Board of Supervisors : Southeast Asian Community Center did not use City funds for political purposes PDF
Preview Board of Supervisors : Southeast Asian Community Center did not use City funds for political purposes
SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY ^ AoeLiti Pi******** BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: 5/S Southeast Asian Community Center Did Not Use City Funds San Francisco PublicLibrary for Political Purposes GovernmentInformationCenter DOCUMENTS DEPT. SanFranciscoPublic Library 100Larkin Street, 5thFloor SanFrancisco. CA 94102 JAN 2 1 2005 REFERENCE BOOK SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY Not to be taken from the Library : BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Southeast Asian Community Center Did Not Use City Funds for Political Purposes DOCUMENTS DEPT. JAN 2 1 2005 SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY Financial Audits Division January 18, 2005 04012 CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE OF THE CONTROLLER Ed Harrington Controller Monique Zmuda Deputy Controller January 18, 2005 AuditNumber 04012 Board ofSupervisors City Hall, Room 244 1 Dr. CarltonB. Goodlett Place CA San Francisco, 94102 President and Members: The Office ofthe Controller (Controller) presents its report concerning the audit of Southeast Asian Community Center (Center) and its compliance with the City and County ofSan Francisco (City) ordinance prohibiting the use ofcity funds forpolitical activity. The audit revealed thatthe Center didnot use forpolitical activity any ofthe $5,725 ofcity funds that it received under its grant amendments withthe Department ofAging and Adult Services (department). We conducted this auditto meet the San Francisco Administrative Code's requirementthat the Controller audit annually at least 10 persons or entities that enter into contracts, grant agreements, or loan agreements with the City. The Controller is to ensure thatthe persons or entities comply with Section 12G ofthe code, which prohibits the use ofcity funds for political activity. The code defines political activity as participating in, supporting, or attempting to influence a political campaign for any candidate orballotmeasure. According to its grant, the Centerwas to provide citizenship and naturalization services to the Asian community in San Francisco. The grant amendments amount subjectto the City's prohibition is $8,189. Ofthis amount, the Centerreceived $5,725 in reimbursement for expenses underthe grant during the audit period. Respectfully submitted^ Ed Harringto, Controller •554-7500 CityHall•1Dr.CarltonB.GoodlettPlace•Room316•SanFranciscoCA94102-4694 FAX415-554-7466 3 1223 07661 3679 INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND To fulfill the requirements ofthe San Francisco Administrative Code (Administrative Code), Section 12G, we randomly selected Southeast Asian Community Center (Center) as the subject for one ofour 10 reviews ofcontract, grant, or loan recipients that must observe the Administrative Code's ban on the use ofcity funds for political activity. Each year, to ensure compliance withthis ban, the Administrative Code requires us to audit at least 10 persons or entities that enter contracts, grant agreements, or loan agreements withthe City and County ofSan Francisco (City). This year, we randomly selected 10 people or entities, including the Center, thatreceived city funds from January 1, 2003, through June 30, 2003, through a contract, grant, or loan that incorporated language banning the use ofcity funds for political activity. Theprohibition onthe use ofcity funds forpolitical activity became part ofthe Administrative Code aftervoters inthe City passed Proposition Q onNovember 5, 2002. The former proposition is now Section 12G ofthe Administrative Code, which definespolitical activity as participating in, supporting, or attempting to influence apolitical campaign for any candidate or ballotmeasure. Section 12G also requires that all contracts, grant agreements, and loan agreements incorporate language that delineates the prohibition. According to the Office ofthe City Attorney, persons and organizations receiving contracts, grants, and loans fromthe City are not subjectto Section 12G unless the prohibition appears intheir agreements. According to a deputy city attorney, agreements typically did notbeginto include the prohibitionuntil January2003. The Center, the subject ofthis review, had a grant from the Department ofAging and Adult Services (department) for $7,412 to provide citizenship andnaturalization services to the Asian community in SanFrancisco. On January 1, 2003, the department andthe Center entered a grant amendmentthat incorporated Section 12G ofthe Administrative Code into the agreement. This amendment also awarded the Center an additional $2,300 in grant funds. In another grant amendment dated May 1, 2003, the department awardedthe Center an additional $5,889 in grant funds. Thus, the department awardedthe Center atotal of$8,189 1 in grant funds that is subjectto this prohibition. From January 1, 2003, through September 30, 2003, the Center received $5,725 in reimbursements for expenses underthe grant and subjectto the prohibitionto use city funds forpolitical activity. The Center's last claim forreimbursement for services underthe grant was through September 30, 2003. SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY The purpose ofthis audit was to determine ifthe Center inappropriately expended any cityfunds participating in, supporting, or attempting to influence apolitical campaign for any candidate or ballot measure. To conductthe audit, we identifiedthatthe Center had a grant amendment withthe Citythat includedthe prohibition ofusing city funds forpolitical activity. From January 1, 2003, through September 30, 2003, we identified all payments thatthe City made to the Centerforproviding services underthe grant during the audit period. Because the Center did not account forthe grant expenses separate from its other expenses, the Centerprepared a financial statement forthe entire organization for the auditperiod, including expenses incurred underthe grant. Using this financial statement, we reviewed some ofthe Center's accounts and a sample ofexpenses that it incurred during the audit period to verify it did not spend city funds forpurposes relatedto political activity. In addition, we assessed the Center's procedures for approving and recording expenditures, and reviewed its federal taxreturn for We 2003. also askedthe Center staffwhetherthey had spent city or other funds forpurposes relatedto political activity. Finally, we searchedthe San Francisco Campaign Finance Database andthe State ofCalifornia's Cal-Access database, which reports campaign contributions, to find any instances thatthe Center made political contributions. 2
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