San Diego Audit Committee Meeting Summary - March 11, 2026

The Audit Committee of the San Diego City Council met on March 11, 2026, to discuss the consent agenda, a performance audit of the Fire-Rescue Department's emergency medical response, the annual report on internal financial controls, and the City Auditor's monthly activity report. The meeting included public testimony on non-agenda items and each agenda item, with committee members deliberating and voting on recommendations.

Consent Calendar

• Item 1: Approval of Committee Minutes from February 11, 2026 – The committee approved the minutes unanimously (motion by Councilmember Foster, seconded by Committee Member Tapsuri, passed unanimously).

Public Comments & Testimony

• Non-Agenda Public Comments:

  • Joy Sanyata (CD3) requested an audit of the city's structural budget deficit, suggesting the CIP gap may be hardwired to the deficit, and asked the City Auditor to "audit the audits."
  • Judy Strang urged an examination of city leases, specifically the Fairbanks Ranch soccer lease, questioning whether the city is fairly negotiating on behalf of citizens.
  • A speaker (self-identified as "the original") criticized the city's contracts with Dreams for Change and Downtown Partnership for safe sleeping sites, alleging code violations, poor food, fire hazards, and lack of accountability, and warned of potential class-action lawsuits.
  • Blair Beekman spoke about the importance of local governance during wartime and encouraged the committee to focus on long-term issues and best practices.

• Public Comments on Item 2 (Fire Rescue Audit):

  • A speaker (phone ending 870) expressed concern about the complexity of the dispatch process and urged faster ambulance dispatch without involving police.
  • "The original" called the report "horrific" for showing a 4-minute-20-second delay before crews leave the station, and linked slow response times to city policies (e.g., dense development, roundabouts, bike lanes).
  • Kathleen Lippett noted that policies like streeteries in Pacific Beach block fire truck access, citing a specific building at 710 Garnet.
  • Blair Beekman suggested improving response times through better coordination with the city's Domain Awareness Centers and urged open discussion of technology practices.

• Public Comments on Item 3 (Internal Financial Controls):

  • Joy Sanyata praised the hybrid zero-based budget but expressed concerns about internal controls, accountability, and transparency.
  • "The original" questioned how the city can receive awards for fraud prevention when fraud, waste, and abuse continue, and noted that recommendations are not enforced.
  • Hector called for audits of NGO contracts (e.g., daycares, hospice, transportation) and cited Mission Bay Park tenants being 30% behind on rent.
  • Blair Beekman linked the internal controls report to the city's five-year capital projects and emphasized the need for community-focused best practices.

• Public Comments on Item 4 (Auditor's Activity Report):

  • "The original" urged audits of safe sleeping sites and nonprofits like Dreams for Change, alleging fraud and lack of housing outcomes.
  • Ernie Casco (La Jolla) demanded an audit of Torrey Pines Gliderport, claiming insurance and waiver fraud, and illegal commercialization of a public park.
  • Blair Beekman raised several points: brush management should consider man-made fire causes, questioned off-payroll income mentioned by Andrea Ebbing, and asked about cybersecurity and art funding in East Village.
  • A speaker (phone ending 870) thanked the committee for upcoming audits on police internal affairs, the unsafe camping ordinance, and cybersecurity, and suggested building metrics to monitor whether red flags are honored.
  • Hector suggested using AI for audits, including lease compliance at Mission Bay Park, and asked the auditor to publish lease status.

Discussion Items

• Item 2: 2026 High-Risk Re-Review Performance Audit of the Fire Rescue Department's Emergency Medical Response Process

  • The City Auditor's office presented findings from a review of over 300,000 level-one dispatches (FY23–FY25). Key findings:
    • The current dispatch process (dispatch ambulance immediately, then triage before dispatching fire units) adds an average of 1 minute 26 seconds to fire unit dispatch, resulting in an estimated 1-minute delay in arrival compared to the previous process.
    • Fire rescue crews take nearly three times longer than national standards for turnout time (time from alert to leaving station), averaging 2 minutes 54 seconds vs. NFPA standards of 1 minute. Turnout time met internal standards only 3–6% of the time.
    • Fire rescue does not report on each phase of response, limiting transparency for city leaders and the public.
    • Three recommendations were made: (1) create an internal policy requiring an annual report on response performance to be presented to the Public Safety Committee, (2) establish a standardized metric for turnout time, and (3) improve reporting on trade-offs of the triage process. Fire rescue agreed to all recommendations.
  • Committee discussion focused on the need for outcome data (e.g., lives saved vs. delays), the impact of fire station locations, and the complexity of measuring response times. Fire rescue staff noted that for the most critical (echo-level) calls, the dispatch delay is only 11 seconds, and that a standards of coverage study is forthcoming.
  • A motion was made by Councilmember Halpern to accept the report and forward it to City Council, with a friendly amendment (accepted) requiring fire rescue to return in June 2026 with an implementation plan. The motion passed unanimously.

• Item 3: 2025 Annual Report on Internal Financial Controls

  • The Department of Finance presented the report, which concluded that internal financial controls are effective. Highlights included a clean audit opinion for FY25, 11 consecutive GFOA awards, and progress on resolving lease audit and invoicing issues in the Economic Development Department.
  • Committee members discussed workforce management challenges, federal grant reporting timeliness (FFATA compliance), and the upgrade of the leasing administration software (version 11 by June 30, 2026, with a long-term RFP in fall 2026).
  • Councilmember Foster raised concerns about expired contracts and manual processes, questioning how the city maintains strong audit results despite systemic issues. Staff acknowledged the need for accountability and process improvements.
  • A motion to accept the report and forward to City Council as an informational item was made by Chair Marino, seconded by Councilmember Foster, and passed unanimously.

• Item 4: City Auditor's Monthly Activity Report

  • The City Auditor reported one issued report (fire rescue audit), two audits in report writing (brush management on private property, unsafe camping ordinance), five audits in fieldwork (cybersecurity, police internal affairs, arts and culture funding, citywide vehicle rentals, street light repair), and upcoming audits (police armory, business tax, Mission Bay).
  • The auditor also noted recruitment progress, outreach for audit requests (due April 10, 2026), and a request for the committee to share the public survey on social media.
  • No formal action was taken; the item was informational.

Key Outcomes

• Item 1: Consent agenda approved unanimously.
• Item 2: Audit report accepted and forwarded to City Council; fire rescue directed to return in June 2026 with an implementation plan for the three recommendations.
• Item 3: Annual report on internal financial controls accepted and forwarded to City Council as informational.
• Item 4: No action required; the activity report was received.
• Next Meeting: The next regularly scheduled Audit Committee meeting is April 15, 2026, at 9 a.m.