Audits

An independent auditor hired by the Orange County Board of Supervisors has found the county's investment portfolio is being managed in a "thoughtful, prudent manner" by the elected treasurer and that the investment pools are sound, according to a report released Monday. The report appears to vindicate the management of the $6.

An independent auditor hired by the Orange County Board of Supervisors has found the county's investment portfolio is being managed in a "thoughtful, prudent manner" by the elected treasurer and that the investment pools are sound, according to a report released Monday. The report appears to vindicate the management of the $6.5-billion county portfolio by Treasurer Chriss Street, elected in June 2006 but beset during his first year in office by questions over his past business dealings and contracts he sought to award for county business.

Lawmakers and regulators took aim at California health insurers Tuesday in efforts aimed at making sure they cover members' medical needs and pay physicians and hospitals what they owe them -- and on time. A day after the state Senate killed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to expand healthcare coverage, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner vowed to make sure that current insurance laws were strictly enforced and ordered new audits of the state's largest health insurers.

The Internal Revenue Service may strip $283 million of bonds sold by nine California school districts of their tax-exempt status because the proceeds may have been used to purchase overpriced Treasury securities. The bond issues are among 26 identically structured transactions that are being audited by the IRS, said Richard Eyre, a vice president with Kinsell, Newcomb & De Dios Inc., a Carlsbad-based underwriter, which disclosed the audits Tuesday in a notice to investors. Eyre said the firm was working toward a settlement with the IRS so that investors wouldn't be taxed on their investments.

Federal auditors have called for the ouster of the Los Angeles County Housing Authority's director, saying his agency has not properly administered the $200 million federal housing voucher program for the county's poor and has sought to conceal its shortcomings. The unusual recommendations come in a report this month that criticizes the authority for failing to check annually, as required, on tenants' eligibility for subsidies under the federal Section 8 program.

Los Angeles has yet to spend $129 million paid by real estate developers over the last decade to create new parks in the city's fastest-growing neighborhoods, according to an audit released Thursday by City Controller Laura Chick. Chick said the Department of Recreation and Parks should move faster in spending the so-called Quimby fees, which are collected from condominium builders, to take advantage of the real estate downturn.

A conflict between two of the city's top elected leaders over a plan to give Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa control of antigang programs continued Monday when both officials sought legal opinions about oversight of gang services in the mayor's office. City Councilman Tony Cardenas opposes a plan by Controller Laura Chick to shift gang-prevention programs from council control to Villaraigosa, saying such a move would strip away important oversight. In a letter to City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo on Monday, Cardenas said the city charter did not give Chick the authority to conduct "performance" audits of elected officials.

As you file your tax return, do you wonder whether you're likely to get audited? You can take some comfort in the fact that audits are remarkably rare, hitting about 1% of taxpayers each year. However, the rate is rising, and if you happen to pull a few audit triggers, your chance of getting that ominous letter or phone call from the Internal Revenue Service can soar tenfold or more, experts say. "I am hearing about more audits than I ever have," said Roni Deutch, a tax attorney in Northern California who has been practicing for 17 years.

The Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks is losing "hundreds of thousands of dollars" annually because it fails to adequately manage concession contracts at golf courses, parks and other public facilities, City Controller Laura Chick said Friday. Chick released an audit that assailed the department for allowing contracts to lapse before seeking new deals and for letting concessionaires stray from their contractual requirements without ensuring that the public receives quality services.

Union members who are county employees paid the costs of their own pension increases in 2004, said an Internal Audit Department report Friday. The report validates the union's and Board of Supervisor's position that members, and not county taxpayers, paid a so-called 2.7% raise at age 55 benefit formula, said a union official. "We're vindicated," said Nick Berardino, general manager of the union. -- David Reyes