Steve Soboroff is a longtime fixture in Los Angeles civic life who is now serving as chief recovery officer for the city’s wildfire comeback.

Steve Soboroff’s salary would have been funded by charitable organizations. He had defended the arrangement, saying his expertise made him worth the $500,000.

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.

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.