Fiscal Rangers

Cowin Answers TAP Audit Regarding Unauthorized Spending

About a month ago, the auditor for the Lake School District issued a report disclosing that the School Supt., Anna Cowin, had spent over $400,000 on a school teacher incentive program without authorization from the Board. Cowin thought the funds would be replaced by a grant, but that was not the case, and she bypassed the Board for the spending. This week, the board had a budget workshop on Monday, and that night, Cowin was to provide her answer to the audit report about how it happened and how the funds could be recovered or replaced. I was at the budget meeting which was from 2:30 to 4:30 pm. However, it seems Cowin arranged a press conference at 3pm, during the middle of the budget hearings. She got up and left, along with the reporters in the room, and they went into another conference room next door. However, the door between the two rooms is not sealed well, and half the audience could hear Cowin loudly explaining her side of the issue to the reporters, while the budget hearings continued. So, below is the most recent Sentinel article on Cowin's response, and the Board's responses. And the beat goes on...... Read more →

Federal EPA Tells Staff not to talk to Inspector General staff and others

A key requisite for proper operation of internal audit and inspector general staffs is the unfettered access to all people and records in the organization subject to audit. But, here is an example where the Environmental Protection Agency leadership sent out a memo to managers saying NOT to talk to IG's, reporters (that might be ok), or congressional investigators without clearing it through a central office. Instructing staff NOT to talk to IG's is a no-no, and indicates a defensive posture that might be a red flag of some problems they are trying to hide. BAD EPA, BAD! vj ============================================ EPA tells staff don't talk to investigators, press By DINA CAPPIELLO – July 28, 2008 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is telling its pollution enforcement officials not to talk with congressional investigators, reporters and even the agency's own inspector general, according to an internal e-mail provided to The Associated Press. The June 16 message instructs 11 managers in the EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, the branch of the agency charged with making sure environmental laws are followed, to remind their staff members to keep quiet. "If you are contacted directly by the IG's office or GAO... Read more →

July 16 Was Cost of Government Day - after then, your income is yours

The Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) announced that this year, over half the year's income from average citizens is dedicated to paying government taxes. However, as of July 16, anything you have left is yours... see www.CAGW.org for more. CAGW Observes Cost of Government Day, 2008 CAGW observed Cost of Government Day on July 16 by expressing outrage at the federal, state, and local governments’ continued waste of hundreds of billions of tax dollars on outdated, ineffective, duplicative, and non-essential programs and agencies. Cost of Government Day is the date on which the average American worker has earned enough to pay off his or her share of the tax and regulatory burdens imposed by all levels of government, according to the Americans for Tax Reform Foundation. “Today taxpayers have been released from state servitude and can begin to provide for themselves and their families,” CAGW President Tom Schatz announced. Americans now work more than half of the year - 197 days - to pay their share of the cost of government, with 84 of those days due to federal spending alone. This year, the average American needed to work an additional 16 days to pay off his or her cost... Read more →

Our Opinion - the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is not always useful

This is a personal editorial based upon my own negative experience with using the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to research the reputation of two businesses, Crystal Springs Water (aka DS Waters) and IPA_IGA (International Profit Associates). It turns out you cannot rely on your local BBB to provide information on any business that is NOT headquartered in the same area... read this and understand Recently I had two personal and negative consumer situations where I consulted the Orlando area BBB website about two separate firms, and found no negative information because BBB Orlando does NOT list complaints for out of area businesses, but you don’t know that. They don’t disclose it, and don’t list complaints even if the business has a branch office in the local area. Then, as an experienced corporate auditor, I did further research and found the following about Crystal Springs Water (provides home delivery of bottled water) and International Profit Associates, a consulting firm that hires business consultants via the Orlando Sentinel Careercenter website: 1) Crystal Springs Water – aka DS Waters – I signed up for their service for home delivery of drinking water at an arts show in Mount Dora. Later, I terminated the... Read more →

