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WileCoyote

Beach Lover
Dec 5, 2007
195
8
Walton County
Here we go again:

Now I guess I'll be cast as a EX-employee of the Sheriff's Department.

It seems this will never end.

This is totally unacceptable ! This person is still employed at WCSO !

Walton sheriff's employees face IRS problems
Andy Meinen
Friday December 7th, 2007
NW Florida Daily News

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — Most Walton County Sheriff's Office employees will have to file amended tax returns because the agency misreported payroll taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.

The Sheriff’s Office placed the blame on faulty accounting software and a former employee, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.

A message left for Capt. Eddie Farris on Friday afternoon was not immediately returned. Sheriff Ralph Johnson also was not available for comment.

Because of the error, the Sheriff’s Office underpaid the IRS about $150, and about 210 of the agency’s 287 employees must file amended tax returns, according to the news release.

Former Sheriff’s Office spokesman Dennis Wise said he got a notice from the IRS in October that stated he owed them about $1,000 from his 2005 tax return.

“I feel it’s purely incompetence,” he said. “For a person that is now on a fixed income, I don’t know where I’m going to come up with it.”

Wise said he thinks the Sheriff’s Office should pay the misreported amount.

He’s not alone.

Jeremy Rolling worked for the Sheriff’s Office for about five years. He left in early 2005 to join the public defender’s office.

Rolling also got a notice recently from the IRS stating that he owes about $160.
“It’s not our fault,” he said. “I don’t think we should have to pay it out of our own pocket.”

The Sheriff’s Office also attributed the trouble to “other problems within the Finance Department, in which ‘Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures’ were not followed,’ ” according to the news release.

The procedures have been modified to make sure the problem does not happen again, the release stated.

Johnson is negotiating with the IRS, which has not decided on a penalty for the Sheriff’s Office, according to the release.

This is not the first accounting error the Sheriff’s Office has faced. The agency had to pay more than $21,000 to the IRS in fiscal 2005 for late payments in 2003 and 2004.

Marjorie Adams worked in the finance department during that time. She said she unknowingly deposited payroll taxes late because she was new on the job.

Adams was also involved in an e-mail scam last summer that bilked the Sheriff’s Office out of about $16,000.
 
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Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
The guy who wrote that needs to do better. He says that the County owed the IRS $150, but then says that Dennis Wise is told by the IRS that he owes $1000 which the County didn't take out of his paycheck. Confusing.

Thanks for actually giving the source of this article, unlike the last one you posted, which seemed more like it was your own thoughts, rather than a news article. In addition to naming the author, please in the future, also note the source, so we will know which paper to read with a grain of salt.

Another surprise from the Office of the Sheriff. wow! After that Office making the couple of oops this year regarding money, I am not really surprised. Remember the employee giving the checking account info to an internet scammer, and getting about $20,000 stolen from the Sheriff's Dept bank account?
 

Matt J

SWGB
May 9, 2007
24,646
9,496
The guy who wrote that needs to do better. He says that the County owed the IRS $150, but then says that Dennis Wise is told by the IRS that he owes $1000 which the County didn't take out of his paycheck. Confusing.

Thanks for actually giving the source of this article, unlike the last one you posted, which seemed more like it was your own thoughts, rather than a news article. In addition to naming the author, please in the future, also note the source, so we will know which paper to read with a grain of salt.

Another surprise from the Office of the Sheriff. wow! After that Office making the couple of oops this year regarding money, I am not really surprised. Remember the employee giving the checking account info to an internet scammer, and getting about $20,000 stolen from the Sheriff's Dept bank account?[/quote]

That is same person who still has a job. You'd think they could find a more competent book keeper, or even go the distance and hire a CPA.
 

lancelf08

Beach Comber
Jul 23, 2007
28
1
The guy who wrote that needs to do better. He says that the County owed the IRS $150, but then says that Dennis Wise is told by the IRS that he owes $1000 which the County didn't take out of his paycheck. Confusing.

Thanks for actually giving the source of this article, unlike the last one you posted, which seemed more like it was your own thoughts, rather than a news article. In addition to naming the author, please in the future, also note the source, so we will know which paper to read with a grain of salt.

Another surprise from the Office of the Sheriff. wow! After that Office making the couple of oops this year regarding money, I am not really surprised. Remember the employee giving the checking account info to an internet scammer, and getting about $20,000 stolen from the Sheriff's Dept bank account?


The Sheriff's Office as a whole owed about $150 to the IRS, and each employee is treated as separate case.

Andy Meinen
 

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
I'm still not sure that the article paints a true entire picture, since the Sheriff's dept didn't with-hold and pay the IRS as is required. I appreciate the clarification that each employee's improper with-holding are a separate case, but the article is written in a confusing manner and leaves the reader thinking that it just doesn't add up.
 

The Watcher

Beach Fanatic
Jul 5, 2007
366
88
I'm still not sure that the article paints a true entire picture, since the Sheriff's dept didn't with-hold and pay the IRS as is required. I appreciate the clarification that each employee's improper with-holding are a separate case, but the article is written in a confusing manner and leaves the reader thinking that it just doesn't add up.

