Report 2011-118/2011-613 Recommendations and Responses in 2015-041
Report 2011-118/2011-613: Conduit Bond Issuers: Issuers Complied With Key Bond Requirements, but Two Joint Powers Authorities' Compensation Models Raise Conflict-of-Interest Concerns
| Department | Number of Years Reported As Not Fully Implemented | Total Recommendations to Department | Not Implemented After One Year | Not Implemented as of 2014-041 Response | Not Implemented as of Most Recent Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Statewide Communities Development Authority | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Recommendation To: Statewide Communities Development Authority, California
To be better informed about the compensation of their consultants, including any potential conflicts of interest, California Communities and Municipal Finance should require the consulting firms that staff their organizations to disclose the amount and structure of compensation provided to individual consultants, including disclosing whether any of this compensation is tied to the volume of bond sales.
Response
On October 11, 2012 California Communities Legal Counsel submitted a report, and the California Communities Commission adopted the recommendation to amend the HB Capital contract. As the report outlined, the amendment requires that HB Capital, acting as staff to California Communities, not compensate it employees in any manner tied to bond volume or number or transactions completed. California Communities has been informed by HB Capital that this amendment reflects HB Capital's past and current practices concerning individual employee compensation.
The Commission also considered the related recommendation that HB Capital be required by contract to disclose the amount of compensation paid to each of its employees. The Commission concluded that this recommendation was neither necessary nor appropriate.
California Communities has hired an Executive Director who is engaged by contract at an hourly rate of $115 per hour, and for 2014 her compensation as disclosed in California Communities annual financial statements was $62,493.88.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Will Not Implement
- Response Date: September 2015
Recommendation To: Statewide Communities Development Authority, California
In implementing its January 2012 contracting policy, California Communities should either periodically subject existing contracts to competitive bidding or perform some other price comparison analysis to ensure that the public funds it oversees are used effectively.
Response
A new program administrator contract was awarded on December 4, 2014 to Bridge Strategic Partners for a 3.5 year term effective July 1, 2015. The contract is attached. With the award of this contract, CSCDA has demonstrated that all service contracts are competitively bid.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
- Completion Date: July 2015
- Response Date: September 2015