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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 08041987 - IO.1 e ~' _ 10 1 To BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE C ltra July 27, 1987 Cowa DATE: - CO ►'YF\/ SUBJECT: Auditing of Special Districts 1 �t� SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKI',ROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1 . 'Agree in concept to establish a program whereby if a ,complaint is received from a citizen alleging improper expenditures, misappropriation of funds, or similar accounting irregularities, a preliminary review would be made of the circumstances by the County Administrator and/or Auditor-Controller to determine whether there is sufficient , justification to pursue a full investigation of the complaint. Where 'such an investigation appears justified , the Special District would be contacted and asked to voluntarily agree to the audit/investigation and agree to pay for it. Request the County Administrator, Auditor-Controller and' County Counsel to outline a detailed program along these lines and present it to the Board for further consideration. 2 . Request the County Administrator to include in the Board' s 1988 Legislative Program legislation which would allow the Board of Supervisors in cases where a full audit/investigation appears justified to order the audit conducted and to order the Special District to pay for it. 3 . Request the .County Administrator to continue to monitor legislation which may be introduced to improve the auditing of special districts and advise the Board of Supervisors at such time as further action on this item is appropriate. 4 . Request the Auditor-Controller to report to the Board on the dollar value of reserves held by each sanitation district and sanitary district in the County and the amount of interest which has been earned by each such district on those reserves in the past year. 5 . Remove this item as a referral to our Committee. BACKGROUND: Our Committee has met with the 1985-86 Grand Jury, the Auditor-Controller, and representatives of several special CONTINUED ;ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE' _yy RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR X RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE X APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(SIr. Inc . Fanden ' Tom Torlakson ACTION OF BOARD ON August 4, 1987 APPROVED AS RECO{AMCNDED X OTHER ; VOTE OF SUPERVISORS - IHEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TARN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT' ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: County Administrator ATTESTED Auditor-Controller Ar PHIL BATC LOR. CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BY M382/7-83 _.DEPUTY u � . • a.w ny Page ` 2 districts on this issue. When we last .reported this matter to the ,Board we agreed to hold the matter in Committee to determine whether San Mateo County was pursuing legislation to authorize the Auditor-Controller to do more in the way of independent audits of special districts. We have now been advised that no such legislation has been introduced in the 1987 Session of the Legislature. We continue to be concerned with the fact that independent special districts authorize millions of dollars in expenditures with little public oversight and minimal outside auditing. We recognize also that legislation to require pre-auditing of the expenditures of special districts is unlikely to pass the Legislature because of opposition from the independently elected boards of special districts. We would like to see some mechanism developed which would require that any expenditures in excess of some preestablished figure, such as $500,000 or $1 million, require more intense public review or auditing. However, we are unable to identify any mechanism which can easily accomplish this except for the scrutiny of concerned citizens. We continue to encourage such public involvement in the affairs of independent special districts, but do not feel we can accomplish any specific requirements in this area without the cooperation of the special districts. One area we would like to explore is the possibility of providing a mechanism whereby Special Districts could voluntarily agree to have the County conduct an audit or investigation into allegations made by the public which appear to be serious enough to require such an audit or investigation. The Special District would also have to agree to reimburse the County for the actual costs of such an investigation. This has the advantage of providing a Special District an objective investigation into any alleged improper expenditures and yet does not require any additional County cost. We would also like to explore the possibility of seeking legislation which would give the Board of Supervisors the authority to order such an investigation and to order the Special District to pay the costs of the investigation when serious charges are leveled at a Special District and there appears to be no other means of resolving the allegation.