LOS ANGELES — 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.
Soboroff had defended the proposed salary of half-a-million dollars for three months of work, saying his expertise as a residential property developer made him worth the price. But after criticisms mounted from elected officials and residents, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass reversed course over the weekend and said Soboroff would receive no compensation.
“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.
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.
