2016 21st Annual Goldens
GRAND GOLDEN WATCHDOG AWARD:
Poseidon Water & San Diego County Water Authority: Carlsbad Desalination Project
The $1 billion Carlsbad Desalination Project is a public-private partnership designed to enhance local water supply reliability through construction of the nation's largest seawater desalination plant. Commercial operations began in December 2015, providing a drought-proof source of water that has eased emergency water-use mandates. It has been a long, long road to opening this project -- and the Taxpayers have been behind it every step of the way. #WaterWaterEverywhere
REGIONAL GOLDEN WATCHDOG AWARD:
San Diego County Regional Airport Authority: Consolidated Rental Car Center
The Consolidated Rental Car Center at San Diego International Airport is a win-win-win-win for rental car customers, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, the community, and the environment. This $316 million project was built on time and under budget. Opened on January 20, it’s a 2-million-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility housing most of the rental car companies serving SAN in one central location. #LooksNiceToo
METRO GOLDEN WATCHDOG AWARD:
City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department: Fast Response Squad (FRS)
The Fast Response Squad (FRS) is an alternative fire and emergency medical service from the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. The FRS uses specially equipped trucks with a fire captain and firefighter/paramedic to respond more quickly to emergencies in areas without sufficient coverage from existing fire stations. An FRS costs an astonishing $1.14 million dollars less per shift than a full unit, and the implementation of FRS has reduced citywide average response times by 14 seconds. #MoreBangLessBuck
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP AWARD:
Office of the City Attorney, Alpha Project and the Urban Corps of San Diego County: San Diego Community Justice Initiative
The City Attorney’s Office is able to focus on bigger and more serious crimes by triaging low-level misdemeanors with the Community Justice Initiative. If eligible for the initiative, a defendant can enter a guilty plea and be referred to either Alpha Project or Urban Corps of San Diego County to complete 16 hours of community service. The charges are dismissed after the defendant satisfies all conditions of the program, and never appear on the participant’s record. The City saves time and taxpayer money to prosecute bigger crimes. #Justice4All
YOU'RE ALMOST THERE AWARD:
California Public Utilities Commission: Reopening the Case on the San Onofre Nuclear Plant
Earlier this year, the California Public Utilities Commission reopened the 2014 agreement approved that assigned to ratepayers the lion’s share of the multibillion-dollar cost for the premature shutdown of the failed San Onofre nuclear power plant. #BetterLateThanNever
MEDIA WATCHDOG AWARD:
Lauryn Schroeder, U-T San Diego
“How one firefighter made $210K in OT”
GRAND GOLDEN FLEECE Award:
San Dieguito Union High School District: Teacher Labor Contract
In December 2015, the San Dieguito High School District Administration and Board negotiated one of the largest raises for its teachers, retroactive to summer 2015. The contract guarantees that SDUHSD teachers would continue to be the highest paid teachers in the county during the contract period — irrespective of teacher performance, student success or the district’s financial stability. The contract also allows class size averages to increase by up to five students per high school class and six students per middle school class, significantly upping their current respective maximum class sizes of 32 and 29. To make matters worse, a month later, the Superintendent negotiated the exact same raise and terms for himself. As a result of this exceedingly generous deal, by fiscal year 2018, the district’s reserves are projected to be reduced by more than half, from more than 22 percent of the budget to approximately 10 percent. #YouGetanF
REGIONAL FLEECE Award:
Poway Unified School District: Too Hard to Choose
Lately, Poway Unified has been a perennial favorite of the Goldens. In the last year alone, the District received a scathing report from an outside contractor regarding its IT services, managed to accidentally release thousands of students’ personal information to a parent who filed a Public Records Request Act, continues to keep the firm that sold it $1 billion worth of CABs on its payroll and has paid the firm double the contract in half the time of the contract, and has had its superintendent on paid leave since April pending an audit of his employment contract! #MoMoneyMoProblems
METRO FLEECE Award:
City of Encinitas: Density Bonus Lawsuits
The City of Encinitas has a track record of opposing new development. In the midst of a housing crisis, evidence came forward proving the City had violated state affordable housing regulations, resulting in local developers suing the City. Nice going, Encinitas! #HereComestheNeighborhood