Published by the Office of County Supervisor Jim Desmond
It just keeps getting worse for SANDAG as a new report shows, ‘Staff dined at places such as Rei Do Gado, Donovan’s steakhouse, and the U.S. Grant Hotel restaurant.’
This comes after an independent audit found that over the past four years of credit card purchases, SANDAG spent over $2,485,001 of taxpayer dollars on their procurement card.
Here’s more from the audit:
“The auditor noted, $99.95 for a Target gift card for a monthly prize gift card, $306.53 at the Kimpton Palomar Hotel for a one-night stay for an interview candidate, $1,250 spent on Target gift cards for “Survey Incentives”, $549.74 at Panera Bread for an “All Hands” staff meeting, and Draft Regional Plan debrief for all staff on May 29, 2021, while a large portion of SANDAG staff was still telecommuting and not in the main downtown office.”
I thought Carlsbad Mayor Matt Hall summed it up best, “Management, you really dropped the ball on this one. Anytime you’re dealing with public funds, and we find out that after a period of time this much money can’t be accounted for, that doesn’t say much for this establishment’s leadership.”
We will see if anything comes of this, as I believe these payments need to be looked into more. I will keep you updated if this story develops.
San Diego County District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond
http://www.supervisordesmond.
