A July report by the San Diego auditor investigating the city’s Ash Street lease and other real estate transactions appears to have driven a wedge between the elected city attorney and the appointed auditor.
A new memo from auditor Andy Hanau states that prosecutor Mara Elliott rejected several invitations to participate in the month-long review of real estate transactions and then criticized Hanau for not interviewing her before his report was published.
“We met at least seven times with representatives of the public prosecutor’s office during the examination,” Hanau wrote in the message last Thursday. “No one in the prosecution stated that we had a reason to question the city attorney, or that the city attorney wanted an interview.”
The auditor’s memo was in response to Elliott’s official rebuttal of the audit published two months ago, which harshly criticized the way city officials have handled a number of real estate transactions in recent years.
In her refutation of the August 31st audit, Elliott reiterated her criticism of the July 22nd audit as an incomplete review. She said the legal conclusions were wrong and the assessment was based on speculation rather than fact.
“I spent nearly two decades of my legal career advising state auditors and audit boards on their roles and responsibilities in the San Diego County and City of San Diego,” Elliott wrote. “This failure to obtain complete information resulted in inaccuracies in the audit report.”
The prosecution issued a similar response to the exam when it was first published.
The city council’s audit committee is due to look into Elliott’s rebuttal along with a subsequent response from Mayor Todd Gloria at its Wednesday meeting on the audit.
Gloria’s rebuttal suggested that the mayor’s office would implement any recommendations made by the auditor under his control, although implementation will take several months or even until 2023.
“The department intends to create a robust and enduring policy that will regulate real estate transactions of many types,” wrote Chief Operating Officer Jay Goldstone to Hanau on September 7th. “The revised guideline will serve as a guideline and instrument for the city council and city administration to comply with, even if no concrete transactions are envisaged today.”
Hanau’s July 22 report found that former Mayor Kevin Faulconer and his staff withheld information and misrepresented some facts when they approved the council for the 20-year lease for the former Sempra Energy headquarters at 101 Ash in 2016 St.
“The former city administration has limited the supervisory capacity of the city council in large property purchases by not providing complete and accurate information,” the audit said.
The auditors also criticized other real estate investments made under the Faulconer administration, including a failed indoor skydiving facility that the city bought for $ 7 million without a valuation and a repair yard that was $ 8 million more than expected had improved.
Elliott, who is now trying to suspend the Ash Street lease and an earlier contract for the nearby Civic Center Plaza, said the Court of Auditors’ office mistakenly blamed her for the prosecutor’s legal work prior to her 2016 election.
Her rebuttal also criticized the audit for saying it was her office’s failure to spot “red flags” on the Ash Street transaction that cost the city at least $ 60 million for a 19-story skyscraper. that cannot be safely occupied due to asbestos and other topics.
“We have to rely on experts. And those with expertise report to a different branch of government – the executive, ”wrote Elliott. “The lawyers have to rely on facts presented by the city officials.”
The dispute over the auditor’s audit is not the first dispute between the audit office and the city’s public prosecutor’s office.
Last year, then-acting city auditor Kyle Elser applied for permission to hire an independent attorney for his office. Sometimes there are conflicts of interest between city auditors and city attorneys, he said at the time.
Elliott has resisted the request, which relies on both the prosecutor’s office and the mayor’s human resources department to move forward.
The proposal is expected to be reintroduced by the city’s audit office later this year.
source https://www.bisayanews.com/2021/09/27/unflattering-audit-of-san-diego-real-estate-deals-prompts-push-back-from-city-attorney/
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