The second part of an internal audit of Orange County’s spending of federal COVID-relief funds said monitoring requirements for contracts were followed, according to a report to the Board of Supervisors this week.
The supervisors on Tuesday, Dec. 16, received reports on five completed audits issued from July 1 to Sept. 30, including the remaining audit of contracts paid for with American Rescue Plan Act dollars. A summary of the reports identified no “critical control weaknesses” in the county’s management of its contracts, according to a staff report to the supervisors.
The board ordered the internal audit of ARPA-funded expenditures in September 2024, after disgraced former Supervisor Andrew Do pleaded guilty to accepting $800,000 in bribes to steer millions in COVID-relief funded contracts to two nonprofits. Do is currently serving a five-year sentence in federal prison.
The county’s internal auditor, Aggie Alonso, was asked to conduct risk assessments of all ARPA-funded contracts to ensure monitoring requirements were met.
The second phase of the audit covered 285 expenditures, including 169 contracts, totaling around $42 million. The county had provided “adequate monitoring” to ensure that services were provided and funds were properly spent, the report said.
The first part of the internal audit, released online Feb. 5, covered 58 high-risk expenditures, including 31 contracts, worth $203.4 million. It found that the county had complied with monitoring requirements, but also shared a list of recommendations to improve the county’s oversight of spending. Tuesday’s audit report noted those recommendations continue to apply.
For the ordered review, the auditor excluded payments made to nonprofits Viet America Society and Hand to Hand Relief Organization, totaling $8.2 million, “that were allegedly implicated as part of the misconduct involving the former District 1 supervisor, Andrew Do.”
The supervisors accepted the audit findings during Tuesday’s meeting without comment.
“Regular internal audits hold leaders accountable for protecting taxpayer dollars and keeping county programs on track,” Fifth District Supervisor Katrina Foley later said in a statement Tuesday. “This quarterly report confirms our internal controls work as intended, with staff identifying and addressing issues early and efficiently. This level of oversight strengthens public trust and improves how we serve residents.”
Orange County received about $616 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds. Each of the five supervisors received $10 million to spend at their discretion within the communities they represent; the remaining funds were distributed among departments and county programs.
The board also tasked an outside firm in October to audit roughly 2,500 contracts approved during Do’s tenure on the board. The results are expected to be released in phases starting next year.
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