By Tom McLaughlin | 315-4435 | @TomMnwfdn | tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com
Florida's Auditor General's Office has taken the Walton County Commission to task for its Planning Department's money management and hiring practices, and failure to implement past suggestions to improve the way it does business.
A report summarizing preliminary findings of an operational audit lists 11 specific administrative deficiencies the county must correct. That number could drop if Walton officials can convince the auditors no remedial action is needed in one or more of the areas cited.
The county was given 30 days to respond to the "preliminary and tentative audit findings," which were mailed Feb. 7 from the Auditor General's Office in Tallahassee. A final report will follow.
Nine of the adverse findings will fall to the County Commission to fix. The vast majority of the procedural shortcomings were discovered in the county's Planning Department, the agency the Auditor General was specifically called upon to investigate in July 2015.
Asked which of the findings she found most discouraging, newly elected County Commissioner Melanie Nipper responded, "I'll take 'E,' for all of the above."
"It's embarrassing for the county; as a citizen I'd be mad," Nipper said. "As a county commissioner, I look at it and say we've got to review it and set deadlines to get things fixed."
Two areas of concern also were uncovered in the county's Clerk of Courts Office. Clerk of Court Alex Alford said he concurs with both findings and is moving to rectifying each one.
"I believe the state comes back in after 18 months to review," Alford said. "I assure you the Clerk's Office will be in compliance."
Assessing, collecting fees
The auditors found that the Planning Department staff struggled when it came to assessing and collecting fees.
Preservation fees and recreational plat fees "were not always calculated correctly," the report said. It highlighted one occasion in 2008 when the county failed to collect $613,636 in recreational fees and a second time the same year that another $185,000 went uncollected.
When looking at preservation fees — fees assessed so developers can remove more vegetation than the county's development code allows — auditors found one occasion in which a developer was over- assessed by almost $27,000 and other cases in which developers were under-assessed thousands of dollars.
Auditors noted that county records did not demonstrate effort on the part of staff to review and approve preservation fee assessments. "Absent such review and approvals, there is an increased risk of errors or fraud without timely detection," the report said.
They also found that development orders were issued in some cases before preservation fees were collected.
The report found county proportionate share contribution fees — fees assessed to developers for the wear and tear their projects put on a given road — were calculated "based on outdated statutory provisions." Auditors said the county staff failed to "perform a cost benefit analysis to determine whether it would be more economical ... to assess a PSC fee or an impact fee."
Auditors noted three occasions in which PSC fees were not collected. In each case, once discovered, the county was able to obtain payment.
State investigators also found the county had failed to properly safeguard letters of credit and surety bonds that are required from developers to ensure that projects with infrastructure components, such as stormwater retention areas, "are satisfactorily completed."
One surety bond for $469,983 was located in a project file. A Planning Department employee had placed it there rather than turning it over to the Clerk of Court to be placed in a vault for safekeeping, the report said.
"Additionally, due to an oversight, department personnel did not create a record of the bond," the report said.
"Absent established policies and procedures for safeguarding the securities submitted ... there is an increased risk that the security may be lost, stolen or destroyed," the report said.
Residents voice concerns
County residents, many of whom have long been critical of county government, wondered after viewing the Auditor General's report if all the Planning Department's mismanagement was accidental.
"There is no rational explanation to account for this crooked management culture," resident Mary Nielson said in an email.
County Attorney Mark Davis originally denied citizen efforts to obtain the report via a public record request.
The auditors also were critical of the arbitrary nature by which both the county and the Clerk of Court's Office collect administrative fees from the county's Tourist Development Council.
Alford said his office had historically collected a 3 percent administrative fee from the TDC because that was the maximum fee allowable.
"It's never been looked at and calculated whether we're charging too much," he said.
Alford said it hes intends to tabulate actual costs of services his office renders to the TDC and charge that amount.
"I think we're going to find we've been collecting more than we spend," he said.
Other than Nipper, who was elected last year, no county commissioner would comment on the Auditor General's Office findings. Commissioner Sara Comander, who has been in office for 10 years, communicated through a staff member that it would not be "appropriate" to comment before commissioners had an opportunity to discuss the report.
