Harbor Patrol audit to begin in spring
Monday, February 1, 2010
A county oversight office will begin in late April or early May an audit that could help determine what Harbor Patrol services will be provided in the Newport Beach and Huntington Beach harbors and who will pay for them. (OC Sheriff's Department)
SANTA ANA – The Office of the Performance Audit director will examine what harbor services the county is obligated by law to provide, how services are currently paid for and what revenue the harbors generate.
The audit is expected to begin in late April or early May.
Currently, the Harbor Patrol is a service of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, which will spend $11.4 million on the patrol this year, according to an analysis released by the office of Supervisor John Moorlach, whose 2nd District includes both Newport and Huntington. About $6.9 million of that is drawn from the OC Parks fund.
It’s a contentious issue, as county supervisors from other districts are reluctant to use county funds for what they see as local assets.
“The question is, is this a core county function,” said outgoing Supervisor Chris Norby, who is vacating his 4th District seat to become the Republican assemblyman from the 72nd District. “The park fund should not have to continue paying for it.”
But Moorlach, in his analysis released in December, argued that the harbors benefit the entire county, with 55 percent of the harbor patrols contacts in 2008 being with residents of cities other than Newport or Huntington.
Norby also instructed Steve Danley, the performance audit director, to seek legal clarification from the state Attorney General’s office on whether the county is obligated to provide harbor services.
The audit is expected to take as long as two months.
Tags: Chris Norby, Harbor Patrol, Huntington Beach, John Moorlach, Newport Beach, O.C. Sheriff's Department, OCLNN, oversight, Steve Danley
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