Hundreds of items purchased with your tax dollars stolen or missing from city

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NEWS4SA
by Jaie Avila / News 4 San Antonio
Sunday, October 8th 2023, 6:00 PM GMT-7

SAN ANTONIO - Property crime across San Antonio is up more than six percent from this time last year. Most of us know someone whose had a car or something else stolen.

The city itself has been a victim, losing hundreds of items to theft that your tax dollars paid for.

Through a public information request, we were able to obtain a 32 page list of items the city marked as missing or stolen. In some instances the city filed police reports trying to get the property back.

“My granddaughter had her car stolen and it wasn't paid off," said San Antonio resident Mary Guerrero.

Many San Antonians are fed up with property crime.

“Now a days you commit a crime you're out in a couple hours, I don't think it's fair to the people that are getting victimized by that," said another San Antonian named Joseph Saenz.

The city's list of missing and stolen property shows another way taxpayers are being impacted.

Among the items listed as stolen: a tractor and grass cutter used by the public works department valued at $15,000. As well as a $17,000 all-terrain vehicle, a $2,500 landscaping trailer, a $1,800 walk-behind saw, and a $1,200 generator.

Also stolen were dozens of laptops, cell phones, bikes, and power tools. All items paid for with your tax dollars.

“It hurts everybody in the long run," Guerrero says.

The city also has hundreds of items listed as missing.

Including a $9,500 thermal imaging camera used by the fire department, three refrigerators, and a karaoke machine with microphone.

The city declined our interview request, but in an email, it said many of the items listed as "missing" were obsolete, worn out or damaged.

"The City of San Antonio is committed to being responsible with equipment it owns . . . from February 2018 to July 2022, approximately 0.1% of the items owned by the city were listed as stolen or missing during that timeframe."

In the case of the tractor and grass cutter stolen last year, the city reported it to the police. Both were recovered several months later and the city says they are now back in use.

The city says like most large organizations it puts tags on property and has a system to track it. Individual departments also conduct periodic inventories to determine what's missing.

Here’s the city’s entire statement:

The City of San Antonio is committed to being responsible with equipment it owns. Items are tracked and inventory is taken regularly. From February 2018 to July 2022, approximately 0.1% of the items owned by the City were listed as stolen or missing during that timeframe. The City is a large complex organization with a large number of assets needed to conduct departmental operations and provide services to the community. Like any large organization, items can be legitimately taken out of service due to damage and disposed of, moved to a different location or stolen and the City’s records were not updated.