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Controller flags gifts routed through Parks Alliance, urges stricter rules on solicited payments
Summary
A Controller's Office preliminary assessment presented Oct. 9 found that nearly $980,000 flowed through Parks Alliance subaccounts for Public Works between 2015 and 2020, much of it spent on staff events; the office recommended expanding disclosure rules for "behested" solicitations, broadening the definition of "interested party," and strengthening MOUs and audit oversight.
The San Francisco Controller's Office on Oct. 9 told the Ethics Commission that the city's handling of donations routed through non-city organizations, particularly subaccounts maintained by the San Francisco Parks Alliance, lacked consistent oversight and posed risks for conflicts of interest.
Mark De La Rosa, acting director of audits, told commissioners the office's preliminary assessment of July 2015 through January 2020 records identified four Public Works-related subaccounts at the Parks Alliance (DPW special projects, Clean Team, Giant Sweep and the Fix It Team) and roughly $980,000 in expenditures tied to those accounts. The Controller's Office reported that many payments funded employee appreciation events, training, merchandise and volunteer programs rather than direct public capital work.
The report singled out so-called "behest of payments" ' solicitations or donations made at the suggestion of a public official ' and recommended changes to city rules. "When a payment of $1,000 or more is made at their behest by an interested…
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