The Audit Committee on Nov. 5 accepted the Office of the City Auditor's report (AU-25-013) on the Economic Development Department's service agreement with Greater SATX, finding EDD is monitoring contract terms but must improve validation of performance metrics.

Audit manager Michael Gutierrez said, "We concluded EDD is appropriately monitoring the agreements. However, there is a need for improvement on the validation of performance metrics provided by Greater SA," citing insufficient documentation support.

Why it matters: The audit identifies a control gap where Greater SATX provides quarterly numbers (job counts and capital expenditures) that EDD relies on to calculate payments. Without consistent supporting documentation in Greater SATX's records, payments could be made before EDD has verified reported outcomes.

Brenda Hicks Laurenson, director of economic development, told the committee that EDD has expanded its review process to validate quarterly job and CAPEX reports by examining Greater SATX's internal documentation, including email correspondence and other records kept at Greater SATX offices. "When we receive the quarterly reports specifically for CAPEX and for the jobs numbers ... Steph is going over to the Greater SATX offices and looking at their documentation that they have," she said.

Laurenson said staff will remove entries from quarterly reports if supporting documentation is not available and noted that payments tied to verified performance were adjusted in at least one recent quarter. The audit team recommended establishing written procedures for documentation requirements and periodic validation; EDD management has agreed and submitted an action plan with a completion date of December 2025.

Committee members pressed on two related points: (1) whether payments continued despite incomplete verification and (2) the city's planned shift toward a blended per-capita and performance-based payment model. Laurenson acknowledged that some external validations (announcements and joint incentive applications) had been used historically, and that the department will adopt the audit's suggested tighter validation. Greater SATX's CEO, Sarah Corabias Rush, said contracts remain performance-based while adding that a per-capita funding component is being negotiated to stabilize cash flow across the regional partners.

What the committee did: The committee moved and seconded to accept the audit report; the motion passed on a voice vote.

Clarifying details: The audit recommendation calls for (1) written procedures to require Greater SATX to provide supporting documentation for reported performance metrics, (2) periodic validation checks by EDD staff, and (3) consideration of revised performance-based criteria for future agreements. EDD management reported an action-plan completion target of December 2025.