I spoke with Assistant Chief Jordan, and the first thing he said was that he has just spoken with Cecily Burt, and she is doing a story about the operation of the Animal Shelter during the furlough.  He shared with me what he told her:

1.                   The Shelter will be staffed by 6 animal control officers, and one supervisor (this is four more than the one-day closure in November);

2.                   The employees will stagger their hours so that there is always someone there;

3.                   The shelter will be open on a limited basis

a.                   When open, volunteers are welcome

b.                   If someone wants to visit the shelter or drop something off, they should call first and/or check the website for availability.  (In response to my concern about the phone being manned, he said that if it is not manned, it will be updated regularly.)

4.                   Injured animals will be handled by uniformed officers.

Carletta L. Starks

Community Liaison/Policy Analyst for

Councilmember Nancy Nadel, District 3

1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, 2nd Floor

Oakland, CA  94612

Phone:  510/238-7032

Fax:     510/238-6129

Please sign up to the District Three Listserve

For West Oakland, send a blank e-mail to

d3westoakland-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

For the Downtown/Lake, send a blank e-mail to

d3oaklanddtownlake-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

The good of the people is the greatest law.  Cicero 

_,_._,___

http://www.acgov.org/grandjury/final2007-2008.pdf

Excerpts:

The grand jury discovered that the city’s policies were insufficient and that in

some cases there was no effective oversight of credit card charges. In addition,

the grand jury determined, based on the shoddy and incomplete documentation

submitted and accepted as the sole written support for credit card charges

The grand jury found that a number of the cardholders used their credit cards for

“business lunches,” many of those at upscale restaurants including Max’s,

Verbena, Scott’s and Bay Wolf. In most instances the documentation for those

lunches failed to identify the purpose of the lunch or the names of those in

attendance.

INVESTIGATION

The grand jury found several problems with the city of Oakland’s purchasing card

program:

Failure to Comply with City Policies

The grand jury found that there was a failure to comply with city policies on

multiple occasions.

1) Required receipts were missing. Policy requires that this not occur very

often, but if it does, a statement with an explanation from the employee

must be submitted. These statements were usually missing, and certain

city employees were missing receipts on a regular basis.

2) Charges on the credit cards in violation of city policy (such as movie

charges in hotel rooms or food costs in excess of per diem limits) were not

identified by either the supervisor or the FMA employee who reviewed the

monthly statements.

3) Policy provides that most travel must be approved in advance. In most

cases, this documentation was not attached to the monthly statements.

Ambiguous City Policies

Many city policies in connection with the program were weak, ineffectual,

ambiguous or hard to locate.

1) Policies with respect to permissible credit card expenditures are not in one

central policy, but in three separate city policies. For example, to

determine whether some expenditures are permissible, one needs to

review the petty cash reimbursement policy, even though one is not using

petty cash.

2) Although certain staff meals are reimbursable, there are no guidelines as

to when this is permissible nor are there any rules governing the cost of

the meals.

3) There is no requirement to identify the purpose of any staff meal or who

attended.

4) Travel guidelines (use cheaper airlines and travel from Oakland

International if possible) are the only guidelines. In at least one instance,

a round trip flight from the Bay Area to Los Angeles International was

flown from San Francisco International on United Airlines, at a cost of

over $700.

5) There are no guidelines on business meals – no dollar limits and no

requirement that the persons attending the meal with the credit card user

be identified.

6) There is no clear policy regarding consequences of abuse by credit card

holders.

Absence of Policy

The city of Oakland is lacking in policies in many cases.

1) There is no policy describing when gifts are permissible

expenditures other that the example “a souvenir for a visiting

mayor.”

2) There is no policy on electronics, such as computers and printers,

purchased with the credit cards.

3) There is no policy on furniture purchases.

4) Recognition meals and gifts are frequently purchased. There is no

written policy as to when this is acceptable, dollar limits, or a

definition of what a recognition meal is.

5) There is no policy on elected officials and the city administrator

obtaining approval for their expenses. Elected officials and the city

administrator approve their own monthly credit card statements.

6) There is no policy on when it is appropriate to send flowers at city

expense.

