Unchecked Spending: Alameda County Board of Supervisors Discretionary Funds

The dual role played by the county employee in connection with county donations, appropriations, and disbursements to OAW, as both a county employee and as co-founder, chief executive officer and a director of OAW constituted a failure of good governance practices by the County of Alameda.

The dual role played by the county employee in connection with county donations, appropriations, and disbursements to OAW, as both a county employee and as co-founder, chief executive officer and a director of OAW constituted a conflict of interest, in violation of Alameda County Charter Section 66 and Alameda County Administrative Code Section 2.02.170.

The process by which the Board of Supervisors makes donations to nonprofit organizations from county funds allocated to the Board of Supervisors through the FMRP constitutes a failure of good governance practices by the County of Alameda, in that (a) large amounts of county funds can be, and are, donated to nonprofit organizations without a competitive process and without written contracts; and (b) there is little if any independent oversight of the use of such funds received by nonprofit organizations. 2016-2017 Alameda County Grand Jury Final Report____________________________________ 44

The process by which the Board of Supervisors makes donations to nonprofit organizations from county funds allocated to the Board of Supervisors through the FMRP does not comply with the Alameda County Manual of Accounting Policies and Procedures, which states that FMRP expenditures have the same requirements as other expenditures of county dollars. The non-compliance consists of the Board of Supervisors failure to follow the county’s procurement policy and procedures for such donations that exceed $3,000.