Dear friends and neighbors,
This month, I made my final presentation to the Board of County Commissioners on the budget for the Auditor’s Office. I invite you to watch my presentation here.
Here are a couple of highlights from the presentation:
Non-Departmental (Non-D) Community Budget Advisory Committee (CBAC) recommendations
I thanked the Non-Departmental (Non-D) Community Budget Advisory Committee (CBAC) for their recommendations about the Auditor’s Office:
- consider funding a part-time position for communication and community outreach
- ensure independence of the Auditor’s Office by tying their budget to the county budget, rather than leaving it subject to Chair approval, as this creates a conflict of interest.
I support these recommendations. As I have also shared with you and with the Board, an annual allocation to the County Auditor of no less than 0.75% of the adopted General Fund expenditures budget would put our county into alignment with best practices and would right size the Auditor’s Office. I am grateful to the Non-D CBAC’s members for meeting with me and for raising these issues to the Board.
Services provided
So far this fiscal year, my office has issued 15 publications that people can use to learn about county government and advocate for its improvement:
- 4 annual reports
- 1 new web page to elevate recommendations my office has made
- 5 performance audit reports
- 2 reports on the status of audit recommendations
- 1 investigatory report on county waste, resulting from a tip to the Good Government Hotline
- 1 memo asking the Board to advocate for implementing recommendations
- 1 journal article on the office’s history
We report on the work of the County Ombudsperson and Good Government Hotline every calendar year. In calendar year 2025:
- The Ombudsperson received 475 total reports and handled 161 county-related cases; in 2024, they had 203 total reports and 65 county-related cases
- The Hotline received 96 unique reports; 87 of them were county-related, and 31 of those reports were about suspected fraud, waste, or abuse of position
At the center of all of this work is you: our county community. We strive to center the experiences of those most impacted in our performance audit reports, and we work with community members one-on-one through the Ombudsperson and Hotline functions. All of our work is focused on improving the government so it better serves all of us.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you,
Jennifer
2026 Financial Condition audit report
This month we published our 2026 Financial Condition report. This is a recurring report that we issue every two years. New to this year’s report are dashboards that show how the county compares to its neighbors for various economic and demographic trends.
The report also includes:
- Detailed information about the county’s revenues, expenditures, assets, and debt over the past 10 years.
- Various economic trends which include unemployment rates, number of jobs, and businesses.
- Several demographic dashboards that reflect the county’s population over the last 10 years, as well as trends on poverty.
It provides a useful look back at historical trends and can help inform future decision-making. Most dashboards included data from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025. Operations & Audit Director Annamarie McNiel conducted the audit.
Community engagement
The Pathfinder Network’s (TPN) Community Resource Fair
On May 16, County Ombudsperson Cheryl Taylor and Ombudsperson Intake Specialist Gelsi Tuz-Uxul attended The Pathfinder Network’s Community Resource Fair. They had the opportunity to talk with justice system-impacted individuals, their families, and other community members about how the Ombudsperson helps people resolve issues with county programs.
People's Farmers' Market
On May 20, we were at the People’s Farmers’ Market as part of our year-long farmers market tour. Constituent Relations & Equity Director Raymond De Silva, Ombudsperson Intake Specialist Gelsi Tuz-Uxul, Audit Director Caroline Zavitkovski, Senior Auditor Mandi Hood, and I were available throughout the market to share information about how our office serves everyone in Multnomah County.
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.