Auditor-Controller Race a Title Fight

In the first auditor-controller election since Orange County’s historic bankruptcy, three candidates are competing for a position that has seen its power reduced since the fiscal collapse.

Vying for the job are: David Sundstrom, currently the county’s internal auditor--a position assigned to him by the Board of Supervisors; Snow Hume, a certified public accountant, and Wayne Clark, an economist and corporate director.

The auditor-controller job, now held by Steve E. Lewis, was stripped of most of its auditing duties in 1995 by the Board of Supervisors. Lewis retains control over some state-mandated audits of the county’s various budgets but essentially performs the function of controller, doling out the Wayne Clark

county’s paychecks. He is not seeking reelection.

The majority of the auditing work is done by the internal-auditor’s office, a duty that was assigned to Sundstrom in the aftermath of the bankruptcy.

Lewis came under fire in the wake of the bankruptcy for not doing more to halt the financial mismanagement that led to the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. While his audits had detected problems in the county treasurer’s handling of the risky investments that triggered the insolvency, his findings were buried in bureaucratic reports, critics said. Lewis also was blamed for failing to detect the skimming of nearly $90 million in interest earnings from the accounts of the county’s outside investors. The money was used for the county’s general fund.

A lengthy criminal investigation into the causes of the bankruptcy included charges against Lewis. But in December, the state attorney general’s office decided to dismiss its case against Lewis because of insufficient evidence.

The auditor-controller’s office has 22 auditors.

The chief’s main task is ensuring that the Board of Supervisors is Snow Hume

kept appraised of audit results, particularly in departments where there may be problems, to avoid a another fiscal calamity.

All three candidates said they have plans for how they’d do the job better.

“We want to conduct audits on every department every two years for general reviews of how things are being processed. That is our absolute goal,” said Sundstrom, who has raised $15,000 so far for the June 2 election.

Hume, who has raised $22,000, wants reform.

“Despite the bankruptcy, nothing has really changed,” Hume said. “There were so many laws that were broken and there were so many technical mistakes being made by the office. This was not a manpower problem, it’s a competency problem and it’s still going on. This is dangerous for the county.”

Clark, who has raised $1,600, wants improvement in the way the David Sundstrom

county auditor reports potential problems to supervisors.

“The auditor must be a fiscal and financial advisor to the board and be willing to tell them loud and clear when fiscal matters are off track,” Clark said.

But the candidates disagree on how much change, or outside help, is needed.

Sundstrom said the Board of Supervisors has the ultimate oversight over the office’s work, but stressed that the auditor should remain responsible for scrutinizing department finances.

“The internal auditor’s office is really the eyes and ears of the board,” said Sundstrom. “The Board of Supervisors has stewardship responsibility for the entire function. I’m a very strong supporter of keeping this role as it currently is.”

Hume says the internal audits should not be done by the elected auditor-controller but by an outside accounting firm or the non-elected internal auditor’s office. Under Lewis, the in-depth audits done every two years were performed by county staff.

“Lewis’ office should have never been doing those,” Hume said.

Clark proposes hiring outside auditing firms to look into some county departments to ensure that all are on budget and well-coordinated.

“We need to go back to where we were after the bankruptcy and work on real reform,” said Clark. “Somehow as the bankruptcy has faded from memory, the zeal for reform has also faded.”