Just because Steve Sanchez came up short in his bid for county supervisor doesn't mean he's stepping out of the spotlight.
As a commissioner with LAFCO—the Local Agency Formation Commission—Sanchez is now pushing for something that got a lot of people talking: a dedicated fund for forensic audits. The proposal would set aside roughly $150,000 to $250,000 so investigators could take a deep dive into cities and special districts if evidence suggests something isn't adding up.
We're not talking about routine bookkeeping here. A forensic audit is the kind of review that looks for potential problems involving financial management, contracts, procurement practices, conflicts of interest, budget changes, and how taxpayer money is being handled.
And if social media comments are any indication, plenty of local residents are all for it.
Many viewers responded with a version of the same message: government agencies should welcome scrutiny. Some argued that regular audits help build public trust, while others went much further, suggesting corruption is more widespread than many people realize. Whether those concerns are justified or not, there's clearly an appetite among some residents for greater transparency.
One question that immediately popped up involved the long-discussed audit of CVUSD. Sanchez clarified that school districts fall outside LAFCO's authority. Cities and special districts are under the commission's oversight, but school districts are not.
That's an important distinction because it means LAFCO's auditing power has limits. However, Sanchez noted that if evidence supports it, LAFCO can pursue forensic audits without needing permission from the state or even the county auditor.
For now, the proposal remains just that—a proposal. The commission still has to decide whether funding these audits makes sense and whether the evidence warrants moving forward.
But one thing is clear: in an era when public trust in institutions can be hard to come by, the idea of taking a closer look at how public money is spent has struck a chord with a lot of people across the Coachella Valley.
By: NBC Palm Springs
June 3, 2026