GAO Recommends Three Key Management Practices for Fed Management

Below is an overview of the GAO's testimony to the US Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management and other committees on government performance measures for programs they measure. Attached below is the one page highlights document, plus the full 28 page titled "Lessons Learned for the Next Administration on Using Performance Information to Improve Results". These are good concepts for the new Lake County school district administration to consider. vj Download gao_govt_performance_1_pg_highlights_d081026thigh.pdf Download gao_govt_performance_full_28pg_rept_d081026t.pdf ======================================= from the GAO (Government Accountability Office) Government Performance: Lessons Learned for the Next Administration on Using Performance Information to Improve Results Over the past 15 years, legislative and executive branch reform efforts have attempted to shift the focus of federal government management from a preoccupation with activities to the results or outcomes of those activities. Based on over a decade of work in this area, GAO has found a transformation in the capacity of the federal government to manage for results, including an infrastructure of outcome-oriented strategic plans, performance measures, and accountability reporting that provides a solid foundation for improving the performance of federal programs. However, agencies have made less progress in getting their managers’ to use performance information in their decision making. GAO was asked... Read more →

Orlando DEAD LAST in Cities having "High Impact" Job Growth Companies

Just read the article - basically, the SBA came out with a new report on small businesses that are "gazelles" that result in high job growth. Orlando ranks dead last among all US major cities. Guess that means Lake County might be below dead last... According to the SBA, cities that emphasize support and growth for gazelles will get higher job growth. Important Quote: Among large cities, the Norfolk, Va., area came in on top. No. 2 was Raleigh-Durham, N.C. Pittsburgh was No.4 and Charlotte, N.C., came in fifth. Orlando, Fla., came in last. See the SBA report at: www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs328tot.pdf vj ========================================== Friday, July 25, 2008 - 8:58 AM MST Arizona ranks second for number of high-impact job-generating firms Phoenix Business Journal - by Cathy Luebke Arizona ranked second among states and the Phoenix area third among the nation's 52 largest metro areas having the highest percentage of high-impact firms. Those findings were released in a 92-page report published by the SBA Office of Advocacy: "High-Impact Firms: Gazelles Revisited." High-impact firms are considered those that have significant revenue growth and expanding employment. To earn its second-place ranking, Arizona had 7,463 of the so-called high-impact companies, accounting for 2.57 percent of... Read more →

Lake County School District Overpaid Staff by $600,000 per Audit

The Audit Committee of the Lake County School District just had their meeting and the external auditor, RSM McGladrey, presented a new audit showing that "someone" manipulated the computerized payroll system to overpay some staff by $600,000. Either the situation was caused by mismanagement or purposely as part of fraud. It indicates a lack of professional accounting controls - there should be a running total of approved salary levels that is compared to check payments and reconciled to ensure non-approved changes are made to the payroll system. This is a criminal situation and should be investigated by the Sherrif's department. This is actual theft from taxpayer funds and needs to be investigated by criminal investigators. The article below doesn't say there was any such recommendation, but I will make it at next Monday's Board meeting. Note: As a former member of the audit committee, I can say that RSM tends to avoid conflict or specifics in their reports - they tend to never make recommendations related to individuals in writing. In former cases where I was auditing potential fraud, we had criminal investigators and the attorney involved before writing any report. vj ====================================== Who altered salaries at Lake's schools? Tanya... Read more →

Massachussets Centralized State School Building Authority Cleans up School Building Messes

It seems that Massachussets had a problem with School District making a mess of school building projects awhile ago. So the State created a central School Building Authority to control building costs and quality, and it seems to have been effective. But, some of the wealthier school districts now want to spend State funds on fancy "field houses and pools" (remember, Mass. gets lots of snow, so they need buildings for outdoor activities in the winter.). And this editorial preaches constraint on using State funds to build "fancy" field houses. The lesson we get from this is that maybe central management of various school programs might be a good thing. For instance, right now, in the County, the County and the Schools don't have a consolidated purchasing system, so even at the County level, they don't get the best volume pricing vs consolidation. Maybe central services for many government functions should be examined. Why should there be separate IT, accounting and procurement departments for the County, and Schools? vj ============================================== from the Bostonglobe.com GLOBE EDITORIAL Smart schools, not edu-palaces July 22, 2008 THE STATE School Building Authority, which provides partial payment for school construction or renovation, is not obligated to... Read more →

