Joint Powers Authorities: Issues of Viability, Control, Transparency, and Solvency*

Vertical Joint Powers Authorities with a single controlling entity, such as a city council, have the potential to use this organizational structure as a shell company to avoid other legal constraints on the controlling entity and to obfuscate taxpayer visibility. Response to Finding 4: The Irvine Unified School District disagrees completely with this finding.

Vertical Joint Authorities in which the controlling entity transfers assets from itself to a Joint Powers Authority for the purpose of obtaining additional funding, or signs a long-term lease to a Joint Powers Authority to obtain assets, are avoiding transparency and are not acting in the best interest of the taxpayers. Response to Finding 5: The Irvine Unified School District disagrees completely with this finding. BOARD OF EDUCATION PAUL BOKOTA / LAUREN BROOKS / IRA GLACKY / MICHAEL PARHAM / SHARON WALLIN TERRY L. WALKER, Superintendent of Schools JOHN FOGARTY, Assistant Superintendent, Business Services / BRIANNE FORD, Chief Technology Officer EAMONN O'DONOVAN, Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources / CASSIE PARHAM, Assistant Superintendent, Education Services IUSD . . . providing the highest quality educational experience we can envision.