San Francisco’s three-year plan to build a single public toilet for $1.7 million could be going down the drain as California Gov. Gavin Newsom is threatening to withhold the funds until the city figures out a more efficient away to use the money.
The toilet’s sky-high cost was met with outcry last week, prompting California Assemblyman Matt Haney to cancel an event celebrating the new bathroom in the Noe Valley Town Square.
Newsom, the former mayor of San Francisco, is now threatening to withhold the funds altogether.
“A single, small bathroom should not cost $1.7 million,” Erin Mellon, a spokesperson for Newsom, told Fox News Digital on Sunday. “The state will hold funding until San Francisco delivers a plan to use this public money more efficiently. If they cannot, we will go back to the legislature to revoke this appropriation.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference in San Francisco. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Haney told the San Francisco Chronicle, which originally blew the lid on the $1.7 million toilet, that the governor’s office had been in touch with him about the price tag.
SAN FRANCISCO’S DRUG, HOMELESS CRISES EXPOSED BY CITIZEN JOURNALISTS
“I support not spending the money — the cost is ridiculous, and it will take far too long,” Haney told the newspaper.
“Noe Valley should get a bathroom, but $1.7 million should pay for seven bathrooms, and it should happen much quicker. … I fully support and agree with the governor here, and we’re going to work together to get this done cheaper and quicker and also send the message that San Francisco needs to fix its broken processes.”
Festival-goers attend the 10th annual Noe Valley neighborhood SummerFEST on June 23, 2019, in San Francisco. (Josie Norris/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
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The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department said this past week that the price is due to high construction costs as well as the “cost of planning, drawing, permits, reviews, public outreach and construction management.”
“We estimate high — not because we want to spend more money but because we want to ensure we can deliver projects to communities even if we are hit with unexpected costs,” a spokesperson for the parks department told Fox News Digital.
