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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.
Alameda County Grand Jury
• 2021-2022
BART Is on the Wrong Track with Independent Oversight
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings 6 findings
F41
Page 131
BART’s board and management interfered with the Office of the Inspector General’s performance of its duties.
F42
Page 131
BART’s board and general manager hampered the approval and implementation of a charter for the Office of the Inspector General, resulting in a lack of understanding within the organization that the Inspector General is independent.
F43
Page 131
BART’s board and management supported the labor unions representing BART employees to try to limit the independence of the Office of the Inspector General investigations by setting unreasonable conditions for engagement of employee witnesses or complainants.
F44
Page 131
BART’s Office of the Inspector General does not have access to independent counsel, administrative staff, and records storage systems as is considered best practice nationally.
F45
Page 131
BART’s Office of the Inspector General’s budget, set at an initial $1 million per year in 2018 by PUC Section 28842, is much lower than the budgets of comparable transit agencies’ Office of Inspector Generals adjusted for size. A mechanism for increasing the budget annually in the enabling legislation has not been used.
F46
Page 131
A potential serious conflict of interest exists between a BART senior manager and a construction management firm now under contract that employs the manager’s spouse and sibling. 131 2021-2022 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Final Report _______________________________________________________________________________________
Recommendations 6
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R56Page 132BART’s Board of Directors must adopt written policies that acknowledge California Government Code 1236 and require compliance with standards prescribed by the Institute of Internal Auditors or the Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States (known as the “Yellow Book.”).
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R57Page 132BART’s Board of Directors must adopt an Office of the Inspector General charter that expands on the spare language of PUC 28840 – 28845 such that the independence of the Inspector General is clearly acknowledged, and the roles and relationships are clearly defined between the Inspector General and senior BART staff such as general manager, general counsel, treasurer/controller, and internal auditor.
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R58Page 132BART’s Board of Directors must give the Office of the Inspector General unencumbered and confidential access to all of BART’s resources, information, and employees, while respecting the “Weingarten” right of employees to representation during an investigatory interview if requested by the employee.
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R59Page 132BART’s Board of Directors must provide the Office of the Inspector General independent access to counsel, administrative staff, and records storage systems.
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R60Page 132BART’s Board of Directors must increase funding for the Office of the Inspector General to the level of peer transit agencies such as LA Metro and WMATA, expressed as a percentage of overall operating budget.
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R61Page 132BART’s Board of Directors must update BART’s Code of Conduct, last revised in 2013, to make reporting of potential conflicts of interest more internally consistent and aligned with federal and state regulations. 132 2021-2022 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Final Report _______________________________________________________________________________________