Supervisor Safai’s proposed ban on official pay from departmental contractors draws commission questions
September 08, 2023 | San Francisco City, San Francisco County, California
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Commission staff and a representative from Supervisor Safai’s office discussed proposed legislation on Sept. 8 that would prohibit city officers and employees from receiving compensation from entities that contract with their departments.
Bill Barnes, representing Supervisor Safai’s office, said the draft seeks to address real and perceived conflicts when a city official receives pay in addition to their city salary from an entity contracting with their department. "What is not okay, is when people who are making decisions are then being compensated in addition to their city salary by a contractor or their department," Barnes said, and added that some departments already have similar rules.
Barnes described proposed exemptions for local, state or federal entities that contract with the city (for example, UCSF and the federal Veterans Administration) and for spouses or registered domestic partners whose income is already listed on Form 700 disclosures. He said the office is open to narrowing the rule to apply primarily to Form 700 filers and decision-making employees and that DHR is compiling data on employees previously approved for outside employment to identify who would be affected.
Commissioners raised questions about the breadth of the exemption for government employers and whether it might create similar conflicts, and asked staff to provide anonymized, aggregated data on outside employment categories. Barnes said the item is in a meet-and-confer process with bargaining units and that further meetings and data exchange are ongoing; if the commission recommends the ordinance on a four‑fifths vote it could then proceed to the Board of Supervisors for consideration on a two‑thirds basis.
Public commenters urged the commission to probe departmental practices and contracting oversight; one caller suggested the city administrator's office and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission be reviewed in light of ongoing adjudications.
Bill Barnes, representing Supervisor Safai’s office, said the draft seeks to address real and perceived conflicts when a city official receives pay in addition to their city salary from an entity contracting with their department. "What is not okay, is when people who are making decisions are then being compensated in addition to their city salary by a contractor or their department," Barnes said, and added that some departments already have similar rules.
Barnes described proposed exemptions for local, state or federal entities that contract with the city (for example, UCSF and the federal Veterans Administration) and for spouses or registered domestic partners whose income is already listed on Form 700 disclosures. He said the office is open to narrowing the rule to apply primarily to Form 700 filers and decision-making employees and that DHR is compiling data on employees previously approved for outside employment to identify who would be affected.
Commissioners raised questions about the breadth of the exemption for government employers and whether it might create similar conflicts, and asked staff to provide anonymized, aggregated data on outside employment categories. Barnes said the item is in a meet-and-confer process with bargaining units and that further meetings and data exchange are ongoing; if the commission recommends the ordinance on a four‑fifths vote it could then proceed to the Board of Supervisors for consideration on a two‑thirds basis.
Public commenters urged the commission to probe departmental practices and contracting oversight; one caller suggested the city administrator's office and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission be reviewed in light of ongoing adjudications.
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