Obama Plan for Health Care for Illegal Immigrants Would Greatly Increase Local Health Care Costs

Dick Morris was once a political adviser to Bill Clinton. Then he switched to the Republican side and is a Fox News commentator. But, he also sends out a periodic email newsletter, and in this one, he repeats an article he wrote that was published in the New York Post recently. It talks about the true cost of Obama's health care plan and how 1 in 4 "uninsured" US residents is an illegal alien who would benefit, running up health care costs for everyone. Look at it this way, if Obama's health plan is implemented, your taxes and health insurance will go up, and local hospital emergency clinics will close. Read and weep... vj ===================================== Obama'S HEALTH RX: COVER ILLEGALS By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN Published in The New York Post on July 21, 2008. Democrats' single most important domestic proposal - universal health insurance - may blow up in Barack Obama's face when voters are exposed to the deadly details. Obama has said, proudly and often, "I am going to give health insurance to 47 million Americans who are now without coverage." But are they "Americans?" That 47 million statistic includes illegal immigrants - who virtually all lack... Read more →

An Overview of Lake School District Budgets

This document is a work in process - more to be added at the bottom of this document in a few days. vj - July 21, 2008 (Just attended another 3 hours District budget workshop). School District Budgets - The Lake County School District has a NEW website, and lots of new stuff is on it. If you look in the Finance Dept., they now have the current 2007-08 annual budget (a very brief 15 page summary), plus the long missing monthly budget summaries. Additionally, I attended a Board workshop yesterday which was one of a series reviewing revisions to the next year's budget. The School budget year starts in July, so they still are working on the budget that just started. Here are my comments about the budgets and the workshop...I have been putting this off because government "fund account" budgeting is a black magic system that results in brain strain on everyone. My opinion is that you can't blame elected officials for not understanding the budgets when degreed accountants can go blind trying to decipher them. I actually think there is a retirement home in Florida for old fund accountants who went senile after trying to explain fund... Read more →

Are We Picking on School Supt. Anna Cowin?

Anna Cowin - The lame duck elected Lake County School District Superintendent, Anna Cowin, gets lots of coverage in this blog. But if you think I am the only one, don't. If you go to this link on the Topix.net website, you can read over 20 comments in a forum for Astatula residents (not a major community in Lake County) about Anna regarding her recent statement that she would sue the School Board if they forced her to reinstate an Administrator. They aren't very flattering. Or, do a google search on her name - our blog doesn't appear until the end of the second page... read the other comments. It is time for Cowin to resign and go. vj Read more →

New Schools Supt. Moxley to Start Consulting This Week

For the record, here is some info related to the new Lake County Schools Superintendent, Susan Moxley, who is starting this week. I don't expect to see many changes even being discussed until November when Anna Cowin completes her term in office, so we probably won't know until then the level of research and priorities that Moxley will focus on. Moxley will even have an office in the separate old County Courthouse so visitors can enter without going through School District offices. Finally, at the bottom is an older article recapping the School Board's reluctant approval of Anna Cowin's school staffing plan - they basically had no legal basis to alter it, so approved it "under protest". However, this week, the new School FCAT grades came out and most Lake Schools improved their scores, so we might wonder whether Cowin's previous staff transfers helped or hindered the results. We can't really know because neither Cowin or the Board ever discussed any hard facts about each administrator (mostly Assistant Principals) transfer decision except for one or two of them. The trend was that Cowin clammed up and stood her ground without any logical facts to support her staffing plan, and the... Read more →

