Audit Committee Meeting - February 14, 2024: Street Maintenance Audit and 2024 Priorities
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Audit Committee Meeting - February 14, 2024
The Audit Committee of the San Diego City Council met on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, at 5:00 PM. The meeting included a presentation and discussion of a performance audit of the city's street maintenance program, the city auditor's monthly activity report, and committee member priorities for the calendar year 2024. Public testimony was heard on multiple items. The committee voted unanimously to forward the street maintenance audit to the full City Council.
Public Comments & Testimony
- On approval of past committee minutes (January 24, 2024): Joyce Sanyata (District 3) urged the committee to be more mindful of public records so that the public can see a record of what people were talking about and how they felt, whether pro or con. No other speakers.
- Non-agenda public comment: Joyce Sanyata highlighted the words "oversight," "recommendations," and "employees," thanking the audit department and committee. A virtual speaker expressed concerns about city spending on migrants, alleging fraud, waste, and abuse, and claimed that the city is facilitating human trafficking and suffering of local residents.
- On Item 1 (Street Maintenance Audit): Joyce Sanyata thanked staff, noted the city only spent 77% of available funds, and asked about overlap with the grand jury report. A virtual speaker criticized the lack of assessment over the past seven years, questioned why a 2020 assessment was denied, and expressed skepticism about tax increases to close funding gaps.
- On Item 2 (City Auditor's Monthly Report): Joyce Sanyata praised IT audits and the OCA hiring update (fully staffed with zero vacancies). Virtual speaker Dan Shmiovsky alleged the mayor is culpable in funding a Republican candidate and called for investigation by the ethics commission. Another virtual speaker urged that audits include post-storm data and address police/fire overtime issues related to COVID policies and border security.
- On Item 3 (2024 Audit Committee Priorities): Joyce Sanyata thanked committee members and highlighted specific priorities from each member, including follow-up review processes, public awareness of the hotline, and school shooting prevention. A virtual speaker requested an immediate audit of storm-related spending and transparency in disaster response.
Discussion Items
- Item 1: Performance Audit of the City's Street Maintenance Program
- City Auditor Andy Hanau presented the audit, noting decades of underinvestment. The city’s street network has approximately 3,000 centerline miles, serving 178 million vehicle trips per day. The average Pavement Condition Index (PCI) is 63 (fair), below the city’s goal of 70 (satisfactory). Deferred maintenance costs $1.9 billion over 10 years, with a $1.2 billion funding gap. The city allocated $331 million from 2018-2023 but expended only $263 million (77%). The new Pavement Management Plan (PMP) published January 2024 is a major step forward but lacks equity goals, a funding strategy, and capacity measures. There are 62 miles of unimproved streets, concentrated in Districts 4, 8, and 9, costing up to $60 million per mile to improve. Transportation Director Bethany Bizak agreed with all seven recommendations and noted the PMP will be updated annually.
- Committee members asked about the model’s ability to incorporate equity, heat islands, and stormwater considerations. Councilmember Moreno (District 8) raised concerns about funding distribution based on mileage and historical north-to-south paving practices. Bizak clarified that the model uses a best-value approach and equity tiebreakers for communities of concern. She also stated that per-mile allocations vary by district and that unimproved streets require separate dedicated funding.
- Item 2: City Auditor's Monthly Activity Report (Informational)
- The OCA issued one audit (street maintenance), has 11 reports in progress (including body camera IT security, housing commission property acquisition, police overtime), and three in fieldwork (pothole repair, facilities maintenance, contract management). Five audits are in planning (Mission Bay, grants readiness, fire rescue overtime, Pure Water project). The office is fully staffed (24 positions filled). Two council presentations are scheduled for later in February.
- Item 3: Audit Committee Member Priorities for 2024 (Informational)
- Committee members submitted written priorities. Chair Moreno noted common themes: improving the recommendation follow-up review process (Vice Chair Whitburn and Halpern), monitoring implementation of Measure A if passed (Halpern), and school shooting preparedness (Tapsuri). City Attorney Mara Elliott requested docketing a discussion on independent counsel transition if Measure A passes, noting the need to amend the municipal code and clarify roles.
Key Outcomes
- Approval of committee minutes (January 24, 2024): Motion passed unanimously (Councilmember Whitburn absent).
- Item 1 (Street Maintenance Audit): The committee voted unanimously (motion by Councilmember Moreno, seconded by Councilmember Whitburn) to forward the audit report and recommendations to the full City Council for consideration.
- Informational Items: Items 2 (City Auditor’s Monthly Report) and 3 (2024 Priorities) were received and filed with no motions required. Chair Moreno committed to docketing follow-up discussions on recommendation tracking, Measure A implementation, and school coordination as priorities for 2024.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning and welcome to the audit committee meeting of February 14th, 2024. Our committee liaison, uh, Natalie Kessler will go over instructions for today's meeting. Thank you, Chair. While members of the public are able to attend the meetings in person, this meeting is being televised and live streamed on the city's website, and the council administration will continue to make arrangements for the public to comment using the Zoom webinar platform. Members of the public who wish to provide virtual testimony must enter the virtual queue by raising their hand before the virtual queue closes. The queue will close when the last virtual speaker finishes speaking or five minutes after in-person testimony ends, whichever occurs first. This will allow for better meeting management between the two platforms and ensure the committee is able to manage and conduct city business. We appreciate the public's cooperation. Chair Moreno. Thank you. Um I will now call the audit committee meeting of Wednesday, February 14th, 2024 to order. Natalie, please call roll. Vice Chair Whitburn. Committee member Halburn. Present. Committee member Mafia. Present. Committee member Tapsuri. Present. And Chair, Councilmember Moreno. Present. Also attending the meeting today is Andy Hanao, the city auditor. Luis Briseño with the compliance office. Amy Lee with the IBA's office. And Natalie Kessler, our committee liaison. Natalie, please continue with public comment instructions. If you are in person, please complete a speaker slip located at the entrance of chambers and place it on the top of the box indicated at the speaker's lectern at the front of the room. Please do so in a timely manner to ensure proper meeting management. In-person testimony will conclude before virtual testimony begins. And members of the public can also join the webinar 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. If you need to participate by telephone, you may dial 1669-254-5252. The webinar ID is 160-717-8861 pound. This information is also available on the agenda and will appear on the screen during the public comment period for each agenda item. Members of the public who wish to provide virtual testimony must enter the virtual queue by raising their hand before the queue closes, and the queue will close when the last virtual speaker finishes speaking or five minutes after in-person testimony ends, whichever occurs first. 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 is your turn to speak. If you wish to speak on a particular item, wait for that item to be called and then raise your hand to speak by tapping the raise your hand icon, or if you're a call-in participant, star nine on your phone. If you raise your hand during a non-comment period, your hand will be lowered. Chair. Thank you. A quorum now present. We're going to dispense with approval of the committee actions of January 24th, 2024. Natalie, please proceed. Thank you, Chair. The public comment period for the past committee minutes is now open. If you have comments on the past committee minutes, please make sure you have a speaker slip submitted or raise your hand if you're in the virtual queue at this time. And Chair, we do not have any speakers here in chambers who have submitted a speaker slip on the past committee actions. So we will move to the virtual queue and I'll begin the five-minute timer. Please provide your comments. So I think we need to be more mindful so that people can see, and there actually is a record of um what people were talking about and how they felt about it, whether it's pro or con.
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