Auditors find millions in contract alterations not brought to San Diego City Council; staff outlines code fixes

City auditors on Monday told the San Diego City Council that city staff altered contract spending limits by at least $15,000,000 without the council’s required approval and that a substantial share of contract alterations were submitted late or retroactively.

"Over each of the last few years, the city of San Diego paid hundreds of millions of dollars to outside contractors to provide goods and services," City Auditor Andy Henhouse said in opening the audit presentation. The audit team reviewed 157 contract alterations and identified three findings, Henhouse said, including that council approval rules in the San Diego Municipal Code were not followed in a portion of those alterations.

The audit's principal performance auditor said the team found that 11% of reviewed alterations had not been brought to council at all, totaling about $15 million, and that 19% of alterations — nearly $64 million — were submitted to counsel after the fact. "That puts…