Oversight Committee Chair Proposes Audit of Six-Figure Departmental Contracts as Part of Expanded Anti-Corruption Effort

SAN FRANCISCO — On Tuesday, November 1st, Government Audit and Oversight Committee chair Dean Preston introduced legislation calling for new anti-corruption audits. Preston successfully fought for funding for increased anti-corruption capacity for the City’s Budget and Legislative Analyst (BLA) during this year’s budget process. The announcement for the proactive audits comes on the heels of two revelations of government corruption and misconduct which continue to affect public trust.

The first audit will review departments with “delegated authority” to enter into contracts, which allow certain department heads to issue six-figure departmental contracts without commission review or other oversight. The practice was previously scrutinized, as to its use by the Department of Public Works, by the Controller’s office following the Mohammed Nuru scandal. However, the Department of Public Works is only one of six departments that allows the practice, and little is known about the scope and level of oversight for each of these transactions by other departments such as the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Airport, Port, Public Utilities Commission, and Recreation and Parks Department.

“My hope is that the audit will help us identify improvements related to departments’ use of delegated authority so we can minimize the risk of corruption before it happens,” stated Preston. “There is no reason the Board must wait until a scandal breaks out before looking into risky practices.”

In addition to the audit related to contracts under a department’s delegated authority, Preston is proposing an audit that will look at the City’s policies and procedures around conflict of interest, including its use of Form 700, and any other measures in place to ensure that decisionmakers are not operating under a conflict of interest when they are making important decisions about contracts, legislation, or any other items subject to discretionary decisionmaking.

Preston’s motion will be heard in the Board’s Government Audit and Oversight Committee.

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