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Extracted from Consolidated Report

This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.

Los Angeles County Grand Jury • 2013-2014

8. Property Tax Avoidance or Picking the Tax Payers’ Pocket?

67 pages
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Findings 8 findings

F9 Page 200
The categories used to describe the Place-Based components in budget and expenditure documents changed between FYs 2010- 11 and 2013-14, making it difficult to track expenditures by activity over time.
F10 Page 200
In Fiscal Years 2012-13 and 2013-14, all budget line items for the Place-Based Strategy were collapsed into a single line item documented as, Best Start. This provides the Commission and the public with few details about how funds were being used. It minimizes the means for First 5 LA management to expend funds in accordance with specific Commission direction. A transmission letter to the First 5 LA Commission presented more detail on Place-Based budgeted expenditures for FYs 2012-13 and 2013-14 however, this information was not included in the budget document itself and therefore not compared to actual expenditures.
F11 Page 200
Place-Based Strategy budget and actual expenditure information for all years reviewed do not represent Agency operating budget expenditures, which averaged $2.8 million per year for the first three years of the rollout.
F12 Page 200
Budget and actual expenditure documents presented to the Commission do not track Place-Based Strategy spending per each of the 14 communities being served. This practice makes it impossible for the Commission to compare the level of funding with the outcomes achieved in each community.
F13 Page 200
Not until FY 2012-13 did budget documents provide a greater level of detail as to how funding for the Place-Based Strategy was being spent. In that year, budget detail showed that approximately half of the funds were being spent on marketing, communications, and research and evaluation for the Place- Based strategy. 169 2013-2014 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY FINAL REPORT FIRST 5 LA SERVING THE COMMUNITY?
F14 Page 207
The Agency provided insufficient evidence to the Commission about the potential effectiveness of and challenges inherent in the Place-Based Strategy and its ability to improve services for children aged 0-5. It cited the work of private foundations, which may not be an appropriate comparison for an agency that receives public funds.
F15 Page 207
Documents presented to the Commission prior to the adoption of the Place-Based Strategy did not adequately list the potential impacts involved, including the extended period of time for results to materialize.
F16 Page 207
Implementation of the Place-Based Strategy and the Community Capacity Building work in particular, is time-consuming and challenging. It is difficult to measure the effectiveness of the Community Partnerships and their ability to improve services. Some Community Partnership representatives have expressed frustration at the slow pace of development and their concern that the implementation plans will not be funded once completed.

Recommendations 11