Officers can keep add-on pay if training lapses

In a February 2014 report, San Diego City Auditor Eduardo Luna made a suggestion for the police department — use a tracking system to make sure that officers receiving extra pay for added training don’t retain the higher pay after their training certification lapses.

The department agreed to put the system in place by December 2015.

There’s been a change in plans, according to a new report from the auditor. On March 26 of this year, the department rescinded the requirement that officers re-qualify for the higher pay when their certification lapses.

“Officers will no longer need to requalify to continue receiving the add-on pay,” the auditor said in his twice-yearly report on how city departments are doing at meeting his recommendations. “Due to this change in policy, the recommendation to automate the process of tracking requalification dates ... is no longer applicable.”

Other recommendations from Luna that are still in the works include one from a 2011 report in which auditors advised the Public Works Department’s Fleet Services Division to keep track of take-home vehicle maintenance and fuel expenses so it can recover costs from employees if necessary. The division planned to do so by August 2012, but updating its tracking system was more complicated than expected, so it set a new target date for the end of 2017.

In a 2012 report, auditors recommended that the Development Services Department immediately add new controls to its project tracking system so employees don’t have direct access to make “inappropriate modifications.” The department and auditors initially disagreed on a target date to make the changes, but have since agreed to shoot for May 2017.

While many recommendations remained outstanding, the auditor’s report said “significant progress has been made by the Administration to implement audit recommendations.” The city agreed to implement all 23 new recommendations auditors made in 9 reports issued during the last half of 2015.

“We greatly appreciate the Administration’s efforts as they have demonstrated a commitment to implementing audit recommendations to improve City operations and mitigate the risks identified during audits,” the report said.