In Ongoing Conflict With Its Own Auditor-Controller, County Opens Investigation, Looks to Outsource Some of Her Key Duties; A-C Asks to Retain Outside Counsel | Lost Coast Outpost

Screenshots from the Nov. 23 Board of Supervisors assembly (clockwise from high left): Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez, First District Supervisor Rex Bohn, Fourth District Supervisor Virginia Bass and County Administrative Officer Amy Nilsen.

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The County of Humboldt has opened an inside investigation into Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez regarding delays in funds, cash transfers and reconciliations of accounts, and in response Paz Dominguez is in search of illustration from an out of doors legal professional. 

And that’s not all! Lower than two weeks after a long and contentious Board of Supervisors meeting — at which Paz Dominguez was within the scorching seat over these alleged fiscal fiascos — the County Administrative Workplace is seeking to outsource a few of her key duties to a non-public accounting agency at a price of $250,000.

Each of those hot-button gadgets will probably be mentioned at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors assembly. 

First, let’s check out the investigation. A staff report notes that such issues “wouldn’t usually be mentioned on this public
method,” however County Counsel Jefferson Billingsley desires the board to think about the sensible and moral implications of permitting Paz Dominguez to be represented by Cyndy Day-Wilson, a former metropolis legal professional for the Metropolis of Eureka who’s now in non-public observe.

Day-Wilson just lately submitted a letter asking to be appointed as counsel to Paz Dominguez. In keeping with the workers report, the letter got here in response to the county notifying the Auditor-Controller that she was being investigated.

The Board of Supervisors is being requested to think about whether or not there’s a possible battle of curiosity with the Workplace of County
Counsel representing Paz Dominguez itself. The report means that an “moral wall” could possibly be established by directing an legal professional inside the workplace to be “screened off” from the remainder of their colleagues whereas representing Paz Dominguez within the investigation.

The board can be being requested to think about whether or not Day-Wilson’s request “is a job inside the efficiency of the duties of the Auditor-Controller.” In different phrases, ought to Paz Dominguez be anticipated to cooperate with the investigation as a part of her job necessities?

Then there’s the difficulty of outsourcing. The board may also on Tuesday take into account a advice from the workplace of County Administrative Officer Amy Nilsen to rent Sacramento accounting agency Macias, Gini and O’Connell. The quarter-million-dollar contract could be for “monetary advisory companies,” together with many who now fall to the Auditor-Controller’s Workplace.

The CAO’s workplace is additional recommending that the county create a brand new place, chief monetary officer, whose job would come with managing the county’s long-term price range preparations, amongst different fiscal duties.

A staff report for that agenda item argues that these measures are a matter of fiscal accountability. Referencing audit findings from the 2019-20 fiscal 12 months, the report says that delayed reimbursements for state- and federally funded packages — which had been the principle focus of that grueling assembly final Monday — may negatively influence the county’s credit standing and its capacity to keep up companies.

Given the scale of the county’s working price range and workers — virtually a half billion {dollars} and greater than 2,400 staff, respectively — together with its big range of duties, the CAO’s experiences argues, “it isn’t unusual to have a chief monetary officer in an company just like the County of Humboldt.”

Since that place doesn’t at present exist, the CAO’s report suggests growing it and, within the meantime, paying MGO to offer quite a lot of monetary advisory companies. The CFO, as soon as put in, could be accountable for a protracted listing of duties which have vital overlap with the present duties of the Auditor-Controller. These duties would come with (from the workers report):

the direct administration and coordination of the county’s long-term price range preparation course of, together with improvement of inside service fund expenses; overseeing the county’s fiscal monitoring and management, income projection and evaluation, debt administration actions; growing long-term fiscal forecasts; recommending fiscal insurance policies to the Board; reviewing and analyzing the fiscal influence of proposals or tasks, and facilitating fiscal corrective motion plans. 

The CAO’s report additionally recommends using MGO to assist the Human Assets Division conduct a staffing examine, analyzing the worker wants of the Auditor-Controller’s Workplace.

Final week, supervisors Rex Bohn and Virginia Bass, who function the board’s price range advert hoc committee, introduced ahead pressing considerations about delayed funds, late fiscal experiences and looming deadlines that they mentioned had been threatening the operations of varied county departments, particular districts and native distributors. 

Over the course of about seven hours, the board sought to mediate a dispute that repeatedly noticed Paz Dominguez at odds with Nilsen relating to the county’s monetary administration.

Paz Dominguez has been arguing since before her election in 2018 that the Auditor Controller’s Workplace is critically short-staffed. Eventually week’s assembly she mentioned her workers has accomplished its greatest to maintain up with the workload whereas guaranteeing that expenses are correctly substantiated in compliance with state regulation.

The assembly ended with a negotiated settlement, of kinds, with county supervisors agreeing to share accountability for the accuracy of experiences to the State Controller’s Workplace whereas Paz Dominguez agreed to place a rush on closing out final 12 months’s books for the Public Works Division, which was up in opposition to a critical deadline.

Reached by cellphone Friday afternoon, Paz Dominguez mentioned the proposal to rent MGO seems to be a repudiation. 

“My opinion is that, sure, it’s in search of to outsource my operate,” she mentioned, although she added that she will’t be sure of the report’s intent with out listening to instantly from Nilsen — or from the county supervisors, saying they directed Nilsen’s actions. 

She questioned how the county can afford $250,000 to make use of an out of doors accounting agency but doesn’t have the funds to rent the workers she’s requested. And as for establishing a chief monetary officer, she mentioned, “I’d ask folks to think about that [the county] had the choice to institute a division of finance and a director of finance … and the voters mentioned, ‘No thanks.’”

In 2016, the county put a measure on the ballot, Measure Q, that may have consolidated the places of work of Auditor-Controller and Treasurer-Tax Collector into the Workplace of Director of Finance. On the time, Nilsen argued that this workplace would enhance effectivity, supply extra alternatives for worker cross-training and permit for higher succession planning.

Treasurer-Tax Collector John Bartholomew and former Auditor-Controller Joe Mellett argued in opposition to the measure, saying their respective jobs require distinctly completely different abilities and expertise. 

An accompanying measure, Measure R, requested voters whether or not the Director of Finance needs to be an elected or an appointed place. However Measure Q failed, 53.76 % to 46.24 %, rendering Measure R moot. 

“But right here we’re right this moment, pushing ahead to get a chief finance officer that performs the features of the Auditor-Controller, and placing [the position] underneath the CAO’s path,” Paz Dominguez mentioned. “Who requested for this?”

Relating to the interior investigation, Paz Dominguez mentioned she didn’t wish to get an out of doors legal professional however that Billingsley mentioned he couldn’t advise her within the dispute. A voicemail left with the County Counsel’s Workplace was not returned earlier than publication time, although it was after 5 p.m. when the message was left.

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