Dear Friends and Neighbors,
On this day, we recognize the International Transgender Day of Visibility to celebrate our community members who identify as transgender and recognize their contributions in our community. I am inspired by the resilience of transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming community members and leaders alike. Seeing my loved ones who are transgender live as their true selves is a joyful experience. Accountability means we don't only celebrate but support the flourishing of all people, where we honor all identities and value all stories with dignity and respect.
An important piece of audit work is learning from others. Yes, we spend a lot of time analyzing data, but we spend an equal amount of time talking with people and hearing their stories.
We find out what conditions are like in county programs from employees who work in those programs and from contracted providers and people who receive county services. We read volumes about best practices, legal requirements, and what other jurisdictions have done.
And when we bring all of these different threads together, we are dedicated to conveying the themes that we heard. We strive to honor the experiences and wisdom that people share with us so that we can present to the full county community information that is accurate, reliable, and useful for finding paths forward that are more equitable and effective for all of us.
This month, my team and I spent time reviewing how we have enhanced the ways in which we engage with others throughout our work. From developing tools to center equity in our work to being the first auditor’s office in the nation - to my knowledge - that has created and uses trauma-informed methods for engaging with others, we have done a lot. It was enriching to take a moment to reflect on the work we have done, and particularly gratifying to hear my team talk about the possibilities and ways we can improve our practices further. I share this with you because I hope it makes you feel as assured as I am that your county audit team is not only conducting important work, but is continually pushing themselves to do so in ways that align with ideals of democracy - where we work in power with others to build a more just world.
Commitments to equity and to improving the county aren’t just things we talk about, they are values we center every day as we work on your behalf to support government accountability and transparency. Right now, we are bringing these commitments to bear in our report-writing for our audit of the Joint Office of Homeless Services information systems, in our fieldwork for our audits of the Library’s work environment and the county’s budget process, in our initial work for our audit of the county’s contract monitoring processes, and in our assessment of the Auditor’s Office’s own history.
If you are interested in learning more about how we work and what we are working on, please apply to serve on my Community Advisory Committee. This is a great way to provide guidance to my office and to learn about audit work.
Thank you,
Jennifer McGuirk
Multnomah County Auditor
Apply for Community Advisory Committee
We extended the deadline to April 30, 2023 for the Community Advisory Committee. I am are welcoming for those who care and have interest in local government accountability and transparency to apply today.
Members of this committee provide guidance to the Auditor on the audit schedule, community engagement practices, and integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion practices into audits. The volunteer application can be found here.
Apply today or share this community participation opportunity!
College to County (C2C) Internship
We're hiring a Communications and Engagement intern for the summer to design equitable outreach and develop communication plans. The College to County (C2C) internship program provides professional development for college students from underrepresented communities and first-generation college students with paid summer internships. This month, Constituent Relations and DEI Engagement Specialist Raymond De Silva spoke with Reed College students at the C2C informational session about our internship opening.
We're welcoming you to apply or share with your network!
Application closes on April 2nd, 2023
