Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Rural/Metro: Secret Memos, Campaign Donations, and An Alleged $5.8 Million Excess Withdrawal

Last week, city auditor Eduardo Luna released a report that strongly criticized the City’s management of its paramedic contractor, Scottsdale, Arizona–based Rural/Metro Corporation, finding that “the City has not adequately managed or monitored the financial activities of Rural/Metro.” The auditor concluded, “Rural/Metro appears to have withdrawn approximately $5.8 million” from a joint bank account with the City “in excess of its entitled expense reimbursement amounts.” And, according to Luna, “based on the lack of adequate financial controls and oversight over related activities, there is a significant risk that the City has not maximized its revenue from [San Diego Medical Services]. There is also a potential risk that Rural/Metro has underreported revenues or submitted unsupported or inappropriate expenses.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Luna noted that since mid-2009, the office of city attorney Jan Goldsmith has sent a series of secret memos to Mayor Jerry Sanders and the city council regarding problems with Rural/Metro and its “public-private” joint venture partnership with the City, known as San Diego Medical Services Enterprise, LLC. “In July 2010, the City Attorney’s Office issued another confidential memo to the Mayor and City Council raising additional concerns regarding the structure, as well as financial terms of [San Diego Medical Services]; In September 2010, during the course of the audit, the City Attorney’s Office issued an additional confidential memo to the Mayor and City Council related to [San Diego Medical Services]; Finally, in December 2010, the City Attorney’s Office issued another confidential memo related to [San Diego Medical Services].”

The findings represented a sharp turn of events for Rural/Metro, which has long been a darling of Sanders, due in part to the generous campaign contributions the company and its employees have regularly doled out to the local powers that be. For instance, according to City financial disclosure records, in June 2006, the company gave $5000 for San Diegans for City Hall Reform, the committee backing a successful “managed competition” measure to outsource the performance of City services to private firms. In June 2008, Rural/Metro gave $5000 to the campaign for Props A, B, and C, which set up the extension of the so-called strong mayor initiative. Then in February 2009, there was $1000 for Safe Beaches, Yes on D committee, the beach booze ban. In March of last year, Rural/Metro gave $1000 to San Diegans for Accountability at City Hall, which ran the successful campaign to make the strong mayor arrangement permanent. And in November of last year, there came $4000 for Proposition D, the mayor’s failed bid to boost sales taxes.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The danger of San Diego's hoarders

The $1 million Flash Comics #1

Last week, city auditor Eduardo Luna released a report that strongly criticized the City’s management of its paramedic contractor, Scottsdale, Arizona–based Rural/Metro Corporation, finding that “the City has not adequately managed or monitored the financial activities of Rural/Metro.” The auditor concluded, “Rural/Metro appears to have withdrawn approximately $5.8 million” from a joint bank account with the City “in excess of its entitled expense reimbursement amounts.” And, according to Luna, “based on the lack of adequate financial controls and oversight over related activities, there is a significant risk that the City has not maximized its revenue from [San Diego Medical Services]. There is also a potential risk that Rural/Metro has underreported revenues or submitted unsupported or inappropriate expenses.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Luna noted that since mid-2009, the office of city attorney Jan Goldsmith has sent a series of secret memos to Mayor Jerry Sanders and the city council regarding problems with Rural/Metro and its “public-private” joint venture partnership with the City, known as San Diego Medical Services Enterprise, LLC. “In July 2010, the City Attorney’s Office issued another confidential memo to the Mayor and City Council raising additional concerns regarding the structure, as well as financial terms of [San Diego Medical Services]; In September 2010, during the course of the audit, the City Attorney’s Office issued an additional confidential memo to the Mayor and City Council related to [San Diego Medical Services]; Finally, in December 2010, the City Attorney’s Office issued another confidential memo related to [San Diego Medical Services].”

The findings represented a sharp turn of events for Rural/Metro, which has long been a darling of Sanders, due in part to the generous campaign contributions the company and its employees have regularly doled out to the local powers that be. For instance, according to City financial disclosure records, in June 2006, the company gave $5000 for San Diegans for City Hall Reform, the committee backing a successful “managed competition” measure to outsource the performance of City services to private firms. In June 2008, Rural/Metro gave $5000 to the campaign for Props A, B, and C, which set up the extension of the so-called strong mayor initiative. Then in February 2009, there was $1000 for Safe Beaches, Yes on D committee, the beach booze ban. In March of last year, Rural/Metro gave $1000 to San Diegans for Accountability at City Hall, which ran the successful campaign to make the strong mayor arrangement permanent. And in November of last year, there came $4000 for Proposition D, the mayor’s failed bid to boost sales taxes.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The Fellini of Clairemont High

When gang showers were standard for gym class
Next Article

Big swordfish, big marlin, and big money

Trout opener at Santee Lakes
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader