State & Local Reports

On February 8, 2022, Pinecrest Supports and Services Center Regional Administrator Shannon Thorn notified the Louisiana Legislative Auditor (LLA), in writing, of a possible misappropriation of public funds by then PSSC Police Captain David Patterson. LLA initiated this investigative audit to determine the extent to which Mr. Patterson recorded overtime hours he did not work. From July 2020 to December 2021, former Pinecrest Supports and Services Center (PSSC) Police Captain David Patterson recorded and was paid $15,099 for 391 hours of COVID-19 overtime on weekend days that he either did not work or failed to go through PSSC’s mandatory COVID-19 screening process.

What Was Performed? A performance audit of the design and operation of Brandywine School District’s internal controls over Local Funds and compliance with the requirements of the Delaware Code, State of Delaware Administrative Code, State of Delaware Budget and Accounting Policy Manual, School District Accounting Policies, and the School District Budget.Why This Engagement? The State Auditor is authorized under 29 Del. C., §2906 to conduct post-audits of local school district tax funds budgets and expenditures. Delaware Code provides for school districts and vocationaltechnical school districts to levy and collect additional taxes for school purposes upon the assessed value of real estate in the district with some exceptions. For purposes of this report, real estate taxes levied for school purposes are referred to as “Local Funds.” The school districts’ authority to levy taxes is governed by 14 Del. C., c. 19 for nonvocational districts and by 14 Del. C., c. 26 for vocational districts.There were four objectives established for the performance audit of the school district:1. School district internal controls over the expenditure of Local Funds were designed and operated based on requirements in the Delaware Code, State of Delaware Administrative Code, State of Delaware Budget and Accounting Policy Manual, School District Accounting Policies, and the School District Budget.2. The school district’s internal controls over the receipt of Local Funds were designed and operated in accordance with the requirements.3. The school district’s real estate taxes were approved and calculated in accordance with the requirements.4. The school district’s tuition tax funds were calculated and spent in accordance with the requirements.In March 2020, the Governor of the State of Delaware declared a state of emergency to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Precautionary measures to slow the spread of the virus continued throughout 2021 and included temporary school district closures. In response to the challenges faced by school districts related to teaching, remote learning, nutrition and emotional support to students, State Auditor McGuiness honored requests from school districts to delay this engagement. This accommodation not only fulfilled the needs of school districts but ensured the integrity of the engagement.What Was Found? Based on the work performed, the following findings were identified:▪ Lack of Approved Purchase Orders for Vendors: Forty-nine (49) vendors did not have an approved purchase order and 104 vendors had purchase orders for only a portion of the purchases in the state accounting system out of 279 tested vendors with cumulative purchases greater than $5,000.▪ Non-Compliance with State Procurement Requirements: One purchase order for $346,844 did not have the required state procurement actions completed by the district out of five purchase orders tested. The district piggybacked on another School District’s expired contract.The Brandywine School District Local Funds Performance Audit for Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2021 can be found on our website: click here.

What Was Performed An examination of the Harbor Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center’s fiscal records of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance, Medicaid Long-Term Care Facilities’ Statement of Reimbursement Costs for Skilled and Intermediate Care Nursing Facilities – Title XIX and Nursing Wage Survey (cost report and nursing wage survey, respectively) for fiscal year ended June 30, 2018. Why This Engagement? The State Auditor is authorized under 29 Del. C., §2906 to conduct post-audits of all financial transactions of all state agencies. This engagement was conducted in accordance with federal requirements (42 CFR 447.253 and 483 Subpart B) and state requirements (Title XIX Delaware Medicaid State Plan, Attachment 4.19D) (criteria), as applicable to the Harbor Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center’sfiscal records. The criteria were used to prepare the Schedule of Adjustments to the Trial Balance, Patient Days, and Nursing Wage Survey for fiscal year ended June 30, 2018 found in the report. The State of Delaware is required to ensure that the fiscal records at the nursing care facilities are retained and properly support the cost report, or the financial report showing the cost and charges related to Medicaid activities, submitted to the Medicaid Agency. These costs must be compliant with federal and state regulations.Under theDelaware Medicaid State Plan, the state is required to examine a sample of facilities located within the state to ensure the facilities’ cost reports and nursing wage surveys are compliant with federal and state requirements.What Was Found? The examination identified one finding, resulting in both a material weakness in internal control and a compliance finding. The examination was limited in that we were unable to obtain sufficient information to support facility costs incurred and patient census data to adequately test the underlying data used to prepare the cost report and survey. The facility did not provide sufficient supporting documentation for facility costs, including payroll, patient census data, and other costs for the period under examination. Not being able to support the costs recorded could result in a disallowance of those costs, which would affect the facility’s reimbursement rate. The Harbor Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center Long-Term Healthcare Facility Examination for Fiscal Year ended June 30, 2018, can be found on our website: click here. For any questions regarding the attached report, please contact State Auditor Kathleen K. McGuiness atKathleen.Mcguiness@delaware.gov.

