Committee approves annual oversight report; plans survey, whistleblower review and audits schedule

The Citizens General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee approved its draft annual report covering fiscal years 2019'20 and 2020'21 and agreed on next steps for its 2021'22 work plan.

Peg Stevenson (Controller's Office) told members the draft report had been proofread and compiled and recommended approval for publication; the committee moved and approved the draft by roll call. Stevenson said the committee's office will publish the report and post it on the committee website.

Stevenson also outlined planned work: a public perception survey (she recommended focusing on a completed park project to simplify design), an independent vendor-led review of the whistleblower program, and scheduling of expenditure audits and public-integrity reviews. The Controller's Office is preparing scope documents and plans to contract for the survey in January to conduct fieldwork in late winter/early spring. Stevenson said staffing changes and a pool of prequalified vendors constrain timing, so narrowing to a single park project will speed execution.

On public finance, Michelle Duradi (Office of Public Finance) reported placeholders for a possible 2022 refunding issuance and follow-up issuances for recently approved health-and-recovery bond and Seawall-related projects; no firm timelines were available yet. The audits unit reported a planned 2018 Seawall expenditure audit and several upcoming public-integrity reports, with anticipated issuance dates in early 2022 to spring 2022. Stevenson and committee members also discussed active recruitment to fill vacancies to reduce quorum risk; staff asked members to send candidate suggestions.

Next steps: staff will work with Member Pantoja on selecting a park project for the survey, finalize scopes for the whistleblower review and schedule audits unit hearings for forthcoming reports; the Controller's Office will publish the annual report and circulate it to stakeholders.