The San Diego County Taxpayers Association is a non-profit, non-partisan organization, dedicated to promoting accountable, cost-effective and efficient government and opposing unnecessary taxes and fees.
Congratulations and condolences to the 2011 Watchdog & Fleece Award Winners! View the press release here.
WINNER OF THE GRAND GOLDEN WATCHDOG AWARD:
North
County Transit District: Privatization Rolling Right Along
In response to drastically reduced revenues as a result of the recession and
declines in state legislature funding, North County Transit District entered
into an agreement with First Transit to outsource its bus operations and
maintenance, and with American Logistics Company to restructure its paratransit
services. These contracts use innovative and efficient service delivery
methods to preserve customer service while producing significant cost savings
for taxpayers. NCTD's internal workforce will be reduced from more than
500 positions in FY 2010 to fewer than 100 positions for FY 2012, reducing
internal labor costs from 41% to only 12% of NCTD’s budget. The contract
with First Transit was signed in July 2010 and is projected to save $45 million
in operating costs over the next seven years. The contract with American
Logistics Company, which was signed in February 2011, is projected to save $8
million over the next six years. As a direct result of these cost-saving
measures, NCTD was able to balance its budget for FY 2011 with no reduction in
services or increase in fares for the public.
REGIONAL WATCHDOG AWARD WINNER:
San
Diego County Regional Airport Authority: Green Light for the Green Build
A sale of $573 million in bonds to fund the Green Build was done at a borrowing
cost of 4.38%, which is the lowest in the nation for an airport-related
long-term bond sale. The Airport Authority estimates savings of $40 million
over the life of the bond. These savings would not have been possible but for
the swift actions of the Airport Authority in taking advantage of Build America
Bonds and the Alternative Minimum Tax Waiver before they expired.
"Government" and "swift" in the same sentence? Impressive!
2010 REGIONAL GOLDEN WATCHDOG WINNER:
Del Mar, Encinitas, and Solana Beach Fire Departments and the Rancho Sante Fe Fire Protection District: North County Fire Departments' Cooperative Efforts
In October 2009, the cities of Del Mar, Encinitas, Solana Beach and the Rancho Santa Fe Fire Protection District entered into a two-year cooperative agreement to share the cost of fire personnel as a means to reduce costs and create operational efficiencies.In 2010, the participating agencies amended the agreement to further reduce costs by more effectively sharing fire management services and personnel between each agency.The numbers of firefighters and stations have not changed as a result of the agreement, but could in fact pave the way for a joint powers authority or possible consolidation in the future.The agreement generated over $1 million in taxpayer savings in its first year, and could continue to save taxpayer dollars if further consolidation occurs.
METRO WATCHDOG AWARD WINNER:
City of
San Diego: Re-Bid of City Help Desk Contract
In April 2010, the San Diego City Council voted 7-1 in favor of a $1.2 million
contract to outsource the city’s desktop computer support services to
Gardena-based En Pointe Technologies. The one-year deal includes a pair of
two-year extensions that must be approved by the Council. These services had
previously been provided by the San Diego Data Processing Corporation, a
nonprofit city agency, for three decades at a $2.3 million price tag. The
Council’s decision is anticipated to save the city over $1 million each year
between FY 2011 and FY 2013.
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP AWARD WINNER:
Coalition
to Keep Comic-Con in San Diego: Economic Superheroes
Last year San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, San Diego Convention Center
Corporation officials, local hoteliers, and business and community leaders
launched an intensive effort to keep the Comic-Con convention in San
Diego.Thanks to their efforts,
Comic-Con will stay in San Diego through 2015, generating over $150 million in
regional economic impact annually as well as nearly $150,000 in yearly sales
tax revenue.
IT'S ABOUT TIME AWARD WINNER:
County of
San Diego - Electricity Procurement Strategy
Since 2008, the County has reduced electricity costs by more than $3 million by
locking in current market pricing rather than using fixed rates for energy.
This strategy is possible due to energy market deregulation that happened in
the mid-90’s, and is utilized by numerous private businesses.Though this procurement strategy has
admittedly been long-available, the County’s swift movements to adopt it in
response to sharp increases in natural gas prices in 2008 ultimately saved
taxpayers millions.
MEDIA WATCHDOG AWARD WINNERS:
Christopher
Cadelago, San Diego Union-Tribune
"County Pays Out Unused Sick Time - Most Don't"
I-Team,
10News
“State Court Costs Overlooked Due to Loophole"
Gene
Cubbison, NBC San Diego
"Stay Classy, San Diego" Award Recipient
GRAND
GOLDEN FLEECE:
Sweetwater
Union High School District: Let the Taxpayers Eat Wedding Cake
In the midst of a major budget crisis just a few weeks shy of the November 2010
election, the District paid for mailers, phone calls to parents and full-page
advertisements in the San Diego Union-Tribune
which conveniently spotlighted the board president, coincidentally up for re-election.
Superintendent Jesus Gandara also invited contractors and district employees to
his daughter’s bridal shower – an event that featured a "money tree"
where guests could contribute cash to the newlyweds. Then it was revealed that
the Superintendent charged $11,000 on the District's credit card to pay for
meals and travel – above and beyond his $800 monthly stipend already allocated for
such expenses.
REPEAT OFFENDER:
City of Carlsbad:
Tripping Up with a Triple Bogey
The City of Carlsbad
earned a Golden Fleece for its woefully mismanaged golf course in 2008, and was
nominated for the same project in 2010. Here we go again. The Carlsbad City
Council unanimously agreed to subsidize the city’s cash-strapped golf course by
another $1.7 million for FY 2011. The Crossings at Carlsbad has operated in the
red since it opened in 2007, costing taxpayers over $3 million. The subsidy is
in large part due to debt payments and costs for habitat preservation, which
will cost the city a combined $1.4 million next year alone.
REGIONAL FLEECE:
San
Diego SAFE: SAFE Cracking
In 1986, State Senator Bill Craven passed a bill that allowed local governments
to add a $1 fee on vehicle registrations to create call boxes on freeways and
highways. San Diego SAFE is the local agency that collects and uses these funds
for purchasing, installing, operating, and maintaining this motorist aid
system. The intent was to ensure the safety of stranded motorists.With most drivers having access to mobile
phones now, the ongoing need for call box development is antiquated at best.
Instead of eliminating the fee and relying on revenue from the $10 million
reserve fund to maintain the SAFE system, other government officials cracked
the SAFE budget and continued collecting revenue for other needs that were not
specified by the original legislation.
METRO FLEECE:
Cities
of Oceanside and Chula Vista: Playing the Pension Shell Game
The California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) allows
participating cities to report their subsidy of an employee’s pension
contribution as additional compensation when calculating the final pension
payment.In other words, a city’s
subsidy of the employee’s share of the retirement benefits is added on to their
final compensation, leading to a “bump” in the employee’s annual pension
payment.Cities have started to
eliminate this benefit as a part of pension reform efforts. However, due to an
accounting gimmick that allows employees to pay the employer’s share of retirement
benefits and vice versa, employees can still claim that the city is paying for
their share of retirement benefits and keep the “bump” in their pension
payments. City of Oceanside firefighters and police officers recently approved
new labor contracts that enable this pension contribution arrangement.All of the new labor contracts for the City
of Chula Vista now include this pension contribution arrangement as well. Quite
the switcheroo.