7) There is no policy on the purchase of holiday cards. For example,

one city department head spent over $1,900 on a one-time holiday

card purchase.

8) There is no policy regarding consequences for those approving

charges in violation of city policy.

CONCLUSION

The grand jury understands that there are benefits to the city of Oakland in

utilizing credit cards to facilitate certain types of purchases. However, this is also

an area that can be easily abused and needs to be watched closely. It can be

noted that during the fiscal year examined by the grand jury, most members of

the city council, who can approve their own expenses, seldom used their purchase

cards.

The grand jury discovered that the city’s policies were insufficient and that in

some cases there was no effective oversight of credit card charges. In addition,

the grand jury determined, based on the shoddy and incomplete documentation

submitted and accepted as the sole written support for credit card charges, it

would be likely that a supervisor or the FMA employee who reviewed the monthly

statements would not be able to determine whether the cardholder was abusing

the credit card. Thus, opportunities for abuse abound and may not be easily

detected.

The grand jury found that a number of the cardholders used their credit cards for

“business lunches,” many of those at upscale restaurants including Max’s,

Verbena, Scott’s and Bay Wolf. In most instances the documentation for those

lunches failed to identify the purpose of the lunch or the names of those in

attendance. One elected official had over 50 business meals at city expense

during one fiscal year with total charges of over $3,000, dining mostly at the

restaurants listed above. Most of the receipts lack itemization and purpose of

meeting. One charge for $150 at Max’s showed $26.89 for a tip as the only detail.

There were also numerous charges for staff meals (working meals) by many of the

cardholders. Again, many of those meals were at upscale restaurants.

Recognition lunches were also charged by many departments, with many of those

events being held at or catered by nicer establishments and sometimes for

significant amounts of money. The grand jury concluded that many of these

expenditures were excessive, particularly given the absence of policies for these

types of expenditures. Some cardholders even listed the meals as “holiday”

events, in clear violation of city policy.

Many charges seemed inappropriate based on the documentation submitted,

particularly given that city tax dollars were being expended (for example, logo

2007-2008 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Final Report

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2 3

shirts for a cost to the city of $1,745 being purchased for one department; flower

purchases by numerous cardholders for various reasons; gift cards from a variety

of stores; and Palm Pilot and cell phone accessories). The grand jury was left

with the impression that some of the cardholders were not exercising good

judgment in their choice of expenditures.

While it appeared that cardholders frequently attended conferences out of town

at city expense, in most cases, the grand jury was not provided with the

supporting documentation, including the justification for the travel. As noted

above, the travel policies did not seem strict enough to preclude conference

attendees from flying on more expensive airlines. The grand jury also was not

able to determine whether the hotel charges were excessive based on the

documentation provided. Personal charges did not appear to be caught in the

review process. Hotel bills for one elected official were, for the most part, also

lacking in detail. One trip that was detailed included $10 for laundry. In total

this official’s credit card charges for the year showed over $7,000 in travel

expenses. Another cardholder, who is one of the highest paid departmental

directors, had even higher travel expenses at over $7,700. This cardholder had

many charges labeled “hospitality” items. Most were for staff meetings and one,

while traveling at a conference, totaled $508.43 with no details given.

The grand jury recommends that future grand juries expand this investigation to

include review of the city’s travel and conference policies and related

expenditures. It is the grand jury’s belief that the city of Oakland is particularly

generous in allowing employees to attend conferences, based on the number and

amount of charges for conferences attended.

A small sampling of credit card expenses by city elected officials and employees

for the 2006-2007 fiscal year follows.

2007-2008 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Final Report

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24

FOOD/DINING EXPENSES

$369.91 B Restaurant. Twice yearly staff luncheon.

$43.66 Scott’s restaurant. Lunch with department head (two city

employees).

$243.51 LJ Quinn’s restaurant. Executive staff luncheon.

$303.06 Max’s restaurant. Lunch with city payroll staff.

Entrees include steak and salmon.

$90.52 Scott’s restaurant. Lunch for two department heads.

Lunch included seafood & shrimp.

$1,253.08 Various stores. Refreshments for National Public Works

week. Purchases include food, BBQ, London broil, BBQ

supplies.

