Alameda Corridor Audit Committee

An elected official and two port executives appoint themselves to the audit committee whose job is to audit the expenditure of billions of taxpayer dollars on the construction of the Alameda Corridor, which they are responsible for spending (Oct. 15). Would it have been too much to expect that independent certified public accountants would have been appointed to this oversight/audit committee? L.A. City Controller Rick Tuttle was left off the committee. Is it cynical to suggest that those who are involved in spending all this money and those to whom it is being paid do not want members of an oversight/audit committee who can actually perform the duties of such a committee?

With all due respect to those appointed, I seriously doubt they have the time it would require to serve in this capacity, nor the ability to examine and audit financial information from contractors who were born with a natural talent to increase the cost of any project built with public funds and to obfuscate where the extra money went. There is also the question of the independence of these officials.

No matter how qualified the members, no matter how good a job they ultimately do, their appointment will not cut it in the court of public opinion, at least not with those of the public who are paying attention. Should the ultimate costs of the corridor run far in excess of the budget, the elected officials will pound the table and say how could this have happened, and the public will shrug their collective shoulders, yawn and say “what’s new.”

HAROLD L. KATZ CPA

Los Angeles