San Diego Audit Committee Meeting - June 15, 2022: Code Enforcement Performance Audit
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San Diego Audit Committee Meeting - June 15, 2022
The Audit Committee of the San Diego City Council met on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, at 9:00 AM to consider the performance audit of the Development Services Department's Code Enforcement Division and receive the monthly activities report from the City Auditor. Committee Chair Stephen Whitburn presided, joined by Committee Members Halpern and Mafia, with Vice Chair Moreno and Committee Member Tabshuri absent. The meeting was conducted via teleconference per California Government Code Section 54-953E.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Committee Actions (May 12, 2022): The committee unanimously approved the minutes from the prior meeting. Motion by Committee Member Halpern, seconded by Chair Whitburn, with all present members voting yes.
Public Comments & Testimony
Item 1 – Performance Audit of Code Enforcement:
- Lori Saldania expressed concern about public awareness of code enforcement services, noting that neighborhoods with higher education and satisfaction levels are more likely to file complaints. She urged the city to conduct outreach and community presentations to increase awareness.
- Jeff Hutter, Chair of Neighbors for a Better San Diego, acknowledged the auditor's report and submitted community feedback. He highlighted difficulties residents face navigating the city's permit portal, especially for ADUs, and criticized data construction that makes policy analysis difficult (e.g., planning department taking months to produce ADU metrics). He urged the council to act on the auditor's recommendations.
- David Modi agreed that the code is complex but emphasized that some individuals deliberately commit egregious violations. He stressed the need for an effective code enforcement department to catch and penalize such violators.
Item 2 – Monthly Activities Report:
- Lori Saldania suggested an audit of police officers who refuse COVID-19 vaccination and testing, citing potential impacts on staffing, health costs, and transmission to high-risk populations. She noted that CDC research during the hepatitis epidemic in San Diego identified homelessness as a risk factor and recommended similar research on vaccination refusal.
Discussion Items
Item 1 – Performance Audit of the Development Services Department's Code Enforcement Division
- City Auditor Andy Hanau and his team (Luis Brazenio, Jeff Teal, Andrew Reeves) presented the audit findings. Key findings included:
- Response Times: Code enforcement fell short of its 90% on-time initial inspection goal by 26–34 percentage points over the last three fiscal years. Priority one cases (e.g., leaking sewage, exposed wires) were 13–35 percentage points short; 36 cases took over 20 days to inspect or were still missing inspections.
- Staffing and Caseloads: San Diego spends $6.40 per resident on code enforcement, less than half the benchmark cities' average. Building investigators handle three times the caseload of zoning investigators due to staffing imbalances (55% of open cases are building, but only 32% of staff are building investigators). Senior investigator experience declined over 40% due to turnover.
- Case Management: 16% of sample cases were active with no notes; 82% of active cases with civil penalty notices had no follow-up inspection; reinspection fees were issued only in 11% of eligible cases, missing over $500,000 in cost recovery. The case backlog nearly doubled in four years.
- Data Accuracy: Code enforcement's reported on-time rates (77–84%) were significantly higher than the auditor's analysis (56–64%) due to flawed methodology. Key data fields had high error rates.
- Equity Analysis: No significant inequities were found based on race, income, age, or homeownership rates, but the auditor noted that proactive enforcement approaches should be considered.
- The audit made 10 recommendations, all of which the Development Services Department (DSD) agreed to implement. These included re-establishing a voluntary compliance program, setting optimal caseload KPIs, improving Accela case management system use, updating procedures, and creating accurate performance reports.
- DSD Deputy Director Leslie Senate responded that the department had already requested a new building inspector team in the FY23 budget (approved the day prior) and agreed with the recommendations. She noted that reinspection fees can feel punitive, so training will emphasize they are cost recovery measures. A closing checklist for cases will help ensure fees are applied.
- Committee Member Halpern asked about the staffing imbalance and which recommendations would most help collect reinspection fees. The auditor noted recommendations 7 (supervisor dashboards) and 8 (procedural updates) as key. He also asked about focusing on priority one cases even if lower priorities slip; Senate agreed that priority ones and twos are prioritized and that additional staff and voluntary compliance program should help.
Item 2 – Monthly Activities Report
- City Auditor Andy Hanau reported on recent and upcoming audits:
- Reports issued in FY22: 9 reports with 67 recommendations.
- Reports in writing stage: SDPD body camera usage, Fire-Rescue 911 system, annual Mission Bay audit (all due July).
- Audits in field work: Get It Done app and other customer service portals, vehicle towing process and policy.
- Audits in planning: Capital Improvement Program, contracts for services to people experiencing homelessness.
- Audits not yet started: annual Central Stores audit, Fire-Rescue network security audit.
