The fight continues.
First let me apologize mightily for not researching this part of the issue more rigorously myself. I’m smack in the middle of figuring out final grades for my USC and UC Irvine journalism classes, and those tasks hold the high card with my time for the next couple of days.
So instead of any pithy opinions from me, we have a new volley from the participants, or rather from their spokespersons.
Yesterday I posted an email from Laura Chick’s communications director, Rob Wilcox who was replying to comments made last week by Rocky Delgadillo’s communications director, Nick Velasquez, about how many times Chick had or had not audited Delgadillo in the past.
Later yesterday, Velasquez came back with a rebuttal, which is posted below:
Enough with the straw man fallacies, Mr. Wilcox.
Let’s stick to the facts.
Over the past 7.5 years, the Office of the City Attorney has been subjected to 33 fiscal audits by the City Controller. That’s right, 33.
The majority of these audits fall under the Controller’s Internal Control Certification Program (ICCP) — a comprehensive audit of various components of our Office’s financial operations.
The ICCP provides Departments/Offices that successfully pass the audit with more flexibility and independence in the way they do business.
The ICCP is not a one time deal. The Controller reviews and scores the Departments’/Offices’ fiscal operations several times each year in follow-up audits.
If a Department does not pass, fiscal certification is taken away and more restrictive financial controls are put in place.
Prior to 2001, the Office of the City Attorney had failed its ICCP audits and had not achieved fiscal certification.
In 2002, under a new administration, the Office of the City Attorney became certified (passing the ICCP audit) and has maintained such certification since, passing every one of the many ICCP audits conducted in subsequent years.
The Controller’s Office has conducted the ICCP reviews/audits more than two dozen times over the last 7.5 years in the City Attorney’s Office alone. All data released by the Controller’s auditing staff is available upon request.
In addition to these ICCP audits, a petty cash audit, Dispute Resolution Program audit and Bank Account audit have been conducted as well, bringing the total number of audits to 33 over the past 7.5 years. 33 audits.
Nick Velasquez
Director of Communications
Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office
Alright, gentlemen (and Madam Controller), I humbly recommend that, before we take this line of discussion any further, perhaps everyone could take a minute in the office and do, say, 100 stomach crunches and four or five sets of pushups.
Admittedly, it won’t solve the To Audit or Not to Audit question, but at least it will promote upper body strength, muscle tone and cardiovascular health, all worthy goals to which to aspire as we bushwhack through this holiday season on our way to the brave new year.