August Newsletter
Dear friends and neighbors,
In 2022, my office proposed amendments to the Multnomah County Charter Review Committee, an all-volunteer committee that studies the county’s charter. Their goal is to assess whether there are changes to the charter - the county’s constitution - that would better align it with county needs. This committee can bring charter amendments before voters.
Voters got to weigh in on two of the amendments my office proposed to the Charter Review Committee. My team and I were happy that voters got this opportunity. We were very grateful when voters overwhelmingly approved these amendments, which ensured my office’s access to information for the audits and investigations and created my office’s County Ombudsperson function. The ombudsperson is an impartial resource for county residents who need assistance resolving a problem with a county department or program.
The charter review process made these improvements to my office possible. The county is now recruiting members for the next Charter Review Committee. I hope you will consider applying to serve! Applications are due by 11:59pm on October 1st, 2026. You can learn more about applying and submit an application by visiting this web page.
Thank you,
Jennifer
We published our performance audit on county real estate purchases
On August 26, my office issued the report Real Estate Purchases: County needs to develop real estate purchase policies. We found that the county lacks administrative policies and oversight for multi-million-dollar land and building purchases, which may have contributed to potential overpayments totaling $1,180,000 on recently acquired properties. Senior Auditors Mical Yohannes and Sura Sumareh conducted the audit, with supervision from Audit Director Nicole Dewees.
My office initiated the audit following a complaint to the Good Government Hotline regarding multiple purchases where the county potentially paid over market costs. The audit focused on $50.4 million in real estate transactions managed by the Facilities and Property Management Division between 2019 and 2025.
The team discovered that the county lacks administrative policies regarding real estate purchases. Also, the county relies on broker price opinions—which carry inherent financial conflicts of interest due to commission-based structures—instead of independent, certified appraisals. Retrospective appraisals commissioned for the audit revealed that the county potentially paid $840,000 above market value for the Days Inn Motel site and $340,000 above market value for the Oak Street Village site. The audit also noted a lack of standardized due diligence procedures and inconsistent stakeholder engagement practices across county departments.
The report outlines several key recommendations for the Chief Operating Officer to implement by March 1, 2027, including mandating independent, certified appraisals for all property purchases, requiring board approval for all transactions over $1 million, formalizing due diligence checklists, and standardizing early stakeholder engagement across departments.
Community Engagement
CSN Rockwood Back-to-School Community Resiliency Fair & Block Party
On August 15, Constituent Relations & Equity Director Raymond De Silva, County Ombudsperson Cheryl Taylor, and I participated in the Community Services Network’s Back to School Block Party: A Community Kermés & Resiliency Fair in southeast Portland. Hundreds of people attended, and we got to talk with many of them about our office’s work to support accountable and equitable county government.
Montavilla Farmers Market
On August 9, Constituent Relations & Equity Director Raymond De Silva, Hotline Director Marc Rose, County Ombudsperson Cheryl Taylor, and Ombudsperson Intake Specialist Gelsi Tuz-Uxul represented our office at the Montavilla Farmers Market. This was part of our 2026 farmers market tour. Next month we’ll be at the Lents Farmers Market. Hope to see you there!
Invite Auditor McGuirk to attend an event or meeting
If you’d like me and or staff to attend or speak at a meeting with your community group, simply fill out this form.