- The annual citywide risk assessment and FY23 work plan is in development; stakeholders are asked to submit audit suggestions by June 24, 2022.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1: The committee voted unanimously (3-0) to accept the performance audit of the Code Enforcement Division and forward it to the City Council as an information item. Motion by Committee Member Halpern, seconded by Chair Whitburn.
- Item 2: The monthly activities report was received as an informational item; no action required.
- The next Audit Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at 9:00 AM.
Meeting Transcript
Well, good morning and welcome to this meeting of the audit committee. Until further notice, uh the committee meetings will be conducted pursuant to the provisions of California Government Code Section 54-953E, added by Assembly Bill 361, which allows the city to use teleconferencing and to provide the public with an opportunity to address the committee via a call in option or an internet based service option. In addition to being able to attend in person, this meeting is being televised and live streamed on the city's website, and the committee consultant will continue to help the public comment using the Zoom webinar. Additionally, members of the public who wish to provide testimony via a call-in or internet based services option must enter the virtual speaking queue within five minutes after the conclusion of in-person public testimony or before the virtual speaking cue is exhausted, whichever occurs first. This will allow for better meeting management between the two platforms and will ensure that the council is able to manage city business. As we go forward, I'll go over the specifics on how to join the webinar and we'll give details on how people can offer public testimony. At this time, I will call to order the audit committee meeting of Wednesday, June 15th, 2022. I will note for the record that Vice Chair Moreno and Committee Member Tabshuri will not be joining us today. I will now call the roll. Committee member Halpern. Present. And Committee Member Mafia. President. And I'm Stephen Whitburn, so we have a quorum. This committee is fortunate to have several attendees that contribute to our efforts. Our city attorney, Mara Elliott, our city auditor, Andy Hannah, Chief Compliance Officer, Christiana Gogger, and from the Office of the Independent Budget Analyst, Lisa Byrne. Thanks to each of you for being here this morning. Members of the public who are in council chambers and who would like to speak, please complete a speaker slip located at the entrance to chambers and place it in the box indicated at the speaker's lectern at the front of the room. Please do so in a timely manner to encourage proper meeting management. Members of the public can also join uh by computer, tablet, or smartphone by accessing the link which is listed online in the preamble language of the agenda on the city's webpage. To join the Zoom webinar by telephone, you may dial either 1669-254-5252 or 1646-828-7666. And when prompted input, webinar ID 161 0425337 Pound. This information is also available on the agenda. The public may view the meeting on City TV, which is Channel 24 for Cox Communication and Spectrum, or Channel 99 for ATT Uverse, or you may view the meeting online by going to the City Council Committee's homepage at San Diego.gov and selecting the City TV Live Webcast Blue button on the right hand side of the page. Please note that if you're watching via City TV or online, there may be a delay. Please participate via the audio on your phone and mute your TV or computer when it's your turn to speak. Thanks to our City TV staff for broadcasting our meeting this morning. If you're in person, please come on up to the reserved seats at the front of the room when your name is called and be prepared to come up to the lectern in the order in which we call you. If you join the webinar electronically, you'll receive a pop-up notice to select to unmute your device. If you've called into the meeting by cell phone or landline, you can press star six on your phone to unmute yourself. Please wait until the item to which you wish to speak has been called before raising your hand to speak. If you raise your hand during a non-comment period, then your hand will be lowered. When I introduce the item you would like to comment on, please raise your hand by either tapping the raise your hand button on your device or by pressing star nine on your phone. When our committee consultant Juan Carlos Leda indicates that it's your turn to speak, he'll call you by your name or he'll read out the last four digits of your phone number. At that time, please unmute your phone by tapping the unmute button on your device or by pressing star six on your phone. Also, please mute the volume on your TV or your computer before you begin to speak. We will now take up the approval of committee actions of May 12th, 2022. Good morning, Chair. The public comment period for this item is now open. If you are in person, please be sure to have your speaker slip submitted and come up to the reserved seats at the front of the room when your name is called and be prepared to come up to the lectern in the order called. Members of the public who wish to provide public testimony via call in or an internet based system up service option must enter the virtual speaking queue within five minutes after the conclusion of in-person public testimony or before the virtual speaking queue is exhausted, whichever occurs first. If you have joined the Zoom webinar online or by phone, please raise your hand if you wish to speak. I will now go ahead and see if there's any public uh testimony. Um there's no speakers in the two chair in the queue, chair. Thank you, Bon Carlos. Uh at this time, then I will now invite comments or questions and a motion from my colleagues on approval of the committee actions. And uh we'll go first to committee member Halpern. Uh thank you, Chair. I have no comments, but I would make a motion that we approve the minutes. Very well.
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