Steve Soboroff, a longtime fixture in Los Angeles civic life who is now serving as chief recovery officer for the city’s wildfire comeback, won’t take a salary after facing backlash over plans to pay him $500,000. He would have been paid through charitable donations, not with taxpayer money.
“Steve is always there for LA. I spoke to him today and asked him to modify his agreement and work for free. He said yes. We agree that we don’t need anything distracting from the recovery work we’re doing,” Bass said in a statement Saturday. She had named him to the recovery czar position on Jan. 17.
A message seeking comment was left for Soboroff on Monday.
Soboroff, 76, raised his family in the Pacific Palisades area, where nearly 7,000 homes were destroyed by last month’s inferno. His son, NBC News journalist Jacob Soboroff, reported from the devastated neighborhood where he grew up.
He was initially tasked with leading the first phase of the city’s wildfire rebuilding effort. On Friday though, Bass suggested that the scope of his work could be diminished, saying he would focus primarily on rebuilding the Palisades’ historic business district. Soboroff disputed that notion, saying he is regularly interacting with federal agencies.
In addition to developing thousands of homes over decades, Soboroff served on the city’s Board of Police Commissioners and on the city commission that oversees the Department of Recreation and Parks — both volunteer positions.