SANDAG oversight group pushes back on critical grand jury report

By Daniel Potter, a San Diego Documenters editor

The group tasked with overseeing the work of the San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG, is pushing back on some of the findings highlighted in a critical report released by the San Diego County grand jury.

That report flagged what it considered to be problems within the Office of Independent Performance Auditor, or OIPA, including being habitually understaffed, lacking independent legal representation and having a lack of transparency.

The internal auditors said that while they partially agree with some of the grand jury’s findings, they strongly disagreed with other criticisms and said actions have already been taken to remedy most of the issues.

Independent Performance Auditor Courtney Ruby said that while it has been difficult to hire new personnel, it has not negatively affected her office’s effectiveness as is alleged in the report. Ruby also stated that every time auditors have requested additional personnel, those requests have been funded. The agency is recruiting for those positions.

Ruby was hired as the agency’s internal watchdog in September 2023.

Addressing complaints about transparency, Ruby said that OIPA is “working on a dashboard” to make it easier to find the recommendations and status of issues listed in the Audit Committee’s annual corrective action report.

On the issue of independent legal representation, SANDAG deputy general counsel Amberlynn Deaton told the Audit Committee that there are several ongoing pilot programs designed to give the committee and SANDAG board members access to outside legal advice.

Correction, 5 p.m. Feb. 24: An earlier version of this brief incorrectly reported the agency’s status on filling additional staff positions in the independent auditor’s office. SANDAG continues to recruit for those positions.