$542.93 Smart & Final store. Food for Oakland’s tree service

department picnic. Purchases include piña coladas,

tiramisu, BBQ supplies, wine coolers, serving utensils,

chicken, cherries, other fruit, and beef brisket. The beef

brisket cost $71.70.

$79.50 One lunch ticket for OAACC luncheon meeting for one

employee.

$124.05 Palomino’s restaurant, San Francisco. “Business meeting.”

No receipt or other details provided.

$322.00 Kuleto’s restaurant, San Francisco. Reason for lunch:

“meeting with OPD personnel after appearance in Federal

Court to discuss next steps regarding court orders.” Items

ordered included calamari, salmon steak, tiramisu and

crème brule.

$92.41 Italian Colors restaurant. Reason for lunch: “Business lunch

with attorney.”

$135.90 Soluna Café. Reason for lunch: “Business lunch with

attorney.”

$45.75 La Farine Bakery. Food for holiday meeting. (cookies and

cupcakes).

$26.02 Saigon Restaurant. Working lunch. No notation of who or

reason for lunch.

$59.81 La Cucina restaurant. Reason listed: “pre lunch.”

$2,296.00 Lake Merritt restaurant. Staff holiday luncheon for city

attorney’s office.

$187.59 Pizza for staff meeting.

$76.47 Trader Joe’s grocery store. Food for staff meeting.

$68.27 Francesco’s restaurant. Lunch for two city employees.

$70.90 Central Park restaurant. Lunch for two city employees.

$26.00 Marriott Hotel. Breakfast meeting.

$30.85 Esquire Grill restaurant. Evening meeting.

2007-2008 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Final Report

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2 5

FOOD/DINING EXPENSES, continued

$53.00

$100.00

$70.00

$75.00

Verbena restaurant. Multiple lunches. No indication of

number of guests or reasons for lunches.

$66.00

$50.04

$150.00

Max’s restaurant. Multiple lunches. No indication of

number of guests or reasons for lunches.

$6.52 Coffee for one, at the airport.

$75.03 Lunch meeting “to prepare for training.” Included $10.00

tip.

$37.67

$13.00

Lunch expenses “to take employee who conducted staff

training to lunch.”

$16.40 Starbucks. Receipts lists items purchased as: 1 tall cider, 1

morning bun, and 1 travel mug (costing $12.00) Reason for

purchase: “Meeting.”

$75.61 Marriott restaurant. Lunch. No receipt. Reason listed:

“Staff debriefing.”

$28.81 Beach Chalet Restaurant & Brewery, San Francisco. Lunch.

“Board meeting.”

$43.33 Verbena restaurant. Lunch with two city employees.

Included a 30% tip.

$338.48 Lake Merritt Pizza. Hospitality for volunteers.

$65.55 Bay Wolf restaurant. “Lunch with mayor’s staff.”

$81.26 Piedmont Grocery. Hospitality. No receipt.

$228.00 Lucky & Lucky Restaurant. “PR Committee dinner.” No

receipt.

$83.11 Verbena restaurant. “Lunch for new budget director.”

$223.75 Nellie’s Soul Food restaurant. “Hospitality.”

$2,796.00 Catered Holiday Lunch. Included crab cakes and chicken

breasts.

$31.00 Smart & Final store. Wine purchase.

$23.54 Trader Joe’s grocery store. Reported as “snacks for council

hearing.” Items purchased were: one chicken enchilada,

grapefruit, nuts and cookies.

$100.00 Max’s restaurant. Staff training luncheon.

$252.38 Jack’s Bistro. Lunch meeting.

$30.72 Max’s restaurant. “Managers Lunch Meeting.” Receipt

showed two people, nachos with chicken, soda and seafood

penne.

$434.00 Thanh Phat restaurant. Food for “Intimate Evening Event.”

(no details).

$153.49 Max’s restaurant. Reported as “Refreshments for

volunteers.” Receipt shows: sirloin steak, corn beef Reuben,

fettuccini with meatballs.

2007-2008 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Final Report

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26

FOOD/DINING EXPENSES, continued

$468.00

$117.03

Genova Deli & Safeway. “All Hands” meeting expenses.

