We received this news release from Forde & Mollrich over the weekend and are publishing it in advance of Wednesday’s meeting in Sacramento where a State Assembly Subcommittee will decide whether or not to investigate what amounts to a taxpayer-funded partisan witch hunt over the Great Park.
The Republican Majority used sole source contracts and directed an investigating firm that wants the city’s permanment business to reach a pre-determined conclusion, often interviewing key sources too late which extended the taxpayer’s cost of the investigation and failing to depose sources who knew the score. The report attempted to make heroes of those who should shoulder a huge portion of the blame and ultimately, its goal was to uncover those who worked for or supported political campaigns of Larry Agran. These same council members now don’t want the light of their work looked into too deeply.
Here’s the announcement:
Orange County based public affairs strategy and communications firm Forde & Mollrich today released a detailed 28 page rebuttal to the Great Park Final Audit Report calling the Report “biased” and “a taxpayer funded partisan political investigation.”
The California Legislature’s Joint Committee on Legislative Audit (JLAC), The Committee which audits and investigates State and local government agencies, will consider a request to investigate the actions of the Great Park Audit Subcommittee on Wednesday April 22 at 9:30 a.m. in the State Capitol, Room 126.
In a letter to the Chairman of JLAC, Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) called for a State investigation of the audit stating “It appears that the City of Irvine’s audit was designed by the Audit Subcommittee to instead promote a partisan position and provide false information in a manner that violates the government and professional accounting standards associated with public audits in California.”
Unlike previous Great Park audits, which were controlled by city staff free from interference by Councilmembers, this audit was controlled and directed by a two member partisan subcommittee of the Irvine City Council composed of Republican Council Members Christina Shea and Jeff Lalloway.
The Audit Subcommittee selected and retained accountants and attorneys without approval by the City Council and conducted its proceedings almost entirely in secret, circumventing the open meeting requirements of the Brown Act.
According to a deposition statement by attorney Anthony Taylor, co-author of the Final Audit Report, the Subcommittee managed “day-to-day aspects of the audit” and “controlled the direction” of the audit.
The well-respected forensic auditing firm of Onsiko and Scholz, LLP, who performed a previous independent Great Park Audit, declined to participate in this audit. In an interview with the Orange County Register, Onisko said it was clear that the assignment would be used as a political tool. “Knowing the political climate in Irvine, I recognized that the way the project was going to be developed so the RFP could allow parties to steer it,” Onisko said. A request for proposal, or RFP, is used to solicit competitive bids for services. (Orange County Register, February 24, 2015)
HSNO, the CPA firm retained by the Audit Subcommittee admitted in their final report “we did not perform audit or other examination services as defined by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.”
A preliminary report by HSNO released to the public in January of 2014 contained so many false allegations and so much erroneous information that it was withdrawn in its entirety 13 months later when HSNO released their final report.
The most obvious of these errors was the claim by the accountants that $38 million in Great Park funds was “missing.” As mandated by State law, these funds were transferred from the books of the Great Park to the City of Irvine to be held in a special housing set-aside fund.
During those 13 months, the errors and false allegations contained in the initial report combined with more false allegations contained in a series of uncorroborated depositions posted on the City website provided fodder for the reelection campaign of Audit Subcommittee member Jeffery Lalloway and a $500,000 developer funded “independent expenditure” campaign to unseat his opponent longtime City Councilmember Larry Agran.
As a result councilmember Lalloway was reelected by a narrow margin and councilmember Agran was defeated in the December 2014 City Council election.
Stu Mollrich a partner in Forde & Mollrich said, “The Audit Subcommittee ignored the most basic state and federal standards for conducting a legitimate audit. The Audit has now been exposed as a partisan investigation specifically targeted at political opponents of the Subcommittee members and used to influence the outcome of a City Council election. State law prohibits the use of public funds for this purpose and it is my hope that the Joint Legislative Audit Committee will conduct a full investigation into this alleged misuse of public funds by the Audit Subcommittee.”
Forde & Mollrich served as a key consultant to the City of Irvine on the redevelopment on Marine Corp Air Station, El Toro and the development of the Orange County Great Park from 1999 through the end of 2012.
To read the full Forde & Mollrich rebuttal to the Great Park Audit Final Report click here: http://www.tenacitymedia.com/rebuttal_and_executive_summary.pdf
http://www.tenacitymedia.com/attachments_a_b_c_d_e.pdf
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The executive summary makes excellent reading indeed.