What Was Performed? A performance audit of the design and operation of Cape Henlopen School District’s internal controls over Local Funds and compliance with the requirements of the Delaware Code, State of Delaware Administrative Code, State of Delaware Budget and Accounting Policy Manual, School District Accounting Policies, and the School District Budget.Why This Engagement? The State Auditor is authorized under 29 Del. C., §2906 to conduct post-audits of local school district tax funds budgets and expenditures. Delaware Code provides for school districts and vocationaltechnical school districts to levy and collect additional taxes for school purposes upon the assessed value of real estate in the district with some exceptions. For purposes of this report, real estate taxes levied for school purposes are referred to as “Local Funds.” The school districts’ authority to levy taxes is governed by 14 Del. C., c. 19 for nonvocational districts and by 14 Del. C., c. 26 for vocational districts.There were four objectives established for the performance audit of the School District:1. School district internal controls over the expenditure of Local Funds were designed and operated based on requirements in the Delaware Code, State of Delaware Administrative Code, State of Delaware Budget and Accounting Policy Manual, School District Accounting Policies, and the School District Budget.2. The school district’s internal controls over the receipt of Local Funds were designed and operated in accordance with the requirements.3. The school district’s real estate taxes were approved and calculated in accordance with the requirements.4. The school district’s tuition tax funds were calculated and spent in accordance with the requirements.In March 2020, the Governor of the State of Delaware declared a state of emergency to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Precautionary measures to slow the spread of the virus continued throughout 2021 and included temporary school district closures. In response to the challenges faced by school districts related to teaching, remote learning, nutrition and emotional support to students, State Auditor McGuiness honored requests from school districts to delay this engagement. This accommodation not only fulfilled the needs of school districts but ensured the integrity of the engagement.What Was Found? Based on the work performed, the following findings were identified:• Lack of Proper Approvals in State Accounting System: Seven non-tuition local tax funds disbursement transactions for minor capital, totaling $23,972, lacked proper approval in the state accounting system (FSF) of the forty tested disbursement transactions.• Non-Compliance with State Procurement Requirements: One purchase order for $62,500 did not have the required state procurement actions taken by the district of the five tested purchase orders. Thisincluded not issuing an RFP for services or maintaining a written determination for a sole source procurement.• Debt Service Reserve Exceeds Allowable %: The district debt service rate for FY2021 was 122.64% of the expected total debt service expenditures expected for FY2022, which exceeded the 110% of future fiscal payments allowed. The district’s debt tax-rate setting process did not consider other significant debt service revenue sources and used the maximum tax rate approved rather than a calculated rate.The Cape Henlopen School District Local Funds Performance Audit for Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2021 can be found on our website: click here.For any questions regarding the attached report, please contact State Auditor Kathleen K. McGuiness atKathleen.Mcguiness@delaware.gov.

The objective of this audit was to determine if COVID-19 vaccines that originated from the North Dakota Department of Health (DoH) warehouse in Bismarck stored and handled according to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines? We found instances where the COVID-19 vaccines originating from the state warehouse were not adequately stored or handled according to CDC guidelines.

The primary objective of this report is to show Missouri's spending of federal assistance from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act in the month of June 2022 for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) recovery and the cumulative financial activity since the state began receiving funding in May 2021.

The primary objective of this report is to show Missouri's spending of federal assistance in the month of June 2022 for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency and the cumulative financial activity since the state began receiving funding in April 2020.

