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Controller'9s audit and investigative report prompt referral of CRA matters to district attorney and committee review
Summary
A controller'9s audit and an investigative report into the Community Redevelopment Agency led the controller to refer findings to the district attorney. Council directed expedited committee review with the CRA director, city attorney and controller present; certain investigative materials remain confidential pending law enforcement review.
Council members spent a large portion of the Nov. 28 meeting debating issues raised in a controller'9s audit of the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and a related investigative report. The council directed committee review and confirmed a referral of the matter to the district attorney.
Union and community witnesses described employee concerns about the CRA hiring private investigators and alleged surveillance. An AFSCME speaker asked the council to review invoices and practices. Controller (Tuttle) and Chief Auditor Jim Armstrong described the sequence: CRA management initiated internal inquiries and retained investigative firms; the controller'9s office later conducted audits and, reviewing the investigators'9 reports, advised referral to law enforcement.
The controller explained the office had recommended the matter be handled by law enforcement (District Attorney's Office), and the controller confirmed he had made a referral based on the audit plus the investigative report. "To make a referral to the district attorney's office" he said, "was enough to prompt me to do something which is unusual on my watch." City officials cautioned that some investigator-produced materials are confidential and may not be released without city attorney and district attorney approval while investigations are pending.
Council members voted to refer the broader matter to the appropriate committee for expedited review and asked that the CRA administrator, the city attorney and the controller participate; they also discussed possible closed-session briefings on personnel and litigation matters.
What happens next: The matter will go to committee for expedited review, with the city attorney and controller present as requested. The district attorney will handle any criminal investigation; confidential investigative materials will remain under DA/city-attorney review before any public release.
