Dear friends and neighbors,
In these newsletters, I often tell you about work my office has just completed on your behalf. And while this newsletter is no exception (see below for information on our annual report on the Good Government Hotline), there is a lot that takes place before we present our work to you.
For example, this month we started three performance audits on Corrections Health, jail visitations, and countywide gift card processes. The objectives for these audits will vary, just like their subject matter. But we use rigorous methods across our audits and investigations, regardless of the issue at hand.
These methods include analyzing what should be happening based on laws, best practices, strategic plans, and other guiding documents. We learn about what is happening by analyzing existing data and talking with people most impacted by what we are auditing, as well as with county employees at every level of the county government. Often we do on-site observations or develop and conduct our own surveys, or both. We do all of this work through a frame of trauma-informed practices, an equity lens that leads with race, active listening, and other soft skills.
In addition to spending hundreds of hours doing the work I’ve just described, we conduct a comprehensive fact-checking process for each audit or investigatory report. This process can be tedious, but it is extremely important. It helps ensure we are reporting to you accurately about your county government; it means you can trust our reports and use them to hold the county government accountable. The next time you read the highlights page or executive summary in one of my office’s reports, I encourage you to think of it as a resource for you - a resource you can use to advocate for improvements to our Multnomah County government.
Thank you,
Jennifer
Good Government Hotline Annual Report
This month we published our Good Government Hotline annual report for 2025. Last year, we received 87 county-related reports to the hotline, and 31 were reports of suspected fraud, waste, or abuse of position in county government. This was similar to 2024, when we received 32 such reports.
We investigated 18 reports to the Hotline in 2025, and incorporated 6 additional reports into a current or potential audit. Of the 18 reports we investigated, we substantiated 1, found 12 to be unsubstantiated, and have 5 investigations in progress. In 2025, we released two reports detailing substantiated allegations. Check out the annual report to read recaps of these reports, statistics about our 2025 hotline work, and information on how we process and investigate reports.
We’re looking for an audit Intern
Join our team as a College-to-County (C2C) intern! Do you know someone who is passionate about improving government systems? Are you that someone?
We have an opening for a Performance Audit Intern who will conduct research for an audit of the county’s bridge system and will have the opportunity to engage in professional development workshops. If you are excited about learning more about county government, performance auditing, and transportation, we encourage you to apply.
Submit an application by the end of the day on April 8!
qrco.de/C2CAuditIntern
Community engagement
Women in Sustainability Celebration
On March 4, the Multnomah County Board of Commission recognized and celebrated the contributions of local women throughout March during Women’s History Month. This year’s theme was “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future”, which included a panel discussion moderated by Commissioner Shannon Singleton. Senior Performance Auditor Mical Yohannes, Ombudsperson Intake Specialist Gelsi Tuz-Uxul and Constituent Relations and Equity Director Raymond De Silva joined the event and learned how women are shaping a sustainable future.
Leadership Portland
On March 18, I spoke on a panel with Portland Auditor Simone Rede and Metro Auditor Brian Evans, moderated by Oregonian reporter Shane Dixon Kavanaugh, at Leadership Portland, a longstanding civic engagement program of the Portland Metro Chamber. We talked about the ways in which our offices promote government accountability, recurring challenges we see in our governments, and ways that people can support government accountability. I shared my perspective that ensuring government is accountable takes all of us.
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.