HUMBOLDT COUNTY, Calif. — The fifth and final report from the 2018-2019 Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury (HCCGJ) was released Monday. It is called, "The Mis-Fortunes of Humboldt County."
The report examines the steps Humboldt County government has taken to address independent consultants’ audit, review and recommendations pertaining to the Auditor-Controller’s office.
The report addresses public allegations from 2017, that the Auditor-Controller’s staff was reportedly not functioning in a manner that could provide for the responsible management of funds and accounting needs of Humboldt County.
As a result of those allegations, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors hired independent consultants to conduct an audit and review of the management of the Auditor-Controller’s office.
The HCCGJ reviewed the consultants’ reports, and the findings and recommendations they contained. They then investigated the steps that Humboldt County government has taken to address the recommendations in the independent consultants’ reports.
According to the report, the HCCGJ determined that there are many areas where recommendations in the audits have not been fully implemented, for various reasons.
For example, the HCCGJ found the Auditor-Controller’s Office has reportedly encountered a lack of cooperation from county staff in its efforts to carry out its legal responsibilities. They reported learning that proper training is lacking in many county departments regarding the government accounting requirements related to the responsibilities of their offices.
"An even greater concern is the opportunity for fraud in a number of county departments due to their poor cash handling policies and procedures, improper accounting and lack of accountability," HCCGJ Foreperson Joseph Kravitz said in a press release.
North Coast News reached out to Deputy County Administrative Officer Sean Quincey for response to the Grand Jury report. His full response is listed below.
We thank the Grand Jury for its work. We do, however, disagree with much of the tone of much of the report. There have been very serious allegations launched at the county regarding its finances over the last 18 months, and we have responded swiftly with numerous independent investigations performed by trained professionals, accountants and outside auditors into those claims. We are glad to report that NONE of these investigations have turned up any cases of fraud or misuse of public funds. The county takes very seriously its responsibility to safeguard public funds, and it is irresponsible of others to repeatedly accuse individuals and employees of misdeeds without proof.
For several months now the entire county has been working closely with the Auditor and several professional leadership and accounting consultants on many of the process-related practices detailed in the Grand Jury report. We believe many of these recommended changes are positive and will provide for increased transparency. And the county has invested heavily in the Auditor’s Office to ensure their staff and leadership are up to the task of taking on these changes and fulfilling their role in the organization. However, what has been stated in prior investigative reports delivered to the Board in open session remains true: we can continue to throw money at this problem, but it is going to take all departments, including the Auditor’s Office, committing to work together if we want to achieve real results.
In an organization that is made up of more than 2,200 employees and provides services to more than 130,000 residents we need to take care that any organization-wide changes we implement do not have any unintended consequences. These changes need to be done with care, collaboration, and consistency in order to provide for continued operations for both the organization and the clients whom we serve. The county is committed to solving problems and working together to achieve these goals.
Below are some of the investments we have made into the Auditor-Controller’s Office since 2017:
Adding 2.0 full-time employees to the Auditor-Controller’s Office over the last two fiscal years
$20,000 to improve technology (wiring) in the Auditor-Controller’s Office
Provided funding for out-of-county training of the entire Auditor-Controller staff
$15,700 for leadership and team development training for Auditor-Controller Office
Allocated $51,000 for new office furniture for Auditor-Controller’s Office
$9,500 for new computers and training for Auditor-Controller’s office
$25,000 for physically moving Payroll staff to HR and purchasing new equipment
$35,655 to conduct a Management & Operations Study
$20,000 for Craig Goodman, CPA to perform an assessment of the county’s accounting and budget practices
$68,000 for Robert Sesnon, CPA (IT and accounting specialist) to assist with the chart of accounts project
July 15, 2019
KRCR News
By Nazy Javid, Lisa Librenjak
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