The San Diego County Taxpayers Association (SDCTA) honored the best and worst in local governments’ use of tax dollars at its 12th annual “Golden Watchdog and Golden Fleece” awards dinner May 31 at the Town and Country Resort in Mission Valley.
The event brought together the region’s leaders in government and industry for a night of good-natured, tongue-in-cheek humor as they poked fun at themselves and the headlines.
Guests were entertained by their local elected officials, including Council President Scott Peters of La Jolla, who sang a live, modified version of the “Annie” musical classic: “The audit comes out tomorrow (bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there’ll be funds).”
County Supervisor Greg Cox and his wife, Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox, also starred in a video skit by Loma Media Inc. portraying the two at home running a council-style meeting to determine what they wanted to eat for breakfast. Pacific Beach environmentalist and former City Council candidate Carolyn Chase collaborated with Councilman Jim Madaffer to win a “dancing with the political stars contest.”
The annual dinner is the nonprofit oversight and lobbyist organization’s primary fund-raiser, this year bringing in $125,000 to put toward the SDCTA mission of promoting cost-effective and efficient government.
The association bestows “Watchdog” awards for efficient use of taxpayer funds and “Fleece” awards for poor use of tax revenue in the metro, regional and grand categories.
The winners this year in the San Diego Metro category are:
“¢ Golden Watchdog: City of San Diego for San Diego Medical Services Enterprise, the revenue-generating 9-1-1 emergency transportation provider.
“¢ Golden Fleece: A three-way tie between the City of San Diego for its lax management of Brown Field, the City of Chula Vista for its City Council receiving more than $50,000 worth of free tickets to Coors Amphitheatre events, and the City of San Diego for its Fox Canyon Debacle, a poorly executed plan to build a park in City Heights’ Fox Canyon.
Regional Category:
“¢ Golden Watchdog: The Otay Water District’s Recycled Water Supply Link Project. A revenue-generating project that redirects millions of gallons of recycled water from release into the ocean toward irrigating golf courses, freeway landscapes and parks in eastern Chula Vista.
“¢ Golden Fleece: The City of Solana Beach for spending an estimated $150,000 on the Proposition A zoning restrictions special election, when officials could have waited for the next general election to place it on the ballot at a cost of $1,500.
Grand Category:
“¢ Grand Watchdog: The county Board of Supervisors’ retiree health care benefits proposal that has saved the county an estimated $1.2 billion.
“¢ Grand Fleece: The San Diego Regional Airport Authority for its inefficient use of taxpayer funds in the compensation and relocation of executives as well as its lush dinners and parties at the public’s expense.
For further information, visit www.sdcta.org.