Gov. Gregoire appoints independent citizen board to oversee performance audits

For Immediate Release: August 23, 2005

Gov. Christine Gregoire today appointed five citizens to the 10-member board charged with making sure newly authorized performance audits focus on state services that matter most to citizens and result in real savings for taxpayers. The board is responsible for developing and overseeing a work plan based on input from citizens, state employees and managers, the Legislature and other public officials.

�An independent citizens oversight board comprised of citizens and experts in the field ensures that we�ll use audits to focus on the services that citizens care about, and make sure we get maximum return on the investment for conducting the audits,� Gregoire said. �Performance audits are an important tool in our comprehensive approach to improving government accountability through better data and tougher performance expectations built on that data.�

Audits can result in recommendations to consolidate programs for greater efficiency, such as merging agency information systems, streamlining funding mechanisms and identifying potential cost savings, eliminating or changing statutes or rules, and evaluating programs to see if they are really delivering the intended results.

Citizens appointed by Gregoire to the Citizen Performance Audit Oversight Board include:

Steve Mullin of Seattle, appointed to a term effective August 22, 2005, ending August 21, 2009. Mullins is president of the Washington RoundTable.

Michael Morales of Yakima, appointed to a term effective August 22, 2005, ending August 21, 2009. Morales is the economic & community affairs specialist for the City of Yakima.
Rene Ewing of Federal Way, appointed to a term effective August 22, 2005, ending August 21, 2009. Ewing is the principal at Rene Ewing & Associates, which provides consulting support to various public and private sector organizations.
Dan Meade Smith of Seattle, appointed to a term effective August 22, 2005, ending August 21, 2008. Smith is president of Washington Policy Center.
Dick Davis of Bainbridge Island, appointed to a term effective August 22, 2005, ending August 21, 2007. Davis is president of the Washington Research Council.
The new law requiring performance audits also calls for State Auditor Brian Sonntag, Ruta Fanning, state legislative auditor, and Victor Moore, director of the Office of Financial Management, to be non-voting members of the board. Two additional members are still to be appointed by the governor.
# # #