Dear Editor:
Government credibility is seriously undermined when residents are led to believe that they and the public assets entrusted to government are protected by an oversight system that is structurally incapable of succeeding. Culver City currently has such a system. Yet meaningful reform may now be within reach.
Culver City today manages a substantial municipal budget, a growing roster of contracts and vendors, and increasingly complex financial operations. A city of this scale and complexity needs the same safeguard most well-run organizations of comparable size rely on: an Internal Auditor with the independence and authority to catch problems before they become scandals.
In its June 30, 2017 report, Culver City’s then-Internal Auditor, Moss Adams LLP, recommended that the City’s Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Program be independently managed by an Internal Auditor going forward. The report states that the City committed to fully implementing that program. The full report is available at www.LGEsquire.com/170630_MossAdamsLLP_FWA_Program_Report.pdf.
Moss Adams’s contract as Internal Auditor later expired and was never replaced.
The circumstances are complex, but former senior City staff altered the recommended FWA process so that they, rather than an Internal Auditor, would control its administration and avoid the independent accountability it was intended to provide. A detailed account and supporting documentation are available on my website.
For years, my wife and I have worked to put Culver City back on a path toward genuine accountability by championing Moss Adams LLP’s recommended engagement of an Internal Auditor. We recently asked all five City Council candidates to sign the Culver City Independent Auditor Pledge, committing to appoint an Internal Auditor who answers to the City Council, rather than City staff, and has the authority to administer the City’s FWA hotline and conduct unannounced audits across City departments.
The results: Dr. Franklin Carvajal signed the Pledge within hours of my request, and we especially thank him for that prompt response. Kimberley “Kim” Griffin, Freddy Puza, and Thomas Aujero Small also signed, and we thank them as well. Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin declined to sign, citing a general policy against signing pledges, though she said she appreciates “the spirit behind” the Pledge and the importance of audits, accountability, and responsible use of public resources — and we thank her for that considered response.
We remain hopeful that the incoming City Council will put words into practice and appoint an Internal Auditor with real independence and authority.
Les Greenberg, Esquire
