March 24, 2015
The Honorable Joe Harn
Auditor-Controller, El Dorado County
County Government Center
360 Fair Lane
Placerville, CA 95667
Re: Shingle Springs Band of Miwok MOU annual summary
Dear Mr. Harn:
The residents of El Dorado County are requesting you to perform an audit of the $2,600,000 that El Dorado County donates annually to the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians for Qualifying Healthcare Contributions per Resolution 2012-74 dated October 20, 2012, a copy of which is attached for your reference.
It is stated in Section 2 of the Amendment of Memorandum of Understanding that “the Tribe shall submit to the County an annual written summary detailing the expenditures made with the funds from the Qualifying Healthcare Contribution.” This is especially significant since our county is currently in a financial crisis and must know how every dollar of our budget is spent.
An excerpt from the attached January 6, 2014 letter from Nicholas Fonseca, Chairman, states, “The Tribe applied this Qualifying Healthcare Contribution to debt service on the Clinic building.” An excerpt from the attached January 7, 2015, letter from Nicholas Fonseca, Chairman, states, “The Tribe applied this Qualifying Healthcare Contribution to the general operating budget for the Shingle Springs Health and Wellness Center.”
The letters do not meet any standards of a detailed summary of expenditures, and do not give the County or El Dorado County taxpayers enough information to assess whether the $2,600,000 is a worthwhile investment of County funds. At the very least, detailed summary should include the number and category of patients served.
We look forward to your audit of these monies on or before July 1st and your recommendation to the Board of Supervisors regarding the 2015-2016 county budget and funding of the Qualifying Healthcare Contribution.
Sincerely,
Lori Parlin
El Dorado County resident
Shingle Springs Community Alliance
info@ShingleSpringsCommunityAlliance.com
cc: El Dorado County Taxpayers Association
El Dorado Council
Citizens for Sensible Development in El Dorado Hills
Green Valley Alliance
No San Stino
Save Our County
Save Our County - Joint Coalition 