Commission Chairwoman Cecilia Jones, who is serving her second term on the commission, responded to a phone call with an email and declined comment. Veteran Commissioner Bill Chapman also declined comment.
Newly elected Commissioner Tony Anderson did not respond to a request for comment.
The report also questioned the county's hiring practices and the way it selects vendors to perform "professional services."
Auditors found that, in hiring, "applicant work experience" was not always verified and hiring officials at times relied upon "common knowledge" of a person's employment history rather than seeking documentation.
"The BCC (Board of County Commissioners) should enhance procedures to ensure that, before individuals are selected to fill position vacancies, verification that the individuals meet the education and experience requirements for the positions are performed," the auditors said.
Additional shortcomings
Investigators also found the county did not always follow its own rules for competitive selection of vendors and that it needed to clarify its policies and procedures and firm up rating criteria and "instructions for reviewing and evaluating RFQ responses."
"The report makes it clear that administrative procedures in Walton County are inconsistent, sloppy and often outdated," former TDC board member Art Miller said in a letter to the Daily News. "Policies and procedures in Walton County are like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get."
The report also points out that in 2004 "a comprehensive study of department operations" found numerous improvements that could be made in the Planning Department.
"However, as of September, 2016, the Department had not implemented several of the improvements recommended," the report said.
The report did note that the county had taken steps to address several of the issues raised by the Auditor General's Office. The vast majority of those efforts, the report states, were undertaken after then-state Sen. Don Gaetz asked the Auditor General to investigate the Planning Department.
Gaetz proposed the review in October 2015 after a grand jury investigated the Planning Department and decided to indict former Director Pat Blackshear on perjury charges.
The charges stemmed from allegations Blackshear lied to investigators about her knowledge of missing recreation fees. Blackshear pleaded no contest to the charges in September 2016.
The Planning Department's most recent director, Wayne Dyess, announced his decision to leave the agency in a letter to County Administrator Larry Jones dated Dec. 13.
Dyess cited "an opportunity for employment near my family" as his reason for leaving.
www.nwfdailynews.com/news/20170223/auditor-general-critical-of-walton-county
Florida's Auditor General's Office has taken the Walton County Commission to task for its Planning Department's money management and hiring practices, and failure to implement past suggestions to improve the way it does business.
A report summarizing preliminary findings of an operational audit lists 11 specific administrative deficiencies the county must correct. That number could drop if Walton officials can convince the auditors no remedial action is needed in one or more of the areas cited.
The county was given 30 days to respond to the "preliminary and tentative audit findings," which were mailed Feb. 7 from the Auditor General's Office in Tallahassee. A final report will follow.
Nine of the adverse findings will fall to the County Commission to fix. The vast majority of the procedural shortcomings were discovered in the county's Planning Department, the agency the Auditor General was specifically called upon to investigate in July 2015.
Asked which of the findings she found most discouraging, newly elected County Commissioner Melanie Nipper responded, "I'll take 'E,' for all of the above."
"It's embarrassing for the county; as a citizen I'd be mad," Nipper said. "As a county commissioner, I look at it and say we've got to review it and set deadlines to get things fixed."
Two areas of concern also were uncovered in the county's Clerk of Courts Office. Clerk of Court Alex Alford said he concurs with both findings and is moving to rectifying each one.
"I believe the state comes back in after 18 months to review," Alford said. "I assure you the Clerk's Office will be in compliance."
Assessing, collecting fees
The auditors found that the Planning Department staff struggled when it came to assessing and collecting fees.
Preservation fees and recreational plat fees "were not always calculated correctly," the report said. It highlighted one occasion in 2008 when the county failed to collect $613,636 in recreational fees and a second time the same year that another $185,000 went uncollected.
When looking at preservation fees — fees assessed so developers can remove more vegetation than the county's development code allows — auditors found one occasion in which a developer was over- assessed by almost $27,000 and other cases in which developers were under-assessed thousands of dollars.
Auditors noted that county records did not demonstrate effort on the part of staff to review and approve preservation fee assessments. "Absent such review and approvals, there is an increased risk of errors or fraud without timely detection," the report said.