What Was Performed? A special report of the Delaware Volunteer Fire Service for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022Why This Engagement? This engagement was performed in accordance with 16 Del. C. § 6608, which requires each volunteer fire company to submit a completed audit by an independent certified public accounting firm to the State Fire Commission annually within six months of the end of the fiscal year.The Delaware Volunteer Fire Service is responsible for fire, rescue, emergency medical and other emergencyresponse-related services for local jurisdictions. Their operational activities include accounting, equipment purchases and maintenance of vehicle and gear, and management of facilities.What Was Found? After performing a detailed cost analysis of all volunteer fire companies’ annual financial statements, my team and I determined that the Volunteer Fire Service saved Delaware taxpayers approximately $320.3 million in FY22. This amount was determined by figuring how much it would cost for the state to have a fully paid fire service instead of having one that uses volunteers. In addition, the audit team continues to recommend that the Delaware General Assembly create a fund independent of Grant-In-Aid to assist Delaware’s Volunteer Fire Service. The Delaware Fire Service special report for fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, can be found on our website: click here.For any questions regarding the attached report, please contact State Auditor Kathleen K. McGuiness atKathleen.Mcguiness@delaware.gov

What Was Performed? A performance audit of the design and operation of New Castle County VocationalTechnical School District’s internal controls over Local Funds and compliance with the requirements of the Delaware Code, State of Delaware Administrative Code, State of Delaware Budget and Accounting Policy Manual, School District Accounting Policies, and the School District Budget.Why This Engagement? The State Auditor is authorized under 29 Del. C., §2906 to conduct post-audits of local school district tax funds budgets and expenditures. Delaware Code provides for school districts and vocationaltechnical school districts to levy and collect additional taxes for school purposes upon the assessed value of real estate in the district with some exceptions. For purposes of this report, real estate taxes levied for school purposes are referred to as “Local Funds.” The school districts’ authority to levy taxes is governed by 14 Del. C., c. 19 for nonvocational districts and by 14 Del. C., c. 26 for vocational districts.There were three objectives established for the performance audit of the school district:1. School district internal controls over the expenditure of Local Funds were designed and operated based on requirements in the Delaware Code, State of Delaware Administrative Code, State of Delaware Budget and Accounting Policy Manual, School District Accounting Policies, and the School District Budget.2. The school district’s internal controls over the receipt of Local Funds were designed and operated in accordance with the requirements.3. The school district’s real estate taxes were approved and calculated in accordance with the requirements.In March 2020, the Governor of the State of Delaware declared a state of emergency to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Precautionary measures to slow the spread of the virus continued throughout 2021 and includedtemporary school district closures. In response to the challenges faced by school districts related to teaching, remote learning, nutrition and emotional support to students, State Auditor McGuiness honored requests fromschool districts to delay this engagement. This accommodation not only fulfilled the needs of school districts but ensured the integrity of the engagement.What Was Found? It is my pleasure to report that no findings were found during this performance audit.The New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District Local Funds Performance Audit for Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2021 can be found on our website: click here.For any questions regarding the attached report, please contact State Auditor Kathleen K. McGuiness atKathleen.Mcguiness@delaware.gov.

The Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Public Safety section has completed an inquiry regarding the Department of Law (DOL) and the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) collection of data related to lawsuits involving CPD and its members. This inquiry was conducted pursuant to Municipal Code of Chicago (MCC) § 2-56-230(e), which includes among the Public Safety section’s powers and duties to “review, audit and analyze civil judgments and settlements of claims against members of the Police Department, and to issue recommendations based on its findings to inform and improve or correct deficiencies in the conduct, or operation of the Police Department.” OIG reviewed requests made by DOL to the Office of the Comptroller for the payment of settlements and judgments of CPD-involved cases from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2020. Based on this review, OIG calculates that the City spent over $250 million on judgments and settlements during the period of analysis. Through its analysis, OIG has identified shortcomings related to the collection and management of litigation data involving CPD. These shortcomings limit the City’s ability to understand areas of litigation risk to the City and to implement responsive improvements to CPD’s operations and policies. In conducting its inquiry, OIG interviewed personnel from the Office of Risk Management, DOL, and CPD, and reviewed data from DOL. OIG was unable to conduct an in-depth analysis of data from individual lawsuits because of limitations in the quality and quantity of data collected by DOL. Subject matter experts recommend law enforcement agencies implement risk programs to identify and mitigate risk areas, and many police departments in large jurisdictions use such programs. The collection and analysis of litigation data is a critical component of such risk management programs. Litigation data should be used to analyze trends, inform early intervention systems and specific administrative investigations, and help identify gaps in administrative investigation processes. However, CPD is poorly positioned to perform these functions due to the City’s current litigation data collection and management practices. Specifically, OIG identified two areas where the City’s current practices limit its ability to perform these functions: (1) DOL does not collect litigation data at a sufficient level of detail and (2) DOL is unable to merge its litigation data with CPD’s related data (e.g., use of force reports and arrest reports) to expand potential avenues of analysis. As a result, the City of Chicago is failing to capitalize on opportunities to manage risks arising from CPD’s operations.