After Andrew Do: The County’s Steps to Re-Establish Public Confidence

The crimes of former First District Supervisor Andrew Do have sent shockwaves throughout Orange County, and led to inevitable questions about the steps the Board of Supervisors should take in response. We have heard calls for audits, changes to our contracting policy, and for the reduction or elimination of discretionary spending. I want to reassure the public that many of those reforms have long been underway.

It is incumbent upon the board to demonstrate that it deserves public faith in our continued stewardship of public funds. Do’s betrayal makes that a challenge. Knee jerk partisan politics must not drive our collective response to these depredations. Instead, we are moving collectively to further a desire for transparency in the spending of public dollars shared by the entire remaining board members. Both the county and the state have made important changes to the laws and contracting policies to ensure that the vetting process is fair and impartial. Additionally, the county is vigorously auditing the spending of discretionary dollars, an auditing welcomed by all of us on the board.

Among our reforms, for example, the county has begun publishing transparency reports on the county website. These show where all the discretionary funds from the federal 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that were allocated to the county were spent. Those reports can be found here.

Similarly, I have advocated for and would support a requirement that every remaining dollar of discretionary spending be allocated only after appearing on a public agenda and with a majority vote of the board. Every dollar of such spending by my office already went through this process, even before concerns were raised about Supervisor Do’s spending. I can assure my colleagues and the public that such disclosure and public scrutiny provides no impediment to timely and appropriately funding important projects of real benefit to the people we serve. Timely responses to specific needs are critical — which is why discretionary allocations exist in the first place and should not be ended completely. But equally critical today is a transparent funding process assuring the public of the responsible use of their tax dollars.

Two weeks ago, the county retained an impartial third-party auditing firm to conduct an audit of the discretionary spending activities of the First District during Andrew Do’s tenure. As board chairman, the First District falls under my direction during the interim period before election of a new supervisor. I am opening all the books and record of the office to the auditors to determine whether there are any yet undiscovered misappropriations.

The board also approved significant changes to the county Contract Policy Manual in late September. It requires that all county contracts that are not competitively solicited will require approval by a majority board vote. This includes all contracts entered at the discretion and at the direction of an individual board member. Furthermore, the manual update requires all board members to disclose a known family relationship with an officer of a nonprofit entity before the board appropriates money for or approves a contract with a nonprofit entity.

Finally, the Board unanimously approved an item by Supervisor Foley in September which directs the county’s Internal Auditor to conduct a risk assessment of all Orange County ARPA-funded contracts. It further directs the county’s Chief Executive Officer to require all board discretionary contracts be reviewed and approved by the County Procurement Office. By doing so, we add a further level of scrutiny and opportunity for staff to flag any irregularities.

At the state level, statutory changes, particularly Senate Bill 1111 and Assembly Bill 3130, have been enacted to identify and disclose whether there are familial relationships between members of the Board of Supervisors and individuals involved in county contracts. The board, of course, will fully comply with these new laws.

These changes in our county Contract Policy Manual, the audit of First District discretionary spending, and the audit of all county ARPA funding are the right first steps to re-affirm the board’s commitment to the people of Orange County. The citizens of Orange County elected us to responsibly handle tax money so as to maximize their safety and well-being. Through these reforms, we intend to uphold that promise transparently and accessibly.