Teacher Training Group Hammered by Inspector General Report

As I review articles on problems in K-12 systems, a pattern is emerging that "educators" and their programs lack any fiscal sense or skills. Here is an example where a "Teach for America" group with a $75-million Federally funded budget was lacking ANY records to substantiate HALF of the audited portion of the $75-million in funds they received for teaching classes, providing food, etc. There is NO excuse for this, and the program should be eliminated. If "Educators" do not even learn how to properly document taxpayer funded expenditures, then they should not receive any funds at all. Recently, I looked at the proposed curriculum for upcoming Principals for the Lake County School District, and there were hardly any learning objectives related to management of fiscal expenditures, controls, accounting methods, etc. That is one reason why educators keep failing to get much credibility from taxpayers when voting on spending requests. Educators have to step up and add strong fiscal and performance management skills to their learning objectives before they get to "manage" any staff or programs. Favorite quotes: Auditors say there was no documentation that any teachers actually attended and completed the class, or that there even was a class.... Read more →

Federal Medicare Scammers Received $92-million Due by Using IDs of Dead Doctors

We normally talk about fiscal mis-management at the local government level, but here is a story of a Federal government screwup that cost millions. What is interesting is that the problem was discovered in 2001, but then never fixed by the responsible agency. And, they specifically looked at the scam applied to Florida. "a perennial leader in Medicare Fraud..." and here is what they found: They examined separate data for Florida, home to many retirees and a perennial leader in Medicare fraud. They found that more than a quarter of deceased Medicare doctors there still have active ID numbers in Medicare's system. And, this brings up a point - the scams are mainly focused on provision of "medical equipment" to patients. So, when you see all those $9,000 electric wheelchairs and scooters, a bunch were paid for by Medicare (or Meidcaid), thus draining the Medicare funds available for medical procecures. Some people even get Doctor approval for hot tubs, and when I asked about this at a local hot tub shop, the "medically approved" tubs were mostly more than $8,000. And, after a disclosure like this, there still isn't any mention that any Medicare officials were fired for their lack... Read more →

High Cost of Health Care for Illegal Immigrants is Disclosed in two videos

View these two YouTube videos on the HIGH cost of health care for illegal aliens that is passed on to US taxpayers. The second video is testimony of a Florida hospital official before a government committee. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSe3C5vMafM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLJxmJZXgNI The problem is that hospitals by law must take anyone in for emergency care, regardless of ability to pay. Then, if the patient requires ongoing care, the hospital is stuck with the cost, which in the one case in the videos was $1.5-million. Now, they do the same for US citizens who don't have insurance, but the question is, should we taxpayers also have to absorb the medical cost for illegal immigrants. Notice that the one testifier says that a "large percentage of babies born in the hospital are from illegal aliens". So, we are paying for babies, who are then immediately US citizens. The problem with that is the babies grow up, and once they are adults, they can bring their parents to the US and they qualify for funds from the SSI fund, which is paid out of YOUR social security funds. Now you know why the Social Security fund is running out of money. So, when you get that... Read more →

Stupid Government Mistakes - Massachusetts Edition

It seems the State of Massachussets bought some software from $13-million that only some workers were qualified to use, but they rolled it out on the PC desks of 20,000 workers, triggering higher licensing fees than planned. The State IG also found the administration rushed the bid through and bypassed bidding rules, effectively eliminating competition. Now the contract has been canceled. Cognos is a software firm owned by IBM and the software is used to create business management performance online and printed reports. So, it was a good move to get it, but a bad move to roll it out to everyone. That is like paying to give Oracle to every employee when they don't know anything about databases and would never use it. Lessons Learned: - When buying software, always seriously review just who gets it. I remember years ago when a company would buy dBase database software and install it manually on every desktop when many people couldn't even use the word processor. - Don't "rush" an order and bypass bidding rules, or the IG will getcha. ========================================= Experts say Patrick administration overspent on canceled contract (State of Massachusetts's) By Associated Press | Tuesday, July 1, 2008 |... Read more →