City Attorney Mike Aguirre just called to say that starting next week, he’s coming to a community meeting near you.
Aguirre said he’s preparing to start making the rounds to community groups and planning meetings throughout the city to present his argument that he should sue Kroll Inc., the firm that staffed the city’s audit committee, under the False Claims Act.
“We are going to take our case directly to the people,” Aguirre said. “I’m going to ask the people of San Diego whether they think I should go after their $20 million.”
Kroll’s famously high-priced team of consultants charged the city $20.3 million for an 18-month investigation of city finances and a resulting 266-page report.
Aguirre contends that contrary to the findings of the Kroll report, Council President Scott Peters, Councilmen Jim Madaffer and Brian Maienschein and Councilwomen Toni Atkins and Donna Frye all had direct knowledge in 2002 that retiree benefits were increasing while the city’s contributions to its pension fund were decreasing.
While he may be trying to drum up public support for a legal assault on Kroll, Aguirre maintains that he doesn’t need anyone’s approval to move forward with the suit.
The ability to sue Kroll under the false claims act is the sole discretion of the city attorney, Aguirre said.