(Two receipts).

$400.00 Chen’s restaurant. “Holiday Gala.”

$226.48 Joann’s Soul Food Café. Staff Appreciation dinner.

$620.96 Max’s restaurant. Staff appreciation lunch (combined with

holiday party).

$291.93 Jack’s Bistro. Holiday staff retreat. Items ordered included

prawns, crème brule, salmon.

$277.58 Max’s restaurant. Staff lunch meeting. Items ordered

included Caesar salad with shrimp.

$384.62 Max’s restaurant. Recognition meal for parking meter

collection staff. Items included salmon, calamari, and sirloin

steak, prawns (14 people Avg. $27.47 per person).

$2,165.00

$541.25

Ribs on the Run restaurant. “All staff meeting/employee

recognition event.” (Two receipts).

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION/INCENTIVES/HOSPITALITY EXPENSES

$71.33** Dollar Tree store. Miscellaneous supplies for holiday party for staff

(candy, bonbons, loot bags, candles, photo frames, Christmas mug

and paper, shirt boxes).

$116.23** Long’s Drugs. Decorations for Employee of the year award

ceremony (poinsettias and trees).

$91.69** Michael’s Arts & Crafts store. Decorations for employee of the year

ceremony (poinsettias, Christmas wrap, glitter, lights, garland).

** All three of the above purchases were made by the same

employee in the same month.

$50.00 Trader Joe’s grocery store. Employee of the year incentives. (Two

gift cards @ $25 each).

$75.00 Bay Wolf restaurant. Employee of the year incentive. (One gift

certificate @ $75).

$50.00 Regal Jack London Cinemas. Combined charities incentives. (Two

gift cards @ $25).

$382.89 Safeway grocery store. Hospitality gift cards for employees of the

year. Items purchased included 4 visa gift cards @ $50; 3 AMEX

gift cards @ $25; and a purchase for “People’s Best and Worst

Dressed” magazine.

$39.60 See’s Candy. Candy for employee of the year.

$54.38 Flowers for Employee of the year.

$89.50 Starbucks. Reason for expense: “ Conference to provide gifts.”

$750.oo Safeway grocery store. No receipt. “Revenue Department gift

cards.”

$48.82 Barnes & Noble bookstore. Reported as “Revenue Department gift

cards” but receipt shows two books (Social Intelligence @ $24.95

and Mind Set @ $19.96).

$600.00 Lady’s Catering. Oakland police staff event, “Executive Breakfast.”

2007-2008 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Final Report

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RETAIL EXPENSES (including electronics)

$112.34 PalmOne store. Palm Pilot cradle kit.

$91.35 Flowers for volunteer.

$783.99 IKEA. Sofa for office meeting space.

$1,999.00 365 day subscription to “shutterstock.com” (for royalty-free

photographs).

$99.99

$82.65

$100.00

$154.99

Flowers for a city employee’s family member

(Four separate purchases for four different employee’s family

members).

$98.72 Greeting cards.

$60.00 Get well flowers.

$29.50 Harry & Sons store. Reported as “Organic Green Tea and Kitchen

Supplies.” Receipt showed only 4 packs of organic green tea.

$800.00 Chris Club, Vallejo. Juneteenth Celebration.

$70.18 Sprint store. Cell phone charger and pouch.

$73.58 Cingular store, San Ramon store. Case, headset.

$89.32 Amazon.com. Bluetooth headset.

$130.49

$173.98

$228.28

Circuit City. Three separate purchases for “digital recorder.”

$76.11 Heater for council office.

$399.00 Video camera (City Attorney’s Office).

$64.79 Wireless Ground. Reported as “computer supplies.” Receipt

shows “3 Verizon wireless car chargers.”

$39.95 TechSmith Corp. Headphones.

$52.85 Flash Memory store. Flash drives for cell phones.

$68.04 Wireless Ground. Reported as “Wireless Cell Supplies” Receipt

says “travel charger, 3 pack stylus pen, Monaco flip leather case @

$29.95.”

$87.85 Treo Central store. Supplies for an elected official’s TREO. (Items

purchased were black case @ $49.95 and screen protector @

$15.95.)

