San Diego's city auditor is pushing back against calls to cut his department's budget, as the city seeks to close an expected deficit of more than $110 million in the next fiscal year.
City Auditor Andy Hanau released a memo last month urging the City Council to restore funding that was cut in recent years. He argued that further budget cuts would only reduce his office's capacity to find efficiencies that save other departments money.
The Office of the City Auditor was enshrined in the City Charter by a ballot measure in 2008. It operates independently from the mayor and City Council, releasing lengthy reports that dig deep into the operations of city departments. The office is also tasked with investigating claims of waste, fraud and abuse.
Hanau said his office offers a high return on investment, pointing to a 2024 audit that made recommendations to the Police Department on how to better track and control overtime spending.
"According to the Police Department, they expect those changes to save $9 million this year in overtime costs, which is one and a half times the budget of our office," Hanau said.
Hanau's memo includes a chart showing how his office's budget has been diminishing as a share of the city's total budget. In 2011, the office received $1.36 per $1,000 of city spending. In the current fiscal year, it's receiving $0.96 per $1,000 of city spending — well below the average of $1.50 per $1,000 he identified among 15 peer cities.
"The city and county of San Francisco requires that their city services auditor, which is their equivalent of our office, receive $2 out of every $1,000 that the city and county of San Francisco spends," Hanau said. "We just can't provide the coverage, the identification of efficiencies, performance improvements, equity improvements that these other shops can."
A recent budget forecasting report predicted San Diego will have to close a deficit of more than $110 million in the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1. City councilmembers are currently compiling their budget requests, which will inform Mayor Todd Gloria's draft budget due out in mid-April.
Hanau said the Department of Finance, which works under the direction of Mayor Todd Gloria, has asked him to cut 7% of his budget, which he said he cannot do without laying off or furloughing staff.
"Even though we're a very small part of the city, we help the city tighten the belt," Hanau said. "I think reducing our budget would ultimately cost residents and taxpayers a lot more in the long run."
