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 Stimulus Funds
Stimulus Funds
City Auditor Keeping a Close Eye On Stimulus Funds
New infusion of money classified as an area of high risk for fraud, waste and abuse
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“My office will help ensure that public monies are used effectively and that fraud, waste and abuse of resources are deterred and detected.” City Auditor Laura Doud |
President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Stimulus Act) into law in February 2009. The Act provides over $787 billion to stimulate the national economy.
Our City is working hard to ensure that Long Beach is in a position to secure as many of these Stimulus grant dollars as possible, and to ensure that monies received are spent appropriately.
Fraud Risks Create Need for Oversight at the Local Level of Government
The California State Auditor’s Office has designated stimulus money as an area of high risk for waste and fraud. This is partly due to the record amounts of money coming
to cities with a wide range of strict requirements including rapid spending and complex reporting.
The Long Beach City Auditor’s Office will be watching Stimulus money awarded to the City. Citizens of Long Beach should be assured that we are proactive in ensuring that these funds will be used for their intended purpose --- to help the economy create jobs in important projects that improve our City.
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City Auditor Laura Doud (left) participated in the California Recovery Task Force Conference at the invitation of California State Inspector General Laura Chick (at podium) |
City Auditor’s Role in Ensuring Accountability
The role of the City Auditor’s Office in the Long Beach Stimulus program is to:
 Assess the appropriateness of the citywide controls over activities pertaining to the Recovery Act.
Audit projects to ensure compliance with strict provisions, thereby minimizing the risk of noncompliance to the City.
Assess whether appropriate City Departments’ controls are in place to deter and detect misuse of funds.
The public, City employees, or vendors doing business with the City of Long Beach can report suspected fraud, waste or abuse of federal funds to the Recovery Act Fraud Hotline at 1-877-392-3375 or to the City Auditor’s Fraud Hotline at 1-888-372-8307.
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The City Auditor’s Fraud Hotline is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. A third-party service provider ensures confidential / anonymous reporting.
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Additional Resources
Each jobsite funded by Stimulus Act money is required to post signage disclosing whistleblower protections. Click here for Whistleblower Poster.
City Auditor’s
Report: LB Ready to
Comply with Stimulus
Funds Requirements
NEW!
For information about:
----The Long Beach Stimulus Bill projects: http://www.longbeach.gov/recovery
----The Federal Stimulus Bill program: http://www.recovery.gov
----The State of California Stimulus program: http://www.recovery.ca.gov
Keeping a Close Eye on Stimulus Funds, by Laura Doud. Straight Talk Reporter, Fall 2009.
Staff
Contact: You are encouraged to contact
Olivia Silva Maiser, Director of Communications at
562-570-6434 or at
Olivia.Maiser@longbeach.gov
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