San Francisco Mayor London Breed, alongside City Attorney David Chiu, announced a suite of new reforms to bolster the integrity and efficiency of the city's government operations. According to the City and County of San Francisco, these reforms specifically target the city's contracting processes to enhance transparency and accountability and prevent the misuse of public funds.
Among the key features of this reform package is the introduction of new legislation, co-sponsored by Supervisor Catherine Stefani, that aims to ensure the fair awarding of public funds and to keep a strict watch over City contractors to prevent them from engaging in political activities or lobbying. These measures, designed to tighten the reins on contractors and grantees of the city, require them to maintain separate accounting for political activities and bar businesses that bypass competitive solicitation processes for contracts.
To reinforce these objectives further, Mayor Breed has enacted Executive Directive 24-04, which calls on departments and staff to rigorously apply both new and existing laws to prevent potential abuse and fraud. Mayor Breed said, as per the City and County of San Francisco, "Misconduct from those that would wrongfully take advantage of City resources has not been tolerated during my administration, and these new efforts expand on this commitment".
This reform legislation, scheduled to be introduced at the Board of Supervisors meeting on September 10, will likewise bar contractors from using City funds to litigate against the city and to enforce stronger accountability measures. City Attorney David Chiu expresses pride in the diligence of his office's attorneys and investigators, stating, as cited by the City and County of San Francisco, "Those who undermine our contracting processes and exploit public resources are not welcome to do business with our City and will be held accountable." Supervisor Stefani also supported these reforms, emphasizing their importance in restoring the public trust in city government.
