasurer to sell stocks held in the Laguna Honda Hospital resident gift fund and deposit the proceeds into that resident fund for use on behalf of patients.
CFO Greg Wagner outlined the proposal and said the Treasurer's office recommended target minimum sale prices below which staff would not execute transactions. Wagner told commissioners the expected proceeds would be "a little over a million dollars," representing appreciation above the initial value of the donated holdings. He also said staff would work with the treasurer to avoid selling below pre-set minimums and would report back after sales are executed.
Public commenters urged greater transparency and oversight. Dr. Kerr said the planned sale "should have been disclosed" earlier and flagged ethically problematic holdings including shares in major defense contractors and fossil-fuel companies; Michael Petrellas endorsed calls for monitoring and questioned whether proceeds would be reinvested to provide a long-term income stream for residents. Another commenter reminded the commission of a city controller audit that had in 2010 recommended more active management of Laguna Honda's donated stock portfolio.
Commission discussion focused on two points: confirming that proceeds would be retained in the resident gift fund and monitored, and providing a post-sale accounting of actual sale prices. Wagner agreed to provide the final sale prices after transactions are completed.
A motion to place the resolution as business was moved and seconded and the commission approved the resolution by voice vote.
The commission did not name individual buyers or list each stock sold in the public discussion; the CFO committed to returning with a post-sale report showing actual prices and to coordinate closely with the Treasurer's office on execution standards.
