An idea by San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders on how to pay for a $10 million contract with consultants looking into the city's fiscal mess is raising eyebrows. KPBS Reporter Amita Sharma has more.
This week, Sanders suggested paying 70 percent of the consultants' bills out of the general fund which covers the city's daily expenses. And the rest, he said, could come from enterprise funds which pay for water, sewer and other services and are supported by ratepayers.
Carl DeMaio who heads the private think tank the Performance Institute says the idea is inappropriate because the enterprise funds have already paid their pension liabilities. He says it's the general fund that has shortchanged the pension system.
DeMaio: "And as such the general fund should have to pay the price for that mistake and bear the full burden of the fees for the investigation."
A Sanders spokesman says the mayor wants to do what's in the best interest of both ratepayers and taxpayers and expects to have a clear policy on the appropriate use of enterprise funds soon. Amita Sharma, KPBS News.
