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San Benito County Counsel this month released a request for proposals seeking consulting firms to conduct an audit into how $360,000 was embezzled from the county library.
County Counsel Gregory Priamos, who is overseeing the process, said during an Oct. 14 meeting of the San Benito County Board of Supervisors the audit will not only investigate how the county’s financial procedures and controls failed to spot the theft on time, but “most importantly, to recommend policy reforms for the county.”
The county expects to choose a consultant by the end of the month and have a report by the end of winter.
Between 2019 and 2023, former supervising librarian Erin Baxter, with the help of former employee Mary Alvarez, used county library funds to buy personal items. Both later entered no-contest pleas in court.
The scheme went unnoticed until Amazon alerted the County Administrative Office about a “delinquent account,” according to the county’s request for proposals (RFP).
The call was transferred to the auditor’s office, which then initiated the investigation that led to the arrest and conviction of Baxter and Alvarez.
The audit aims to determine how the fraud went undetected for 16 months and, as the RFP notes, “likely would have continued undetected had it not been for a third-party vendor contacting the county requesting payment.”
Consultants will be tasked with reviewing the county’s financial controls, accounting systems, and transaction workflows within the library, the auditor’s office, and any other departments that may have enabled the fraud.
The RFP does not specify a contract budget. Firms must submit their proposed budgets, which the county will evaluate as part of the selection process.
Proposals can be submitted until Oct. 31, and county counsel expects to present a recommendation to the San Benito County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 18.
Priamos told the board that he also aims to have the final report submitted by the end of February, with a public presentation planned for March 10.
Also during the Oct. 14 meeting, the Latino Coalition of San Benito County presented to the Board of Supervisors with a $200,000 grant it received from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services for disaster prevention outreach.
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