3:00pm | An internal audit has concluded that the City of Long Beach has properly adhered to strict requirements that make the City eligible to receive funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment (Stimulus) Act of 2009.

City Auditor Laura Doud released the audit yesterday and concluded that Long Beach has established necessary internal controls to ensure that the city meets eligibility requirements and can properly handle the funds and prevent fraud.

This is significant because the Stimulus funds are considered “high risk” for fraud, waste and abuse because of the pressure to quickly spend such large amounts of money. Much of the audit centers around the City’s ability to establish internal controls that ensure fraud and waste do not occur.

“My Office took a proactive approach to make sure systems are in place to comply with the high standards attached to Stimulus dollars,” said Doud. “By getting out in front now we can assure taxpayers that the City has protections in place to spend the money as it was intended.”

The report, “Internal Controls Over Stimulus Funds,” can be downloaded from Doud’s website (click here).

The City of Long Beach has so far received $113,542,640 in Stimulus funding, according to the City Manager’s office. The most recent grant received is a $22 million award to prevent foreclosures and promote new homeownership – LBPOST.com columnist Don Jergler examined the grant in greater detail in this recent article.

To date, the City of Long Beach has received every dollar that is has requested.

“While continued diligence and attention is needed with these funds, we are pleased that Long Beach has taken its responsibility seriously to implement controls and minimize risk of non-compliance,” said Doud.


Disclosure: LBPOST.com co-founder Shaun Lumachi is under contract with the Office of the Long Beach City Auditor.

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