Report 2018-102 Recommendation 11 Responses
Report 2018-102: Tulare Local Healthcare District: Past Poor Decisions Contributed to the Closure of the Medical Center, and Licensing Issues May Delay Its Reopening (Release Date: October 2018)
Recommendation #11 To: Tulare Local Healthcare District
To increase the effectiveness of its monitoring to ensure that bond proceeds are used only for the purposes that the voters intended, by April 2019 the district should establish and follow a written process to document the steps it will take to address findings and recommendations identified in any future external audits of the bond proceeds.
1-Year Agency Response
Written policy approved by the Tulare Local Healthcare District Board on 24 April 2019.
- Completion Date: May 2019
- Response Date: May 2019
California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented
6-Month Agency Response
We were delayed in bringing on new staff to implement the appropriate recommendations, but Board members are working to amend our policies and hope to approve them at our next regular board meeting on April 24.
- Estimated Completion Date: April 2019
- Response Date: April 2019
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending
60-Day Agency Response
The District concurs with the recommendation. However, even assuming the District seeks future bond funding, establishing a policy by April 2019 in anticipation that the District will seek bond financing at some indeterminate time in the future would require the District to anticipate the requirements of unknown bondholders at an unknown time in the future. The District concurs with the substance of the recommendation and will update its policies in accordance with the recommendation prior to the receipt of any future bond funds.
- Estimated Completion Date: when new bonds issued
- Response Date: December 2018
California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: No Action Taken
We do not agree with the district's statement that establishing a policy by April 2019 requires the district to anticipate requirements that are unknown. The district can and should establish and follow a written process to document the steps it will take to address findings and recommendations identified in any future audit of the bond process. The district's policy should be the district's minimum in terms of monitoring future bond expenditures—any specific requirements of any future bondholders should be performed in addition to the district's minimum requirements.
All Recommendations in 2018-102
Agency responses received are posted verbatim.