S.D. Council Reaches Compromise on Independent Auditor

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published March 4, 2008 at 8:31 AM PST

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

The San Diego City Council has finally reached a compromise on a proposal to change to the way the city's independent auditor is appointed. The Public will vote on the charter change in June. KPBS rep

The San Diego City Council has finally reached a compromise on a proposal to change to the way the city's independent auditor is appointed. The Public will vote on the charter change in June. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

The independence of the city auditor is a key issue, since it is up to the auditor to blow the whistle if necessary on the city's bookkeeping. That didn't happen in 2002 when the city failed to reveal its massive pension deficit to Wall Street.

After weeks of negotiations, the proposal that finally got five votes to pass the city council will have the mayor's office appoint the auditor in consultation with the city's audit committee. The council will then approve the appointment.

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Council President Scott Peters says it is better than the current system which gives the mayor the power to do the books and hire the auditor .

Peters: I think the important thing to remember is that this auditor, once appointed, will report to the council and I think that's a big improvement.

The changing role of the independent auditor is just one of several key reforms San Diego is making as it shifts to a new form of city government.

Alison St John KPBS News.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.