Report 2019-127 Recommendation 10 Responses

Report 2019-127: San Diego County Air Pollution Control District: It Has Used Vehicle Registration Fees to Subsidize Its Permitting Process, Reducing the Amount of Funds Available to Address Air Pollution (Release Date: July 2020)

Recommendation #10 To: San Diego County Air Pollution Control District

To ensure that it effectively manages its complaint investigation process and provides accurate information to the public regarding the complaints it receives, the San Diego Air District should, by June 2021, establish policies and procedures that require staff to validate the information they enter in the district's complaint database. The district should also periodically review the accuracy and completeness of the data.

6-Month Agency Response

The Compliance Manual of Policies and Procedures, Policy 2.3, Complaint Investigation Procedures, (attached) was revised in August to incorporate all recommendations. Additionally, the BPR will be critical to enhance the reporting tools and implement systematic controls to maintain the quality of our complaint program.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented

The San Diego Air District revised its Compliance Manual to require that managers ensure the quality and accuracy of the complaint related data. The process requires biweekly supervisor review of a complaint report, and the Air District provided evidence of supervisors scheduling such reviews.


60-Day Agency Response

The Compliance Manual of Policies and Procedures, Policy 2.3, Complaint Investigation Procedures, (attached) was revised in August to incorporate all recommendations. Additionally, the BPR will be critical to enhance the reporting tools and implement systematic controls to maintain the quality of our complaint program.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Partially Implemented

Although the San Diego Air District revised its Compliance Manual to require that managers ensure the quality and accuracy of the complaint related data, the Air District did not provide documentation that supervisors conducted this review. We look forward to its 6-month response in January 2021 to review how it has progressed in implementing this recommendation.


All Recommendations in 2019-127

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.