Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Have you felt the subtle shift in the air? The sun is out and the leaves on the trees are mostly still green, but Autumn is undoubtedly in the air. With the onset of the Autumn Equinox and the balance of daylight and darkness, I’ve been reflecting on the nature of our work as auditors. We spend much of our time doing work people don’t see: we work quietly behind the scenes, researching, interviewing, analyzing, and writing. And then we bring our findings out into the light in order to improve services at Multnomah County. One of my goals as Auditor is to shed light on the auditing process, knowing that the more Multnomah County residents understand about performance audits, the better we can work together to ensure the County is operating in a way that is efficient, effective, equitable, transparent and fully accountable to all who live in our county.
Are you interested in learning more about the work of government performance auditing and to share your thoughts and ideas about Multnomah County audits? I’d love to see you this Saturday from 10:30 am - 12:30 pm at the Holgate Library meeting room for coffee, snacks, and good conversation about auditing!
Keep reading to learn about serving on the Salary Commission, the opening of Unite Oregon’s new headquarters in East Portland, as well as my office's recently completed audits and upcoming Board of County Commissioners presentations.
Best,
Jennifer
Unite Oregon's New Home
Mandi Hood, my office's Constituent Relations Specialist, attended the grand opening of Unite Oregon's new East Portland headquarters on September 7th. Led by people of color, immigrants and refugees, the Multnomah County Chapter of Unite Oregon works to build a unified, intercultural movement for justice in Multnomah County. It was a wonderful afternoon connecting with old friends and meeting new ones and enjoying amazing food and music. The event was a celebration of their new space in East Portland as well as a fundraiser to support the full ownership of the new building. Speakers including Unite Oregon's Executive Director Kayse Jama, Field Director Sushma Raghavan, Multnomah County Organizer Seemab Hussaini, and Portland City Commissioner JoAnn Hardesty, who spoke about the importance of Unite Oregon's work.
Apply to Serve on the Salary Commission
The Multnomah County Auditor is seeking three community members to serve on the Salary Commission. The Salary Commission sets the salaries for the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners, County Commissioners, the Sheriff, and the County-paid supplemental salary of the District Attorney. Eligibility to sit on the Salary Commission:
- Salary commissioners are to be qualified human resources professionals with compensation experience
- Members of the commission must reside in Multnomah County
- Elected or appointed County officials and employees cannot sit on the Commission
Apply to sit on the Multnomah County Salary Commission
Learn more about the Salary Commission
Upcoming Audit Presentations
My office has completed its audit on Intellectual/Developmental Disability Services. We will present our findings to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) on October 10th. (Meetings start at 9:30am.) We are wrapping up our audit on Mental Health Services and will present that audit to the BOCC on October 24th. BOCC meetings are public so you're welcome to attend or watch online. We can also meet with community groups to talk about these audits. You can schedule a time for us to meet with your group by completing this form.
UPDATE: The Mental Health audit is now scheduled to be presented to the BOCC on Thursday, December 12th.