County supervisors are scheduled to approve their response to a recent grand jury report on how the county handles more than $3 billion in contracting each year.
The grand jury focused on a need for the county to re-centralize its contracting efforts, which it said would “reduce the fragmentation, inconsistency, and inequality that currently exist.”
Staff who work with contracts aren’t “given focused and thorough training designed to present topics in project management, contract administration, and risk assessment,” the report states.
“In addition, there is an absence of objectives designed to enhance personal expertise, productivity, and effectiveness.”
The supervisors’ proposed response disagrees with several of the panel’s findings.
In particular, the proposed response says, contrary to the grand jury’s recommendation, supervisors will wait until next year to consider creating a plan to centralize contract operations. That is how county contracts were handled a number of years ago, but then contracting was decentralized.
Tuesday’s meeting starts at 9:30 a.m. at the County Hall of Administration in Santa Ana. Click here for the proposed response.
You can reach Nick Gerda at ngerda@gmail.com, and follow him on Twitter: @nicholasgerda.