The state auditor’s office will investigate how two officials in Irvine handled the city’s audit of more than $200 million spent developing a small portion of the Great Park.

Democratic Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, a San Diego lawmaker, convinced the state Joint Legislative Audit Committee on Tuesday to approve the audit request on behalf of Gafcon, a project management firm in her district that was a Great Park contractor.

Gafcon has said it was unfairly maligned in the city’s audit, which concluded the project had been mismanaged, and that its business has suffered as a result.

Gonzalez asked the state auditor to look into the actions of the Irvine council subcommittee that handled the audit, comprised of Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Lalloway and Councilwoman Christina Shea.

Broadly, her request asks the state auditor to determine whether the review was conducted objectively, or used for partisan purposes.

“A formal state audit … will resolve the issue of whether or not government or auditing standards were violated,” she wrote to the joint legislative committee. “In addition, it will provide critical guidance to all local agencies going forward on the appropriate process for independent, objective and nonpartisan audits, as well as the appropriate use of subpoena powers and the need for transparent procedures.”

The committee first considered Gonzalez’ request in April. For approval, an audit request requires support from four of seven members of each house of the legislature on the 14-person committee. At that meeting, nine members voted in favor, but only three Senate members.

This time, four Assembly and four Senate members voted for it.

Under the direction of Lalloway and Shea, Irvine has spent more than $1.5 million exploring how the Great Park funds were spent.

Reports issued in May by the auditing firm and law firm hired by the city to conduct the review pointed the finger at former Mayor Larry Agran, Gafcon and public relations firm Forde & Mollrich. Agran and the firms have called Irvine’s spending review politically motivated.

Gonzalez’ initial request was backed by four other San Diego legislators, including Republican state Sen. Joel Anderson.

In turn, 10 Republican Orange County politicians are backing the Irvine officials, led by Assemblyman Donald Wagner of Irvine, who in a letter to the committee stated state involvement would be “counterproductive and very unwise.” He pointed to the recent Grand Jury report about the park spending, titled “A Legacy of Hubris,” as proof the city’s review was legitimate.

State audits typically take at least six months. The review will take into account actions back to January 2013, when the City Council approved an audit of Great Park spending.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/state-679279-audit-committee.html