County of Santa Clara Budget Inventory Items: A matter of accountability

Additional Recommendations 3

These recommendations are not explicitly linked to specific findings.

• R3
  Recommendation 1.1: Rejected by County Clerk of the Board Agreed The County should create a consistent set of The Board should discontinue the use of grant rules and guidelines for review and approval of versus sponsorship distinctions within the inventory item awards that meets their goal of inventory item program and adopt a two-tier supporting smaller organizations, considering agreement structure based on an award but not limited to the following: limit amount to be defined. Recipients awarded inventory item grants to organizations that do above the threshold (Tier 1) should sign not have an existing contract with the County, agreements with post-award reporting and set an annual $250,000 cap on total obligations, while those below (Tier 2) should inventory item grants that each Supervisorial be exempt. District can award. Civil Grand Jury Recommendations Management Audit Division Recommendations
• R4
  Recommendation 1.3: Rejected by County Clerk of the Board Tentatively Disagreed The County should require recipients to The Board should revise the Tier 1 grant provide annual progress reports and financial agreement language to define “proof of reports, and, if needed, the County should audit compliance,” requiring grantees to submit the organization’s expenditure records. itemized receipts and documentation of expenditures after the funds have been used. Civil Grand Jury Recommendations Management Audit Division Recommendations
• R5
  No Equivalent Rejected by County If the County does not agree with the previous four recommendations, then it should eliminate the current inventory item program entirely. No Equivalent Recommendation 2.2: Clerk of the Board Agreed The Clerk of the Board should hold an annual Inventory Items training for Board office staff before the Board offices’ application cycles. The training should explain how the disbursement process works, familiarize Board office staff with the grant management software, and clarify why certain documentation is required during the initial application stage. Sources: 2023-2024 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report, “No Strings Attached: County of Santa Clara Board Inventory Items,” June 11, 2024; County of Santa Clara, Board of Supervisors Management Audit Division, “Management Audit of Inventory Item Grants,” February 9, 2026. As part of the agenda for the February 10, 2026, Board meeting, the County Executive recommended that the Board approve the temporary suspension of the Program for FY2026-27. The Board disregarded the guidance and funded the Program at $5 million, to be allocated proportionally using an equity metric based on Medi-Cal enrollment. The equity metric description is documented in an “off-agenda” memorandum (County, 2026) (see Table 2). (Off-agenda reports provide background information that the Board requests on topics such as County programs, services, community conditions, and departmental updates. These documents are published for transparency and public access.) Table 2: Breakdown of Medi-Cal Enrollment by Supervisorial District and Allocation Amount for Inventory Items, FY2026-27. Share of Funds Based on District Medi-Cal Enrollees Equity Measure District 1 20.19% $1,009,542 District 2 36.76% $1,837,994 District 3 16.60% $829,946 District 4 17.56% $878,049 District 5 8.89% $444,469 Total 100% $5,000,000 Source: Data extracted from memo to the Honorable Board of Supervisors and James R. Williams, County Executive from Ezequiel Vega, County Budget Director, and Curtis Boone, Clerk of the Board, February 27, 2026. Other California Counties Have Similar Programs The Civil Grand Jury found that the County’s Program is not unique in California. At least six other counties have similar programs, but with more structured rules and rigorous controls. While other county programs operate under similar funding parameters, none directly mirrors the County’s Program. At the April 17, 2026, meeting of the Board’s Finance and Government Operations Committee, the Auditor presented the findings and recommendations of the Audit. The committee directed the Auditor to further analyze the Program’s equity metrics and sponsorships versus grants, and to present this analysis at the committee’s September 2026 meeting. The committee then voted to receive the report. The committee is targeting a Board discussion of its recommendations by mid- 2027. As of the date of this report, the full Board has yet to act on the Audit, electing instead to move forward with the Program for FY2026-27 (including the $5 million for the grants) without first considering the Audit’s findings and recommendations.