They also found that development orders were issued in some cases before preservation fees were collected.
The report found county proportionate share contribution fees — fees assessed to developers for the wear and tear their projects put on a given road — were calculated "based on outdated statutory provisions." Auditors said the county staff failed to "perform a cost benefit analysis to determine whether it would be more economical ... to assess a PSC fee or an impact fee."
Auditors noted three occasions in which PSC fees were not collected. In each case, once discovered, the county was able to obtain payment.
State investigators also found the county had failed to properly safeguard letters of credit and surety bonds that are required from developers to ensure that projects with infrastructure components, such as stormwater retention areas, "are satisfactorily completed."
One surety bond for $469,983 was located in a project file. A Planning Department employee had placed it there rather than turning it over to the Clerk of Court to be placed in a vault for safekeeping, the report said.
"Additionally, due to an oversight, department personnel did not create a record of the bond," the report said.
"Absent established policies and procedures for safeguarding the securities submitted ... there is an increased risk that the security may be lost, stolen or destroyed," the report said.
Residents voice concerns
County residents, many of whom have long been critical of county government, wondered after viewing the Auditor General's report if all the Planning Department's mismanagement was accidental.
"There is no rational explanation to account for this crooked management culture," resident Mary Nielson said in an email.
County Attorney Mark Davis originally denied citizen efforts to obtain the report via a public record request.
The auditors also were critical of the arbitrary nature by which both the county and the Clerk of Court's Office collect administrative fees from the county's Tourist Development Council.
Alford said his office had historically collected a 3 percent administrative fee from the TDC because that was the maximum fee allowable.
"It's never been looked at and calculated whether we're charging too much," he said.
Alford said it hes intends to tabulate actual costs of services his office renders to the TDC and charge that amount.
"I think we're going to find we've been collecting more than we spend," he said.
Other than Nipper, who was elected last year, no county commissioner would comment on the Auditor General's Office findings. Commissioner Sara Comander, who has been in office for 10 years, communicated through a staff member that it would not be "appropriate" to comment before commissioners had an opportunity to discuss the report.
Commission Chairwoman Cecilia Jones, who is serving her second term on the commission, responded to a phone call with an email and declined comment. Veteran Commissioner Bill Chapman also declined comment.
Newly elected Commissioner Tony Anderson did not respond to a request for comment.
The report also questioned the county's hiring practices and the way it selects vendors to perform "professional services."
Auditors found that, in hiring, "applicant work experience" was not always verified and hiring officials at times relied upon "common knowledge" of a person's employment history rather than seeking documentation.
"The BCC (Board of County Commissioners) should enhance procedures to ensure that, before individuals are selected to fill position vacancies, verification that the individuals meet the education and experience requirements for the positions are performed," the auditors said.
Additional shortcomings
Investigators also found the county did not always follow its own rules for competitive selection of vendors and that it needed to clarify its policies and procedures and firm up rating criteria and "instructions for reviewing and evaluating RFQ responses."
"The report makes it clear that administrative procedures in Walton County are inconsistent, sloppy and often outdated," former TDC board member Art Miller said in a letter to the Daily News. "Policies and procedures in Walton County are like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get."
The report also points out that in 2004 "a comprehensive study of department operations" found numerous improvements that could be made in the Planning Department.
"However, as of September, 2016, the Department had not implemented several of the improvements recommended," the report said.
The report did note that the county had taken steps to address several of the issues raised by the Auditor General's Office. The vast majority of those efforts, the report states, were undertaken after then-state Sen. Don Gaetz asked the Auditor General to investigate the Planning Department.
Gaetz proposed the review in October 2015 after a grand jury investigated the Planning Department and decided to indict former Director Pat Blackshear on perjury charges.
The charges stemmed from allegations Blackshear lied to investigators about her knowledge of missing recreation fees. Blackshear pleaded no contest to the charges in September 2016.
The Planning Department's most recent director, Wayne Dyess, announced his decision to leave the agency in a letter to County Administrator Larry Jones dated Dec. 13.
Dyess cited "an opportunity for employment near my family" as his reason for leaving.
www.nwfdailynews.com/news/20170223/auditor-general-critical-of-walton-county
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