sa国际传媒官网网页入口

It cost more than $97,000 to write, edit, print and publish 598 copies of a city-sponsored book detailing how the city of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 adapted during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of copies sold directly to consumers? Ninety-one.

Those are among the findings of an sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Office of the Inspector General report released this week that substantiated allegations of misused taxpayer funds.

鈥淭he OIG considered whether it is reasonable to believe, that in the event of another pandemic, someone would seek out and read a book of anecdotal stories as a guide of how to navigate such a crisis,鈥� the read. 鈥淥bligating the taxpayer鈥檚 monies to fund a book that promoted the administrative achievements during the pandemic and where a calculated value may never be known appears to be a waste.鈥�

鈥淐ity at the Crossroads: The Pandemic, Protests, and Public Service in sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥� covered the early days of the pandemic and how various agencies responded to the pandemic, protests in the wake of George Floyd鈥檚 murder, and the debate over the future of a controversial Juan de O帽ate statue.

In an interview with the Journal last year about his call for an investigation, City Councilor Dan Lewis noted the book frequently highlighted sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Mayor Tim Keller鈥檚 experiences. The book includes a chapter dedicated to Keller called 鈥渢he Metal Mayor,鈥� several dozen photos of Keller, an introduction written by the mayor and a foreword written by his wife.

But Keller鈥檚 name was largely absent from the OIG report, with just three mentions of the mayor. The report focused primarily on the costs associated with the project, a lack of documentation of how contractors were chosen and errors in official documentation.

Taking into account the total project costs, the price per book purchased totaled $141.17 each.

As of June 9, almost 500 remained unsold, with some stored in the office of a contractor associated with the book, a few held at city libraries and others still available for purchase at a museum shop.

Just 91 copies, priced at $19.99 a pop, were sold directly to consumers. Ten were sold to the museum for $10 each and at a loss, the report states, as the OIG calculated that each book cost $10.25 to print.

Anyone who asked for a copy was given one for free, according to the report.

In a response to the report, the Department of Arts and Culture said that, like free Summerfest events, the Twinkle Light parade, and public art projects, the goal of the book was not to make money. The response added the book was not intended to pump up the administration, but to promote 鈥渢he voices of sa国际传媒官网网页入口.鈥�

In a statement to the Journal, Arts and Culture Director Shelle Sanchez said the department stands by the book, the author and the effort behind it. Sanchez said the department regularly publishes or co-publishes books about arts, culture and 鈥渆xceptional times,鈥� and will continue to do so.

鈥淏ooks like this one are important and lasting resources,鈥� Sanchez said. 鈥�... We strongly object to the Office of the Inspector General equating 鈥榤isuse or waste鈥� with 鈥榩rofit,鈥� as it is inaccurate and misleading.鈥�

The report states that when asked if the city expected the book to sell, a project manager 鈥� who was later offered an unclassified position at the city 鈥� had this response.

鈥淕reat question,鈥� they responded. 鈥淭he City is not a bookseller.鈥�

The contractor was identified only as employee 1, or E1, in the report. But in 2022, the Journal reported that Amanda Sutton was contracted by the city to work as a project manager for 鈥淐ity at the Crossroads鈥� and later began working for the city in a permanent capacity. According to her LinkedIn, she started as a 鈥淪pecial Projects Manager鈥� for the city of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 in July 2022.

E1 was paid $44,190, or $90 per hour, for work on the book, and $5,760 from other projects with the city.

E1 described the writing process as 鈥渃haotic,鈥� adding that it was sometimes 鈥渦nclear on who was directing.鈥�

As the Department of Arts and Culture and the administration asked for more and more additions, including forewords, appendices and essays, they 鈥渟tarted feeling the book became a 鈥榢itchen sink,鈥欌�� and the additional information, not written by the main author, would make the book not make sense.

The book was written by former sa国际传媒官网网页入口 columnist Joline Gutierrez Krueger, who was paid $44,700, or $60 per hour, by the city of sa国际传媒官网网页入口. Gutierrez Krueger contracted with the city while still employed by the Journal 鈥� a violation of company policy that prohibits moonlighting for government entities to avoid conflicts of interest.

Former Journal Editor Karen Moses wrote in a column that the 2018 freelance policy prohibits writing for 鈥渁ny organization or person related to a political party, candidate, or government agency.鈥�

Gutierrez Krueger said she was already planning to retire at the time and knew the book would be published after her departure from the Journal. She said there was a 鈥渃lear, red line鈥� between her Journal column and the work on the book, which she said was completed on her own time, and she was not in contact with the Mayor鈥檚 Office besides interviews.

Gutierrez Krueger said she didn鈥檛 think there was a conflict of interest during her time at the Journal. She said she was honored to be selected as the author and bring to light the work public officials took to 鈥渒eep the city afloat鈥� during the pandemic.

鈥淭he joy of writing it, for me, was writing these stories,鈥� Gutierrez Krueger said.

She added she wasn鈥檛 interviewed by the OIG, and said the original call for an investigation came from people with 鈥減olitical agendas.鈥�

鈥淚 think one of the reasons the book struggled is people made criticisms of the book without reading it,鈥� Gutierrez Krueger said.

Almost a year ago, Lewis asked for a probe into the book to identify if the purchase violated city purchasing rules and had any public purpose.

Lewis said Thursday there was evidence of misuse that warranted looping in the OIG, and rejected that his call for an investigation was politically motivated. Lewis said it is routine for councilors to refer potential issues to the office.

鈥淚鈥檓 just doing my job,鈥� Lewis said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not running for anything.鈥�

Lewis said he thought the investigation should be escalated. He said the City Council should consider censure or pushing the administration to adopt the several recommendations made by the OIG for future projects. He said he was considering reaching out to the FBI or the U.S. Attorney General鈥檚 Office for a higher level investigation.

鈥淢aybe then this administration would take it seriously,鈥� Lewis said.

Lewis cited the department response characterizing part of the OIG report as a 鈥渟hort book review鈥� as evidence the administration was 鈥渕ocking鈥� the office.

Certain allegations, including that the city鈥檚 contract with the nonprofit One sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Fund violated the anti-donation clause, went unsubstantiated by the report. Each book purchase contributed about $2 to the fund.

Besides the misuse of funds, the report found that One sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Fund鈥檚 experience in printing and publishing books was overstated in the memorandum of understanding between the nonprofit and the city.