A new audit calls for greater controls over the San Francisco Parks Alliance, the major non-profit group named by federal prosecutors last year as helping to foster the city's public. "We receive so much donations and so much money to renovate and improve our parks, and we can see those results. Previously, the board needed a majority to issue a subpoena, but since March 2020, the three-supervisor Government Audit and Oversight Committee has the power to issue its own. Let'sPlaySF! Jay C. Barmann is a fiction writer and web editor who's lived in San Francisco for 20+ years. These subaccounts really operated like a city account, she said, because invoices were directed and approved by Public Works employees and tracked by both Public Works and the Parks Alliance. The San Francisco City Controller's Office found, in a September 2020 report, that the San Francisco Parks Alliance took roughly $1 million in donations from a number of city contractors that were under investigation by the City Attorney's Office for funneling money to the Public Works Department for lavish parties. "Like everyone, we were outraged to learn of the public corruption in our local government, Becher said, in a statement. Supervisors Connie Chan and Aaron Peskin Call for Investigation on SF Parks Alliance . Last year, a report by the City Controller's Office into ongoing corruption within city departments revealed that departments like Public Works engaged in relationships with nonprofit organizations to encourage large donations by contractors seeking lucrative city contracts. Other agreements lack prohibitions against conflicts of interest. Those same contractors were awarded more than $570 million in city contracts by the Public Works Department, according to the report. "When gifts are solicited from those that do business with the City, it creates a risk to fair and transparent public processes. The documents show that in 2019, more than $64,000 that had been raised by the Crab Fest fund was transferred into a general fund. Another issue was anonymous donations, with up to $3 million from unnamed sources going to the Parks Alliance during the same time period the organization gave $1.9 million to the park department. the San Francisco Parks Alliance and the San Francisco Clean City Coalition. This story has been updated to include a statement provided by the San Francisco Parks Alliance on Sept. 25. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. The Historic Preservation Commission is expected to vote on whether to extend the contract through 2025 at its next meeting on March 3. Those city contractors include the SF Clean City Coalition, Recology, PG&E, Clark Construction, Webcor Construction and Pankow Construction. March 10, 2020 / 5:11 PM / CBS San Francisco SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The Director of San Francisco's Department of Building Inspection, Tom Hui, has been placed on leave amid a. Those scholarships pay the fees or other costs for low-income youth and seniors to enjoy summer programs and other activities at city parks. They report on how this privatization is taking place and the threat this is to public access and the need to stop the transfer of the park into a commercial profit center for developers with non-union workers and a lack of health and safety protection. And what about the Ferris wheel in Golden Gate Park? Joe Kukura is an SFist staff asst. Despite the progress, the audit found there remains a lack of adequate controls on the contracts the Alliance makes to provide services for the city. We are happy to invest in their learning and morale, which helps them deliver great services every single day, the department said in a statement. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Call (415) 706-6428 for information about advertising online and in the printed versions of the Richmond Review and the Sunset Beacon newspapers. The Parks Alliance has said it didnt know it was being used unscrupulously by city officials. We did not benefit in any way nor had any control over the donations that Nuru and Public Works solicited and directed to the sub-account, as the report states. Separately, Chan has challenged a deal the city struck that guaranteed the alliance not the city -- proceeds from a five year deal to operate the 150th Golden Gate Park anniversary Ferris wheel. Copyright 2021 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Chan asked her if she had any information that Rec. Last year, a report by the City Controller's Office into ongoing corruption within city departments revealed that departments like Public Works engaged in relationships with nonprofit organizations to encourage large donations by contractors seeking lucrative city contracts. The Parks Alliance, a major non-profit dedicated to bettering the citys parks, became ensnared in the citys ongoing corruption scandal involving Public Works. San Francisco's Board of Supervisors issued a subpoena Thursday to obtain financial records between a parks-supporting nonprofit, the San Francisco Parks Alliance, and the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. The risk here is that when city contractors or building permit applicants or holders donate to non-city organizations, it can create a pay-to-play relationship, or the appearance of one. But the board says more transparency is necessary to ensure another type of green money isn't changing hands improperly. Call (415) 706-6428 for information about advertising online and in the printed versions of the Richmond Review and the Sunset Beacon newspapers. Although last week the Recreation and Park Commission approved the contract with SkyStar to continue operating the Ferris wheel at the park for four more years, the Historic Preservation Commission has the final say around whether the wheel will stay up. Supervisor Chan has a point about potential conflicts of interest. Stay in touch. 