Dear friends and neighbors,
Welcome to my first monthly newsletter! I look forward to connecting with you through the year to keep you updated on the work of the Auditor's Office. The mission of our office is to ensure that county government is efficient, effective, equitable, transparent, and fully accountable to all who live in our county.
You can read more about my first month in office in this month's newsletter:
- Inaugural Speech
-
2019 Auditor Schedule
-
Listening Sessions
-
County Building Access Audit
Auditor's Inaugural Speech
On January 3, 2019, Jennifer McGuirk was sworn in as Multnomah County Auditor. Read Jennifer's remarks.
2019 Audit Schedule
The County Charter states that the County Auditor’s duties include conducting performance audits of all county operations and financial affairs. The Auditor has traditionally released an audit schedule every calendar year. I am pleased to continue that tradition.
In 2019, my office will conclude several audits started under the previous County Auditor, Steve March, and start audits that I pledged to launch during my campaign for County Auditor. My priority to bring an equity lens into audit processes is being incorporated into the in-process audits as much as possible and will be a foundation for the audits that my office starts this year.
To be completed
Audits
- Cross-departmental County risk management
- Discuss the benefits of an ERM structured approach to managing County risks/opportunities as well as the challenges associated with implementing and sustaining it.
- Health Department Mental Health and Addiction Services Division
- Determine how well community mental health programs are serving individuals with serious and persistent mental illness.
- Health Department Integrated Clinical Services Division
- Evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the primary care clinics.
- Department of County Human Services' Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Services Division (I/DDSD)
- Determine how I/DDSD ensures that clients receive the care and services they need.
Special studies
- Report on results of 2018 County Ethical Culture Survey
To be started
Audits
- County jail conditions
- Adult care homes and facilities
- Accessing housing and homeless services
- County Workforce Equity Strategic Plan implementation
Special studies
- 2019 County financial condition report
The objectives of these audits will be developed closer to when they start. I will provide an updated audit schedule at that time.
I invite community members to reach out to me at any time with questions or concerns about this schedule or any other County-related matters.
Listening Sessions
Jennifer attended the following listening sessions to learn about County-related issues that community members care about:
- U.S. Senator Merkley's Multnomah County Town Hall at the East Portland Community Center on 1/2/19
- East County Issue Forum at Gresham City Hall on 1/3/19
- Multnomah County Legislative Breakfast at the Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Center on 1/8/19
- Constituent Coffee with State Senator Laurie Monnes Anderson (District 25) and State House Representative Carla Piluso (District 50) at the Rockwood Public Safety Building, 1/26/19
Audit Presentation: County Building Access
This audit was conducted under the prior County Auditor, Steve March. The objective of the audit was to determine if controls for non‐picture access cards are adequately designed to provide sufficient security for County personnel, protected information, the public and County assets.
Our audit procedures included visiting facilities and physically viewing the cards. Of these nearly 1,800 tested cards, we were unable to confirm, locate, or account for nearly 900 cards (over 50%).
During Jennifer's campaign, she pledged to prioritize audits that directly affect people’s health and safety. The key cards used to access County buildings have a direct relationship to how to help protect staff and the public when they come into one of our buildings – whether it is to work in them and help others, receive services from the County, or take care of personal business such as paying property taxes or taking a class at one of our library branches.
The County must achieve a balance between tight security that could limit access to the public versus access that may be too loose and unacceptably exposes people to potential harm. With budget constraints in mind, the County must thoughtfully analyze and choose what security measures reduce building access risks to a level that aligns with the level of security risk that is acceptable to the County. We are asking the COO under the Chair’s direction to establish a security governance structure and define the level of acceptable security risk.
Read the audit report on County Building Access