Waste Of The Day: Mismanagement At SF Zoo
Waste Of The Day: Mismanagement At SF Zoo Authored by Jeremy Portnoy via RealClearInvestigations, Topline: The taxpayer-funded San Francisco Zoo “does not have a healthy or stable financial condition,” according to a city audit released in May. The zoo has no written plans or budgets to guide its construction projects, and spent $12 million on them without city approval. Employees are also allegedly hiring their friends and relatives as contractors. Key facts: The zoo is required to get approval from San Francisco’s Recreation and Park Commission before paying more than $50,000 for a construction project. But employees never did so while spending millions on a new “Madagascar Center” and other huge projects, auditors found. There is also a “widespread view among staff that [the zoo] has a toxic workplace environment,” according to the audit. Employees were allegedly chosen for senior roles based on “discrimination and favoritism,” not “professional qualifications.” The zoo spends more than $4 million on contracted services like security and advertising every year, but there is no evidence that any of them went …
