Humboldt County Grand Jury • 2017-2018 • Agency Response
Response to: Is Measure Z Measuring Up

Response to Grand Jury Report Report Title: Is Measure Z Measuring Up Report Date: 06/27/2018 Response by: Board of

Published: June 27, 2018 5 pages
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Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F6, F7, F8, F9, F10, F11, F12, F13

Findings and Recommendations 4 findings

F3 Page 2
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury finds that before the November 2014 vote on Measure Z, the public was told Measure Z would be subject to annual independent audits, but no such audits have taken place to date which compromises transparency and public trust. Response: Disagree All county funds are subject to independent, third-party audit on an annual basis, including Measure Z funds, and audits have been conducted each year since 2014. Those audits take random samples of the county budget to inspect. Measure Z funds have been subject to those audits. In addition, as stated in the Measure Z ballot language, those funds are always open for public review by citizens as wells as the Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Measure Z Expenditures. In the FY 2018-19 budget, the Board of Supervisors authorized an audit specifically on Measure Z funds and that audit will take place later this year. This is in addition to regular audits describe above, consistent with transparent and accountable Measure Z expenditures as detailed at humboldtgov.org/MeasureZ.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Page 3
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors instruct the County Administrative Office and Measure Z Citizens' Advisory Committee to form an ad hoc committee to create an ongoing process for increasing accountability and transparency in the tracking and monitoring of all Measure Z expenditures. This instruction should be made by October 1, 2018. Response: This recommendation will be not be implemented because it is redundant, and therefore inefficient. The county already uses an institutionalized process for monitoring and tracking Measure Z expenditures. In addition, there are details on the county’s website detailing expenditures of all Measure Z funds, along with contracts, quarterly reports, advisory committee agendas, applications for funding, and Measure Z-specific news. The Measure Z Citizens’ Advisory Committee is a volunteer board, and the members spend hundreds of hours over a few short months each year to weigh proposals and stay up to date on Measure Z. While the Board is committed to increasing transparency with regard to Measure Z funding, forming an ad hoc committee would unduly burden this dedicated committee with redundant duties. The county will continue to publicly provide information on spending and news related to Measure Z. In addition, once the aforementioned audit is performed the results of that audit will be made publicly available.
F4 Page 2
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury finds the failure of the Board of Supervisors to perform independent audits of over $50M in Measure Z funds allocated to date contributes to a lack of transparency. Response: Disagree All county funds are subject to independent, third-party audit on an annual basis, including Measure Z funds, and audits have been conducted each year since 2014. Those audits take random samples of the county budget to inspect. Measure Z funds have been subject to those audits. In addition, the county has been proactive in publicly displaying contracts, invoices, budgets and an interactive budget on its website in order to keep the public apprised of Measure Z spending. The County has an award-winning approach to informing and engaging the public on these matters. In the FY 2018-19 budget, the Board of Supervisors authorized an audit specifically on Measure Z funds and that audit will take place later this year.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Page 4
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors instruct the County Administrative Office and Measure Z Citizens' Advisory Committee to form a second ad hoc committee to develop criteria and a procedure to measure effectiveness of the funds allocated. This instruction should be made by October 1, 2018. Response: This recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted. The Measure Z Citizens’ Advisory Committee is a volunteer board, and the members spend hundreds of hours over a few short months each year to weigh proposals and stay up to date on Measure Z. Therefore, forming a second ad hoc committee would unduly burden this dedicated committee. However, the Board is committed to providing information related to the effectiveness of programs funded by Measure Z and CAO staff will require on reporting and application forms that recipients and applicants provide information that measure their program’s success, or lack thereof. In addition, this would assign additional duties to the CAO staff, which is the same size it was in 2007 and has never received any Measure Z resources for staffing. Finally, the county’s website details expenditures of all Measure Z funds, along with contracts, quarterly reports, advisory committee agendas, applications for funding, and Measure Z-specific news.
F5 Page 2
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury finds there is no current means of measuring or comparing the effectiveness of expenditures made with Measure Z funds, although “weigh[ing] the value of the various proposals" is one of the Measure Z Citizens' Advisory Committee's stated purposes. Response: Disagree Each outside agency that receives Measure Z funds is required to submit quarterly reports to the County Administrative Office detailing the effectiveness of their program(s). Those reports are distributed to the Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Measure Z Expenditures and posted on the county’s website. The advisory committee takes those reports in to account when weighing the funding proposals of future years.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
Page 4
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors assign the tracking and monitoring of expenditure responsibilities to an outside entity and an ad hoc Measure Z Citizens' Advisory Committee. This group should supplement the County Administrative Office and Auditor-Controller Office by January 2, 2019. Response: This recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted. The Measure Z Citizens’ Advisory Committee is a volunteer board, and the members spend hundreds of hours over a few short months each year to weigh proposals and stay up to date on Measure Z. Therefore, forming a third ad hoc committee would unduly burden this dedicated committee. CAO and Auditor staff will continue to track expenditures. It would be up to the Citizens’ Advisory Committee to recommend to the Board whether it would like to fund tracking and monitoring on an ongoing basis by an outside entity.
F14 Page 3
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury finds that the Measure Z Citizens' Advisory Committee has not been included in the Board of Supervisors process of allocating secondary funds, which is detrimental to transparency and accountability. Response: Disagree The advisory committee submits a list of projects it recommends for funding, and a secondary list of projects to be funded if additional funding allows. Those secondary projects are ranked. The Board of Supervisors refers to that secondary list to choose projects to fund. This process is efficient and ensures advisory committee input, while respecting the time of the committee, which is made up of volunteers.
No recommendations for this finding