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Supervisors ask staff to scope independent forensic audit and ethics review, continue items to Dec. 3
Summary
Vice Chair Chaffee and Supervisor Sarmiento asked staff to pursue options for an independent forensic audit of contracts tied to former Supervisor Andrew Do and to strengthen whistleblower, procurement and ethics oversight. The board continued both items to Dec. 3 to allow staff to return with scope, costs and recommended language.
Two related items seeking stronger independent review of contracting and ethics oversight dominated the late portion of the Nov. 19 meeting.
Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento asked the board to direct internal audit to solicit proposals and report back on hiring an independent external forensic audit firm to investigate contracts that were directed or influenced by former Supervisor Andrew Do, with a competitive solicitation for scope and cost. Sarmiento said the purpose was to provide an objective, outside review of whether there were gaps the county’s internal reviews missed.
Vice Chair Chaffee offered a complementary draft policy that would reaffirm the county’s code of ethics, expand expectations for disclosures by contractors and supervisors, and ask the Office of Campaign Finance and Ethics to provide quarterly audits of required disclosures and timely reports to the board. His draft would also ask for protections for whistleblowers and consideration of debarment or other sanctions for contractors who violate disclosure rules.
Staff reported multiple ongoing, overlapping review efforts: internal audit’s ARPA-related assessment (a 90‑day deliverable), MGO’s governance review, county procurement and county counsel contract reviews, and litigation-related forensic work being conducted by counsel for judicial proceedings. The internal auditor said covering every one of more than 2,000 contracts exhaustively within 90 days would require contracting the work out or reprioritizing internal workloads.
The board directed staff to return with a clear, consolidated set of actions and options. Supervisors asked for a staff memo listing discrete, actionable directions (what staff would be asked to do and the expected deliverables), and the board continued both items to the Dec. 3 meeting to allow staff to prepare scope, cost estimates and any proposed ordinance language (for ethics, disclosure audits, or debarment mechanisms).
What happens next: Staff (internal audit, county counsel, procurement, and the Office of Campaign Finance and Ethics) will prepare a supplemental memo framing specific actions and provide recommendations and cost estimates for an independent external audit and for tighter disclosure/ethics procedures by Dec. 3.
