Golden Watchdog & Fleece Awards Dinner

Golden Watchdog & Golden Fleece
Awards Dinner

Thursday, May 20, 2010
Town and Country Resort & Convention Center

SDCTA hosts the annual Golden Watchdog & Golden Fleece Awards Dinner to inform and educate the taxpayers of San Diego County about the good, the bad and the ugly of government efficiency and spending.  These awards give the public a singular opportunity to voice their appreciation and disapproval of government spending practices by nominating programs that highlight fiscal decisions of the past year.  Golden Watchdog Awards honor programs that exemplify good government practices and efficient use of tax dollars.  The Media Watchdog Award honors excellence in reporting on behalf of taxpayers.  Golden Fleeces are given to examples of wasteful, inefficient spending.  The purpose of the awards is to stimulate public debate and educate taxpayers on how government spends tax dollars in San Diego County.

Congratulations and condolences to the 2010 Watchdog & Fleece Award Winners! View press release here.

The Metro Golden Watchdog finalists:

  • East County Cities – Heartland Fire Rescue Consolidation Efforts
  • City of Poway – Lowering Poway's Unfunded Pension Liability
  • City of Santee – Citywide Pension Reform
The Regional Golden Watchdog finalists:
  • County of San Diego - New Medical Examiner's Office and Forensics Center
  • County of San Diego – Once Upon a Partnership
  • Olivenhain Municipal Water District – Holding the Line on Rate Increases
The Metro Golden Fleece finalists:
  • City of Carlsbad – Double Bogey for the Crossings
  • City of Chula Vista – Attack of the Taxasaurus
  • San Miguel Fire Protection District – Accident "Crash Tax"
The Regional Golden Fleece finalists:
  • Metropolitan Transit System –Ad Revenue Going Nowhere Fast
  • San Diego County Employees Retirement Association– Gold-Plated Investment Officer
  • San Diego Unified School District – Survey This! Governance Woes
  • Tri-City Hospital District – Trifecta of Troubles
The "It's About Time" finalists:
  • County of San Diego – Project Green
  • County of San Diego Human Resources Department – E-Benefits Program
  • Grossmont Union High School District – Propositions U & H Bond Programs
  • City/County Managers Association – Pension Reform Recovery
The Public-Private Partnership finalists:
  • City of Solana Beach / Trex. Co – Plastic Bag Recycling Initiative
  • Multi-Agency/Community Groups – Healthcare Savings Program
  • Multi-Agency/San Diego CleanTECH – Public Facilities Renewable Energy Projects
  • City of San Diego / San Diego Tourism Marketing District – Tourism Promotion Funding
The Print/Electronic Media Watchdog finalists:
  • Steven Bartholow, San Diego News Network – "Potholes-a-Plenty"
  • Kelly Bennett and Dagny Salas, voiceofsandiego.org – "Out of Reach" series
  • Rob Davis, voiceofsandiego.org – "Outsourcing to Pension Consultant is Illegal Attorney Says"
  • Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune – "Slater-Price Fails to Report Gifts of Tickets"
  • Miriam Raftery, East County Magazine and 10News – "Water Board Stirs Flood of Controversy"
  • Eleanor Yang Su, San Diego Union-Tribune – "S.D. Marathon Runs Into Controversy"
  • Mark Walker, North County Times – "Tax Collector Still Lags in Paying Refunds"
The Broadcast Media Watchdog finalists:
  • J.W. August, Mitch Blacher, Christian Cazares, Lauren Reynolds, 10News – "Water Department Bonuses"
  • Envision San Diego Team, KPBS – "The Legacy of Proposition 13"
  • Michael Turko, KUSI – "Double Trouble for Online Property Tax Payers"
  • Charisse Yu, 10 News – "SDUSD School Fees Series"

If you have any questions regarding the event or nomination criteria, please contact us at 619-234-6423.