I will agree that the article was poorly written, with the $150 being confusing, but this about sums up the ability of the sheriff to take advice of his support staff. That's what its all about right? Unless you are a know it all sheriff who makes a snap decision to fire the next pregnant female officer (or two) that comes around. Both men quoted were top ranking officials of Ralph Johnsons Administration. I guess that's just another OOPS, more money mishandled, more Politricks....
Sheriff 's employees have "external" revenue problems

By BRUCE COLLIER

Walton County Sheriff Ralph Johnson has reported another internal problem with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In a press statement released Dec. 7, Johnson said that he had become aware of "a problem within the Finance department of the Walton County Sheriff's Office that related to the reporting of payroll taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in August of 2007."
The Walton County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) reportedly had a new software accounting system that "did not meet the needs of the agency." This system, and "failure of a finance employee to report this matter to the chain of command within the Sheriff's Office," resulted in an underpayment to the IRS in the amount of "approximately $150.00." The press release does specify whether this is the total amount, or an amount per employee.
The IRS notified Johnson of this in April of 2007. An investigation revealed "that some employees' W-2 forms were either not properly filed and/or forwarded to the IRS." This will reportedly affect some 210 of the WCSO's 287 employees. Some will be required to file amended tax returns "that will result in refunds for some employees and an additional payment on the part of other employees."
The statement does not reveal the name of the "employee responsible for this error," but says that employee is no employed by WCSO. Also gone are "ome employees who were within the employee's chain of command at the time the problems occurred...."
The statement goes on to say that Johnson had relied upon a March 2007 audit report prepared by "an outside accounting firm" and that the report "did not identify the above problem."
Johnson's press statement says that "no refunds generated from tax revenues have been lost," and that Johnson is negotiating the issue of a penalty with the IRS. The release concludes, "Because this matter may result in litigation, the Walton County Sheriff's Office will have no further comment on the issues contained in this press release."
However, several former WCSO employees have comments of their own. Dennis Wise, a former WCSO spokesman, was quoted elsewhere as saying he owes the IRS $1,000 from his 2005 return due to misreporting, and that WCSO ought to pay for it. Others have made similar statements, saying that they should not have to pay for someone else's "incompetence."
Walton County Department of Corrections (D.O.C.) Director Danny Glidewell confirmed that he is one of the ones affected. "Looks like I'm going to have to pay some more," he said, though he does not know how much at this time. Glidewell said that "most of the jail employees" are also looking at additional payments.
Deputy D.O.C. Director Stan Sunday is likewise having to dig deeper for Uncle Sam.? He said he owes a total of $422.19 because of misreporting. Sunday also said, "[Johnson] might claim ignorance on a lot of things, but the IRS problem is not one of them." Sunday said that he personally made Johnson aware of the IRS problem on Jan. 28, 2005, and that Glidewell was with him.
Glidewell confirmed this. "He [Sunday] gave him the document that showed there was a problem with the IRS," said Glidewell. Glidewell added that Johnson said he would care take of it. Glidewell said but that he didn't hear any more on the matter until he and the other employees got their IRS notices.
Sunday commented, "This affects over 200 of his current or former employees. At some point Sheriff Johnson should be held accountable for the financial management of his office."
WCSO has been troubled with financial problems both this year and in previous years. Last summer, an e-mail "phishing" scam robbed WCSO of some $16,000. WCSO had to pay more than $21,000 to the IRS in fiscal year 2005 because of late payroll tax payments in 2003 and 2004.

What next? Anybody seen a whale?
 

SGB

Beach Fanatic
Feb 11, 2005
1,039
182
South Walton
Here's what's next...


Walton sheriff?s employees got extra ?incentive? pay
December 15, 2007 Andy Meinen
Florida Freedom News

The Walton County Sheriff?s Office discovered this week that dozens of employees received double incentive pay in October.

Fifty-four employees got a total of $1,772.30 in extra incentive pay, said Capt. Eddie Farris.

Farris attributed the fiscal folly to troublesome accounting software, which the department is in the process of removing.

Employees get incentive pay after completing additional training, Farris said. Usually, the amounts are small, like $20 for 80 hours of training, he said.

Summer Graza, finance director with the Sheriff?s Office, said she did not notice the glitch until November because employees received pay raises in October, so staff?s pay was a little different anyway.

The accounting software showed that employees were paid the correct amount, but Graza noticed that their gross pay was off in November and realized what had happened.

Farris said Sheriff Ralph Johnson decided to let the employees keep the added bonus money because it was the department?s fault.
 

Sarah Moss

Beach Lover
Apr 5, 2006
217
27
Black Creek
This is unbelievable! Wonder what they will blame "the software" for next. At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if it's Christmas bonuses!
 

ShallowsNole

Beach Fanatic
Jun 22, 2005
4,292
849
Pt Washington
I think they withheld incentive pay for November to make up for it. At least that's what the stub I look at indicates.
 
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