Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Discussion
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER DIRECTING STAFF TO AUDIT THE CITY OF CARSON'S CASH AND IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS TO ALL NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT PARTICIPATE IN CITY SPECIAL EVENTS (CITY COUNCIL)
Body
I. SUMMARY
Prior to the March 5 meeting, Mayor Robles had made a request that Staff undertake an audit of a specific non-profit organization that has been active in organizing or assisting with numerous community events, including all revenues and expenditures.
The Mayor was concerned about the appearance of potential "City" monies being directed to another group without the consent or knowledge of the City.
Staff was uncertain about its authority to order an "audit" of all of the Organization's revenues and expenditures if they do not originate from or relate to the City of Carson, but some audit rights may exist under any arrangement that exists between the parties. Furthermore, all non-profit organizations have certain minimum obligations for reporting and transparency under Federal and state laws, so some information should be readily available on-line, but not to the level of detail requested by the Mayor.
Unlike simpler audits of, say, Cultural Arts Funding recipients, events staged and organized by some larger entities are often highly intertwined with the City's resources. Such an audit could be a lengthy process, and consume significant staff time during a critical time - budget season. Staff believed it was important to place the question of whether to even undertake such an audit before the City Council to make sure that this information is being requested by at least three members of the Council. If the City Council did not approve moving forward, Staff will not undertake the work necessary to produce the required.
The Council considered the staff report and directed Staff to return at this meeting with a broader, more general recommendation to undertake an audit process on all of ...
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