If you guessed "San Francisco city government," congratulations. You've been paying attention.

The director of the SF Arts Commission, Ralph Remington, is under fire from his own staff for what they describe as chronic absenteeism during one of the most turbulent periods the agency has faced. His salary? $237,943. His total compensation including benefits? A cool $313,802. His attendance record? Allegedly abysmal.

Staff members say Remington has failed to attend staff meetings, constituent meetings, and programming by the commission's own grant recipients. He reportedly hasn't been complying with the city's four-day in-office mandate — the same mandate regular city employees are expected to follow. Meanwhile, he apparently found time to write and publish a new book. With city time. On a city salary.

As one SF resident put it: "He basically took the money, did nothing, and used the free time to publish a book. There needs to be accountability here, including paying back the salary. This is insane."

Insane is the right word. And it gets more galling when you consider the broader fiscal picture. San Francisco is staring down a massive budget deficit. Mayor Lurie is looking at cutting Muni service, trimming public safety resources, and making painful tradeoffs that affect everyday residents. But somehow a six-figure bureaucrat who can't be bothered to show up to work still collects his check without consequence.

This is the kind of administrative bloat that erodes public trust faster than any pothole erodes your tire. Before we ask commuters and taxpayers to sacrifice, maybe we should start by auditing whether people on the payroll are actually, you know, working.

Remington was appointed by former Mayor London Breed. His absenteeism is reportedly not new. The question now is whether anyone in city leadership has the spine to do something about it — or whether San Francisco will once again shrug and move on while the bill gets passed to you.

Accountability isn't radical. Showing up to work shouldn't be optional. And $314K buys a lot of nothing in this city.