sandiego.gov/get-it-done/outreach

Mayor Todd Gloria has turned to the Union-Tribune to paint an upbeat picture of the automated citizen complaint program Get It Done app.

Getting audit done

Facing a possible torrent of negative ink over a pending audit of the city’s so-called Get It Done app, the administration of Mayor Todd Gloria has turned to the Union-Tribune to paint an upbeat picture of the automated citizen complaint program. “Major changes are coming to San Diego’s popular smartphone tipster app Get It Done, including an expansion to allow parks complaints and new strategies to shrink a backlog of more than 38,000 complaints,” gushes the U-T account. The June 10 report is regarded by some city hall watchers as an inoculation piece, timed to beat the widely expected October rollout of City Auditor Andy Hanau’s takedown. So far, according to Hanau’s June 13 report of monthly audit activities, 1229 of 1800 budgeted hours of audit time has been expended on the in-depth examination.

Auditor Andy Hanau: 2/3 done with Get It Done audit.

“The objectives are to 1) Determine how efforts such as establishing service level commitments and enhancing customer communications may be used to improve overall satisfaction. 2) Determine whether consolidating customer service portals could improve the City’s customer service experience.” Not to worry, the U-T suggests. Without mentioning the ongoing audit, the story proclaims, “Since it was launched in 2016, Get it Done has streamlined the reporting of complaints from residents about homeless encampments, graffiti, illegal dumping, abandoned vehicles, flooding and many other problems. The reports are highly accurate because residents take pictures of the problems they see, and the satellite technology in their phones provides officials the precise locations of the problems.” But intrigue lurks. In 2020 — as reported here in January of last year but never mentioned by the U-T story — Deloitte Consulting got a $20 million contract on a 5-4 city council vote to run Get It Done. Subsequently, “Deloitte provided executive coaching services for [Gloria’s] successful Mayoral transition,” according to a disclosure required by state law. Then in April of last year, the council approved a marketing agreement between Deloitte and the city, under which Deloitte would sell the Get it Done software to other cities and give San Diego some of the proceeds. Lobbying disclosure reports show that Shawn Van Dyver, a Deliotte lobbyist and longtime Gloria ally, has been a regular donor to city council hopefuls, including Kent Lee ($650, December 31, 2021) and Joel Day ($585, June 24, 2021).

Toni’s pro cash

California Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins of San Diego, busy raising money from Sacramento special interests — including wealthy apartment owners — for her so-called Ballot Measure Committee, has renamed the group. No longer “California Works : Senator Toni Atkins Ballot Measure Committee,” the fund is now called “Protect Constitutional Abortion Rights, supported by health care organizations, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, and Senator Toni Atkins Ballot Measure Committee.” The revised appellation was filed with the state on June 13. Latest donors include PACE of CA School Employees Assn. with $10,000 on June 8. Under state law, funds gathered by such funds can be used for campaign costs, fundraising, candidate food and drinks, parties, travel, and almost any other ostensibly political work-related purpose.

Todd’s untowing

In addition to auditing Get it Done, San Diego City Auditor Andy Hanau’s troops are closely examining the city’s towing contract policy, which could turn into yet another possible source of controversy for Mayor Todd Gloria. “The objectives are to (1) Evaluate the financial, equity, and public benefit effects of the City’s Vehicle Towing program, and how those effects may vary under alternative vehicle towing policy and fee models. (2) Determine the extent to which the City monitors and evaluates contractor performance, in accordance with the City’s Contract Compliance Guide, Council Policy 500-03, and the contract,” according to a June report to the council’s audit committee.

What’s in a committee’s name? Toni Atkins knows!

Some 585 staff hours of 1800 budgeted have so far expended, per the document. Towing issues have of late been at the center of Gloria’s attempt to deal with homelessness on the street. “San Diego is planning a crackdown on abandoned vehicles that will shrink the amount of time it typically takes to remove them from roughly seven weeks down to just six days,” the U-T reported January 9. “The campaign, which is scheduled to begin this summer, is part of Mayor Todd Gloria’s increasing focus on quality-of-life issues that have frustrated residents for many years.” But that message was muddled by an April 22 Voice of San Diego account describing a falloff in ticketing of illegally occupied vehicles. “The decision was made during the pandemic not to enforce the vehicle habitation ordinance and continues to-date while litigation is pending,” city spokeswoman Ashley Bailey was quoted as saying. “A person may still be cited for other vehicle-related violations, whether or not they appear to be residing in a vehicle.”

— Matt Potter (@sdmattpotter)

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