As the annual tax return deadline looms, another important deadline appears to have passed by unnoticed by some San Francisco officials: A total of 463 government employees have not disclosed their income, gifts and assets, as required by state law.
Appointees and employees at the Department of Public Health make up 35 percent of those who have not filed, with 162 missing filers, followed by the school district and transportation agency.
As of April 9, four board members on the Citizens’ General Obligation Oversight Committee – which has some six members at a time to oversee the allocation of government bonds – have not submitted their filings. That means that the commission in charge of auditing government spending has not audited itself.
The “Statement of Economic Interest,” or Form 700, exists to prevent conflicts of interest in government decision-making. Around 5,942 city officials who make decisions, or work to help inform them, have to declare whether they have any financial interests that may influence their work.
“Having city officials publicly disclose their financial interests helps ensure that government decisions are made in the best interest of the public and not for the public gain of city officials,” said Michael Canning, the policy and legislative affairs manager for the San Francisco Ethics Commission.
When they do not file, “this important transparency tool is lost, and the public is denied information it is entitled to receive,” Canning added.
The deadline to do so was April 2, 2024. To provide “another type of transparency in this situation,” said Canning, the ethics commission has listed all those who have not disclosed their assets on their website.
Among the offenders are some high-flying city officials, including 24 commissioners and board members as well as a number of Deputy Directors from different departments, such as the Assistant Medical Examiner and the Deputy Director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing.
Commissioners and board members are disqualified from participating in meetings and making any decisions until they have disclosed their financial assets. All delinquent filers also face a $5,000 penalty or up to three times the cumulative amount not reported.
