Audit of the San Diego County Sheriff's Inmate Welfare Fund

Observations 1

• OB1
  Adequacy of IWF Reserve Funding Levels OAAS found that, as of June 30, 2015, the balance of the IWF reserve fund totaled $10,505,247. According to the Sheriff's Department, the IWF is managed with great fiscal responsibility which has allowed them to accumulate such balance in the reserve fund. In preparation of unforeseen events, the Sheriff's Department strived to maintain such balance to ensure that the services provided to the inmates would not be impacted. Penal Code Section 4025 does not require a specific amount to be maintained in the IWF reserve funds. This is a decision at the discretion of the Sheriff's Department. As such, the Sheriff Department established a policy that requires a minimum fund balance equal to 50% of its operating budget to be maintained in the IWF reserve fund. Due to the potential downfall in revenue related to the phone usage, the Sheriff Department may have to utilize the reserve fund to sustain program expenses in the near future. Further, the Sheriff Department is currently looking for other revenue sources to possibly fund the salary expense related to the IWF of $3.1 million which correlates to the amount of revenue that would be lost due to the pending FCC ruling. Office of Audits & Advisory Services Report No. A16-006 However, OAAS noted that while the reserve fund has increased over the year, a formal contingency plan to account for the use of reserve funds has not been developed. The Sheriff's Department should consider developing a formal contingency plan that documents the planned use of reserve funds to offset potential downfall in revenues. Office of Audits & Advisory Services Reliability Effectiveness Efficiency Accountability Transparency Compliance VALUE

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