$339.00 Holiday Greeting Cards.

$1,072.20 IKEA. Furniture for recreation centers.

$103.68 Flowers for consulting firm.

$1,972.00 Christmas Cards.

$899.70 Amazon.com. 30 Kingston traveler 1GB flash drives ($29.99

each).

$77.94 Pottery Barn store, Walnut Creek. 4 mugs/creamer set for

hospitality of the Oakland library.

$1,457.00 Toshiba laptop. Costs included 2 day air shipping.

$1,592.00 Toshiba laptop. (Same credit card as above, different day.)

$1,087.00 Home Theatre projector.

$1,185.00 USB drives.

$573.00 26-inch LCD flatscreen TV.

2007-2008 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Final Report

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28

RETAIL EXPENSES (including electronics), continued

$76.08

$108.74

$163.11

Office Depot. Office supplies. Three separate purchases. No

receipt for any purchase.

$220.00

$80.00

Efax.com. Paid computer fax service. $80.00 in service fees, $10

each.

$1,987.49 Best Buy. Home theatre projector.

$76.09 IKEA. Office lighting (3 lights).

$1,592.38 Toshiba. Toshiba Satellite Pro laptop.

$1,185.27 Best Buy. USB drives for ITD (26 @ $45 per drive).

$172.40 The Great Frame Up store. Reported as “supplies.” Receipt says,

“One picture frame with matting.”

$184.80 Best Buy. Reported as “computer supplies.” Receipt says: “Mini

travel drives and flash drives.”

$237.29 Fry’s Electronics store. Computer supplies. No description.

$45.98 Palm Store. City cell phone accessory. No receipt.

$137.10 One leather cell phone case.

TRAVEL/CONFERENCES EXPENSES

$1,034.00

Seattle hotel. Included $101 room service charges. No notation as

to how many days.

$940.00 Conference registration, Las Vegas, one employee.

$1,427.12 Four nights at a Las Vegas hotel, one room, two people (room

charges: $1169.96; Room service: $337.15).

$995.00

$995.00

$895.00

Conference registration, Las Vegas, three employees, same city

department.

$1,333.76 Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas. Three nights, two guests, one room.

($1054.03 room charges; $38.00 mini bar charges; $210.10 room

service food; $26.00 tips). No receipts or reimbursements provided

to the city.

$1,012.48 Shingle Creek Resort & Golf Club, Orlando, Florida. One guest,

four nights.

$855.41 Fountainbleu Resort, Miami, conference.

$29.97 Gas for Miami rental car.

$802.92 W Hotel, New York City, conference.

$2,387.88 Las Vegas, hotel and airfare, conference (total includes $109.08 in

hotel telephone charges and $51.98 in other charges, unlisted).

$541.40 Rental car at a training seminar in Alabama.

$807.69 Rental van at a conference in Boston.

$242.26 Dinner while at the Boston conference (no details).

$156.90 Dinner while at Boston conference (no details).

$562.89 Rental car while at a Seattle conference.

2007-2008 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Final Report

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29

TRAVEL/CONFERENCES EXPENSES, continued

$1,118.26 Conference, Seattle.

$926.00 Hotel bill included $150.00 in room service charges.

$1,393.83 Hotel bill included $113 parking for a rental car.

$508.43 Hospitality meal at a conference. No explanation or receipts.

MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES

$45.49 De Young Museum, San Francisco. Three calendars.

$344.50 Park rental fee, East Bay Regional Park for summer community

picnic.

$65.20 Condolence flowers “for a constituent.”

$64.49 Walgreen’s. Cleaning supplies for office (no detailed receipt).

$45.58 Barnes & Noble bookstore. Books for staff (no details or receipt).

$8,303.95 Randolph Rose Collection. Sculptures/artwork for various

recreation centers. Receipt shows a balance due of $5,803.95, paid

$2,500.00 for four sculptures from a New York artist.

$195.64

$218.37

$428.61

$48.94

Track Meet Expenses. Sports Authority, supplies.

Round Table Pizza, food for track meet.

Albertsons grocery store, lunch for staff volunteers at track meet.