20002023 San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center. The ongoing federal investigation into corruption at San Francisco City Hall has reached into the City Administrator's Office, the Planning Department and the Department of Public Health,. What is particularly troubling is the fact that there are a number of companies that do direct business with the Recreation and Parks department that are making donations to the Parks Alliance that are flowing directly back to the Recreation and Parks department and their general manager, Peskin said. Your email address will not be published. The BLAs Director of Policy Analysis Fred Brousseau told the Committee that the Parks Alliance has had a relationship with Rec. This corruption of these officials is being covered up by the SF City Attorney and other officials. All rights reserved, Union Lawsuit Alleges Retaliation for Whistleblowing in SF City Hall Corruption Probe, Former San Francisco Public Works Head Pleads Guilty to Fraud Charge. The audit found the alliance took in $44 million overall, $3.5 million of which was donated anonymously, so about 8% of the money they rake in is donated anonymously. The lack of transparency may also allow the Parks Alliance to circumvent good government practices developed by the city, the Budget and Legislative Analyst wrote, including compliance with prevailing wage requirements for contractors and competitive bidding to find lower costs. The San Francisco Parks Alliance was subpoenaed by the City Attorney's Office last year as part of the city's corruption probe. But that leaves some of their methodologies in the dark, the Budget and Legislative Analyst's report found. wine startup leaves customers with thousands of Steph Curry adds to his Warriors legend by lighting up Kings for 50. At a hearing last year, Lisa Bransten, director of partnerships for the parks department, said Parks Alliance backing certainly played a part in boosting job satisfaction to 86% among the staff. As approved in 2000 by the public, $150,000 is allocated annually for a period of thirty years toward community gardens. needs these 5 sites to thrive so the city can recover. This report makes it clear that pay-to-play has been happening in our city. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The recent report delved into inadequate controls in multiple areas, including an agreement to run the Conservatory of Flowers that expired in 2012 and hasnt been renewed. Here are five key structures that need to bounce back to help the city recover. That meant it wasnt clear who donated dollars that ended up in city coffers. Before that, she freelanced with a focus on the Yemeni diaspora while studying at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. Those nonprofits have looser transparency requirements, creating a "pay-to-play" environment where city department heads could potentially ask city contractors they oversee to donate to the nonprofit, creating a risk that department head would be influenced by that spending when deciding to award multi-million-dollar city contracts. The idea is to avoid arrangements like the one Nuru and other Public Works employees had with the nonprofit San Francisco Parks Alliance and Recology, the trash-hauling giant that holds a monopoly on garbage collection in San Francisco. Now after nearly a year, the wheel is scheduled to be removed at the end of March, but a proposal seeking to extend the wheel's stay for four more years in order to help SkyStar "offset financial hardship" has yet to be decided by the city's Historic Preservation Commission. But the supervisors were concerned that the public simply doesn't have enough information from the Parks Alliance to verify that fact on their own. A city controller report last year called out the connection between the Parks Alliance and the park department after discovering Nurus $1 million slush fund. The audit has confirmed a very problematic relationship between the San Francisco Parks Alliance and city departments, Chan told NBC Bay Area, particularly with the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department.. The sell off and privatization of Golden Gate Park is escalating at the same time of a massive corruption scandal of top officials of the City and County of San Francisco. The recent report recommended the park department establish a new conservatory agreement, report the budget for the anniversary celebration, and require the Parks Alliance to competitively select contractors and prohibit picking those who have a personal relationship or who have donated to the department or the organization. While the city appreciates and wants the donations the public deserves to know where the money is coming from and whether or not someone is buying influence in our city government.. The SF Parks Alliance is a Friends of-type outside nonprofit that raises money or provides philanthropic services on park-related matters, donating money back to the city's Parks and Public Works departments for various projects.
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san francisco parks alliance corruption