Report 2010-117 Recommendation 5 Responses

Report 2010-117: General Obligation Bonds: The Departments of Water Resources and Finance Should Do More to Improve Their Oversight of Bond Expenditures (Release Date: May 2011)

Recommendation #5 To: Water Resources, Department of

To ensure that its expenditures of bond funds achieve the intended purposes, Water Resources needs to strengthen its monitoring of project deliverables. For example, it should review the policies and practices of its various divisions, ensuring that periodic progress reports are obtained from grant recipients, and that final site visits document the results of the reviews performed.

1-Year Agency Response

In its one-year response, Water Resources provided evidence that it updated various policy manuals establishing expectations for conducting site visits and ensuring that deliverables are obtained. For example, Water Resources' division of flood management developed a desk reference manual that includes project close-out procedures and a checklist for staff to follow. Key aspects of this close-out process include ensuring and documenting that project objectives are met. Similarly, Water Resources' Division of Integrated Regional Water Management developed written procedures establishing expectations for conducting site visits and specifying items to evaluate during such visits. Water Resources also provided examples of documented site visits it had performed. (2013-406, p. 249)

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

All Recommendations in 2010-117

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.