Steve Soboroff, the recently appointed Los Angeles wildfire recovery czar, was to be paid $500,000 for 90 days of work, saying his expertise was well worth the price. But then Mayor Karen Bass, faced with backlash over the $5,556-a-day fee to be paid by nonprofit groups, reversed course, the Los Angeles Times reported.

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,

After facing backlash for agreeing to pay a new czar $500,000 to help with recovery efforts in Los Angeles in the wake of devastating wildfires, the city’s mayor, Karen Bass, has reversed course and announced that he would be doing the job for free.

After facing intense criticism over his planned $500,000 salary for 90 days of work, the city of Los Angeles’ Chief Recovery Officer Steve Soboroff will work pro bono. His salary was to have been funded entirely by charitable organizations.

Soboroff had defended the proposed salary of half-a-million dollars for 3 months of work, saying his expertise as a residential property developer made him worth the price. But after criticisms