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Committee OKs forwarding Civic Bridge behested-payments waiver after privacy and retroactivity questions
Summary
The Budget & Finance Committee unanimously forwarded a resolution that would allow the Mayor nd Technology Department to solicit in-kind donations for the Civic Bridge program for six months, after officials described the program nd supervisors pressed for limits on conflicts and retroactive acceptances.
The Budget & Finance Committee voted Jan. 25 to send to the full Board a resolution authorizing the Mayor nd the Department of Technology to solicit in-kind donations for the Civic Bridge program notwithstanding the city—ehested-payments ordinance.
Pete Kittler, director of the Mayor nd Innovation Office, described Civic Bridge as "a 16 week, cohort-based program" that pairs city departments with skilled volunteers from private firms for scoped deliverables. He told supervisors the program has completed about 80 projects across 34 departments and worked with roughly 28 pro bono partners, claiming roughly 52,718 volunteer hours and nearly $7.85 million of pro bono value.
Supervisor Chan pressed staff on conflict-of-interest safeguards and the ordinance language, expressing concern about a six-month waiver window and about retroactive acceptance of in-kind work. "I think those are very nuanced conversations that the city should have," Chan said, asking where listed partners came from and whether retroactive acceptances could short-circuit committee review. Deputy City Attorney Anne Pearson explained the behested-payments ordinance generally prohibits solicitations from interested parties but allows exceptions by Board resolution for departments (not the Board itself) so long as the resolution explains why the exception is in the public interest.
Kittler said Civic Bridge generally avoids matching a partner with a department where that partner has an active contract and committed to bring any non-procurement strategy work; he offered to return with non-retroactive acceptance language on prospective projects and pledged additional opportunities for committee review. Vice Chair Asha Safaie and other supervisors expressed support for the program while also emphasizing oversight and said they would add conditions to limit retroactivity and conflicts.
The committee amended the item consistent with BLA clarifications and voted 3-0 to forward the resolution to the full Board with a positive recommendation.
