County Bilked by Contractor

The Community Development Commission shares the concerns expressed in your April 7 editorial, “A Closer Look at Contractors,” regarding losses to taxpayers. We also sympathize with the workers and vendors that Jaguar Rehab did not pay, and those who will have to wait longer for affordable housing.

Following the incident, our first order of business was to ensure that vendors and workers were paid and that construction will be completed. Since going to the Board of Supervisors on that issue, we have been working to institute further safeguards against potential fraud in the future. We are instituting new procedures to enhance our construction management and on-site project monitoring capabilities. I have also encouraged the county to make recommendations to the Contractors State License Board regarding changes in policy. Among the changes we requested were:

* A more exhaustive background check, including a criminal background investigation at the initial issuance of a license, and at renewals.

* Background checks of all principal members of a firm.

* Periodic reviews of all licensees. (Currently, reviews are only conducted if a complaint is filed.)

Currently, the commission does not have the authority to conduct criminal background checks on contractors, nor the capacity to do multi-jurisdictional civil litigation searches. These functions would best be served by the Contractors State License Board. We intend to work closely with other jurisdictions and with the licensing board to facilitate these changes as quickly as possible in order to obstruct future attempts by contractors to defraud the county or other victims.

CARLOS JACKSON, Exec. Dir.

L.A. County Community

Development Commission