Subcommittee reviews $250,000 reward payment request tied to 2006 Willie Allen murder

The Budget & Finance Subcommittee heard a request to confirm payment of a $250,000 reward to an individual identified in the record as Doe 1 for information leading to the arrest and guilty plea in the 2006 murder of Willie Allen.

Kate Howard, the mayor’s budget director, explained the background: the murder occurred in February 2006; in February 2008 Mayor Newsom authorized rewards of up to $250,000 for this case and others; the claimant recently provided information that led to an arrest and testimony in a prosecution that resulted in a guilty plea. Howard said the police department and the district attorney both support the reward payment. She explained that while the administrative code generally allows the mayor to authorize rewards up to $100,000, payments greater than $100,000 require Board confirmation, which is why the item was before the committee.

Howard told the committee there is no general fund impact: the payment would be made from the police department’s claims and judgments budget. In response to Supervisor Marsh, Howard said there are 15 other cases for which the mayor authorized rewards in 2008 and that rewards without a sunset date remain payable indefinitely unless a sunset is specified. Public comment recorded in the transcript was not substantive.

The committee discussed the item and opened the record for public comment. The transcript does not record a roll-call vote on this item at the subcommittee; staff stated that the police and DA support payment and that funding would come from the police budget if confirmed by the Board.