JMiller, flowers for track meet commissioner.

$45.00

$95.00

Parking at Oakland airport while city employees attend

conferences.

$30.41 Home Depot, holiday decorations.

$46.76 Flowers for new city department director.

$392.00 Janitorial supplies. No receipt.

$157.70 Ten copies of the book “Freakonomics,” a book about the hidden

cost of things.

$1,189.33 Home Depot, Joann Fabrics, and Markus Hardware: “Exhibit

Supplies” for library. No details or receipts of items purchased.

$220.00 Piedmont Party Rentals, rental of two canopy tents.

$320.00 Facilities rental, off site meeting.

$2,652.32 Office furniture for reception area.

$338.90 Holiday cards (150 cards).

$200.00

$242.35

Waterfront Plaza Hotel, conference room rentals (two rooms on

separate days).

$71.33 Flowers for newly hired city department director, from another city

director, with a card that read: “You Go Girl!”

$376.29

$268.61

$268.61

World Market store. “Fake trees for cultural arts event.”

$573.24 Costco, TV for main office, Park & Recreation.

(26 inch LCD HDTV).

$1,745.05 Promotion shirts with city logo for Department of Information

Technology staff. No details of how many or cost. Partial order

shows 4 shirts @ $12.50 each.

2007-2008 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Final Report

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30

The grand jury was appalled by the city of Oakland’s use of taxpayer funds for the

questionable expenditures uncovered during this investigation. The current

credit card program invites abuse due to its weak construction, bad policies and

poor supervision. The grand jury strongly encourages further scrutiny of the city

of Oakland’s credit card usage and policies.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendation 08-01:

The city of Oakland prohibit the use of city funds (by credit card charges or

reimbursement) for working lunches, holiday parties and decorations, and for the

purchase of holiday greeting cards.

Recommendation 08-02:

The city of Oakland restrict the use of credit cards for the purchase of electronics

or furniture to situations where inventory control measures are in place, ensuring

that items purchased are identified and tracked.

Recommendation 08-03:

The city of Oakland create a single document stating all policies on credit card

usage.

Recommendation 08-04:

The city of Oakland revise its description of permissible work-related

expenditures and authorized expenditures for credit cards, providing specific

guidance to credit card users as to the categories of permissible usage; required

approvals; and the dollar limits applicable to any such category, including the

categories of hospitality for ceremonial gifts, employee recognition ceremonies,

events pertaining to employee appreciation, and the purchase of flowers.

2007-2008 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Final Report

_____________________________________________________________

3 1

Recommendation 08-05:

The city of Oakland require that credit card users provide on their monthly

statements specific, complete descriptions of the business purpose of the charge

and detailed documentation to support credit card charges setting forth each

item purchased, including detailed food and restaurant receipts listing items

ordered.

Recommendation 08-06:

The city of Oakland require that the documentation for any business meal

charged on a city credit card provide information as to who attended the meal

and the specific business reason for the meal.

Recommendation 08-07:

The city of Oakland require a detailed statement of charges from cardholders who

lose their receipts, listing each individual item purchased, including written

validation of the cardholders “good faith” attempt to produce the receipt.

Recommendation 08-08:

The city of Oakland create a policy that provides that any cardholder who

repeatedly violates the credit card policy forfeit the credit card.

Recommendation 08-09:

The city of Oakland impose sanctions on employees who review and approve

credit card charges in violation of policy.

Recommendation 08-10:

The city of Oakland provide annual training for all credit card holders on all

existing and new policies.

Recommendation 08-11:

The city of Oakland provide annual training for all employees who review or

approve credit card expenses on all existing and new policies.

2007-2008 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Final Report

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32

Recommendation 08-12:

The city of Oakland require that the city auditor review and approve the monthly

credit card usage statements (with supporting documentation) of elected officials

and the city administrator.

Recommendation 08-13:

The city of Oakland require the city auditor or an outside auditor annually audit

the city’s credit card usage.

RESPONSES REQUIRED

Oakland City Administrator Recommendations 08-01 through 08-13

Mayor, City of Oakland Recommendations 08-01 through 08-13

Oakland City Council Recommendations 08-01 through 08-13