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

The parking problem again

Audit Committee to look into better management of program

There's a shortage of parking in some San Diego communities and the city's community parking district program isn't much help addressing that shortage.

In a recent audit, the city auditor's office found holes in the city's management of San Diego's six community parking districts. The districts, established in 1997, are managed by nonprofits throughout the city. Forty-five percent of annual parking-meter revenue goes toward funding for the program — the city keeps the remaining 55 percent. Currently, four nonprofits manage the six districts in downtown, Hillcrest, and surrounding Uptown communities, University Heights, and portions of El Cajon Boulevard.

In recent years, community members in downtown and Uptown have criticized the nonprofit parking districts for exorbitant salaries and high overhead as well as lack of results.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In 2011, a county grand jury found Uptown Partnership, the organizations that managed the program in Hillcrest, Mission Hills, and Bankers Hill, spent three times the amount on overhead as it did on parking improvements. That group was later disbanded and has since undergone reorganization.

Three years later, city auditors have taken another look at community parking districts. There's still room for improvement, for the city and the nonprofits in charge.

The audit report, to be presented to the Audit Committee on November 20, found the program to be run on "informal procedures." Because of that, the city is not able to "measure or monitor program outcomes to determine if parking meter revenues are being used efficiently and effectively. Without documented formal procedures, performance measurement, and monitoring, key program stakeholders are not able to assess if the program is meeting the goals of [the program]…. The processes used to administer this program have not been fully developed and documented to mitigate the risk of loss of institutional knowledge."

In addition, the city is not monitoring money spent on the program. Tracking revenue and expenditures on an annual basis, wrote city auditors, does not provide the community parking districts with enough information and performance measures.

"[T]he program lacks formal project management and oversight procedures to ensure city-implemented projects are completed in a timely and consistent manner. To improve program administration and to ensure the program is meeting the goals of the [community parking district] program, we recommend that Economic Development develop formal, documented guidance that details the processes used to manage CPD funds and expenditures, as well as procedures needed to implement and monitor parking projects from start to finish."

The Audit Committee will discuss the report during their 9 a.m. meeting in the council committee room on November 20.

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

Quill & Arrow Law is Saving Drivers Around California with Lemon Law

Next Article

Clikatat Ikatowi returns to the Casbah for October 8 show

Venue saw the band’s last performance over a quarter century ago

There's a shortage of parking in some San Diego communities and the city's community parking district program isn't much help addressing that shortage.

In a recent audit, the city auditor's office found holes in the city's management of San Diego's six community parking districts. The districts, established in 1997, are managed by nonprofits throughout the city. Forty-five percent of annual parking-meter revenue goes toward funding for the program — the city keeps the remaining 55 percent. Currently, four nonprofits manage the six districts in downtown, Hillcrest, and surrounding Uptown communities, University Heights, and portions of El Cajon Boulevard.

In recent years, community members in downtown and Uptown have criticized the nonprofit parking districts for exorbitant salaries and high overhead as well as lack of results.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In 2011, a county grand jury found Uptown Partnership, the organizations that managed the program in Hillcrest, Mission Hills, and Bankers Hill, spent three times the amount on overhead as it did on parking improvements. That group was later disbanded and has since undergone reorganization.

Three years later, city auditors have taken another look at community parking districts. There's still room for improvement, for the city and the nonprofits in charge.

The audit report, to be presented to the Audit Committee on November 20, found the program to be run on "informal procedures." Because of that, the city is not able to "measure or monitor program outcomes to determine if parking meter revenues are being used efficiently and effectively. Without documented formal procedures, performance measurement, and monitoring, key program stakeholders are not able to assess if the program is meeting the goals of [the program]…. The processes used to administer this program have not been fully developed and documented to mitigate the risk of loss of institutional knowledge."

In addition, the city is not monitoring money spent on the program. Tracking revenue and expenditures on an annual basis, wrote city auditors, does not provide the community parking districts with enough information and performance measures.

"[T]he program lacks formal project management and oversight procedures to ensure city-implemented projects are completed in a timely and consistent manner. To improve program administration and to ensure the program is meeting the goals of the [community parking district] program, we recommend that Economic Development develop formal, documented guidance that details the processes used to manage CPD funds and expenditures, as well as procedures needed to implement and monitor parking projects from start to finish."

The Audit Committee will discuss the report during their 9 a.m. meeting in the council committee room on November 20.

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

San Diego Reader Best of 2024

A world-class museum, best drinking, best eating, best shops, ups and downs of Del Cerro, parent-friendly playgrounds, peaceful, eaze-y feeling
Next Article

The Eurovan man can

Best services
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