Are OC Supervisors About to Tighten Up Public Contracts After Bribery Scandal?

After a erstwhile Orange County supervisor pled blameworthy to taking bribes implicit nationalist contracts, region leaders are present considering reorganizing their purchasing agents nether the CEO – an enactment that could marque it harder for nationalist spending to beryllium improperly manipulated. 

The projected displacement besides comes connected the heels of a imaginable fund shortfall conscionable arsenic region leaders motorboat a bid of investigations into the fallout of erstwhile Supervisor Andrew Do improperly influencing millions of dollars successful contracts. 

[Read: What’s Changed After An Orange County Supervisor Pleaded Guilty to Bribery?]

Now, region CEO Michelle Aguirre is proposing to alternatively enactment each the county’s purchasing officers nether her purview. 

Right now, 189 purchasing agents are scattered crossed the county’s 22 agencies and departments, who enactment successful those departments and study connected their purchases to the CEO’s office. 

They’re liable for overseeing each bids for contracts passim the county, overseeing astatine slightest 400 bids successful the past 2 years according to their contracting database. 

Many of those ne'er travel earlier the region committee of supervisors, with the website noting that “formal” declaration awards connected agendas person to beryllium worthy implicit $200,000. 

The section has won the grant for excellence successful procurement from the National Procurement Institute each twelvemonth for the past decennary according to the region website – adjacent arsenic FBI investigations raised reddish flags implicit however contracts were being monitored. 

The petition calls for supervisors to “approve phased reorganization of County’s procurement relation to County Executive Office and displacement each procurement unit to County Procurement Office.” 

Buried halfway done a 110 leafage supplemental docket for today’s supervisor meeting, officials outlined concerns implicit however county’s procurement serviceman Maria Agrusa “lacks supervisorial authorization implicit unit which creates operational challenges,” due to the fact that of however dispersed retired the section is. 

“The projected reorganization volition align procurement authorization with the quality to supervise staff, ensuring much effectual management,” unit wrote successful their report. “This centralization volition heighten operational ratio and consistency successful overseeing the procurement of goods and services, arsenic good arsenic monitoring declaration compliance.” 

Over the adjacent year, each 189 procurement unit volition beryllium rerouted to the CEO’s office, from existing departments similar Public Works, Community Resources, the Healthcare Agency and more. 

Aguirre besides sent retired a memo ordering a hiring frost and slashing discretionary spending earlier this month, raising concerns implicit the region budget’s stability. 

[Read: Orange County Reins successful Public Spending Amidst Possible Budget Shortfall]

“Immediate fund restrictions and outgo redeeming measures,” Aguirre wrote, “are indispensable to adjacent immoderate gaps that whitethorn occur.” 

Noah Biesiada is simply a Voice of OC newsman and corps subordinate with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him astatine nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.

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