The county has a policy of automatically purging most emails after two years – and that could affect a criminal case involving a former county contractor.
Refresher: Our Lisa Halverstadt has reported extensively on county actions tied to what ultimately became a criminal case against the former COO of Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego. Amy Knox is accused of spending public funds on everything from plastic surgery to family vacations.
After Voice of San Diego sued earlier this year to force the release of whistleblower complaints about the nonprofit’s county contracts, a county lawyer said officials couldn’t find messages sent in 2022 or 2023 because of the county’s two-year retention policy.
The Reaction: Knox’s attorneys are concerned the loss of those emails hampers their ability to defend their client. They argue the county shouldn’t be relying on staff to decide whether their emails should be kept longer than two years. And County Supervisor Joel Anderson now says he plans to push for the county to extend its retention period to five years at an upcoming board meeting.
The Plan to Improve Contract Oversight
County officials say they’re taking steps to bolster and standardize contract oversight following the Harm Reduction Coalition debacle.
They detailed a proposed structure during a Tuesday subcommittee meeting chaired by Supervisors Paloma Aguirre and Joel Anderson. The plan involves establishing an oversight committee.
Branden Butler, director of the county’s Office of Ethics, Compliance, and Labor Standards, said he expects to chair the committee that will include county lawyers, procurement officials and liaisons in each county division who can advise staff. Butler said the liaisons should help staff flag and escalate major contract issues, and ensure departments are properly overseeing contracts.
Butler said the county hopes to pilot the new approach in select departments in the next 60 to 90 days.
“The county would move toward a shared operating model with consistent expectations, documented responsibilities, assignment tracking, escalation procedures and a strong executive visibility,” Butler said. “That clarity is what allows the governance structure to become an accountability structure.”
Next Steps: The supervisors requested that county officials move forward with the plan and update the full board by the end of this year on any related staffing and funding needs. They also asked for a memo within 90 days updating the subcommittee on their progress.
An interesting moment: After the presentations, Aguirre wanted to know: Did the county and outside reviewers find contract oversight issues throughout the county or were they confined to certain departments?
“They were widespread and they were primarily due to departments essentially having their own way of doing things, so a lack of consistency,” Chief of Audits Juan Perez said.
San Diego County Clerk Status: Very Excited
The county took to social media Tuesday to share County Clerk Andrew Potter’s excitement about next week’s county board meetings and new features that make county agendas more accessible. In his hype video, Potter also slides, spins, shoots – and manages to finally get a ball in the basket.
In Other News
- San Diego Gas & Electric projects that its new proposed Golden Pacific Powerlink transmission line will cost $1.62 billion. (Union-Tribune)
- The county earlier this week released a public health inspection report following its June visit to the Otay Mesa Detention Center. (City News Service)
- The city of San Diego is upgrading its Get It Done app. (Union-Tribune)
- The city of San Diego just rolled out a draft future planning blueprint for neighborhoods including City Heights, Kensington and Normal Heights calling for 30,000 more homes over the next three decades. (CBS 8)
- The city of San Diego fined Marvel Studios $160,000 for wrapping the Gaslamp Quarter archway with an “Avengers: Doomsday” ad during Comic-Con last month. (10 News)
The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.