The effects of Public Corruption
Charlotte-Mecklenburg County's response to DSS issues has been appropriate
(An Editorial From Jennifer Roberts Chairperson of Charlotte-Meck. Board of County Commissioners)
During this economic crisis, the work of Mecklenburg County's Department of Social Services employees is needed more than ever. These employees help people affected by the recession, by providing state and federal assistance programs including welfare, Medicaid and food stamps.
Recently, DSS has been in the news for more than its good work. Instead, the focus has been on a series of DSS audits. Early this year, DSS Director Mary Wilson noticed an increased use of vouchers to buy clothes and other items for children in DSS custody. Also, a DSS employee raised concerns about the Giving Tree, a program that receives private donations to buy holiday gifts for foster children and others who receive DSS services.
To address these concerns and to close out another donation program called Good Friends, Wilson asked County Manager Harry Jones to authorize audits of these programs. Jones directed the county Finance Department to oversee a series of DSS audits by an external auditor, while the county's Internal Audit Department reviewed the Giving Tree.
The audit findings revealed lax internal financial controls in these and other areas of DSS. County management immediately implemented several changes to fix these problems, with the concurrence of the external auditor. For example, check writing for DSS spending is now done only by the county's central finance office, and vouchers were eliminated except in emergencies.
Following an extensive public review by the Board of County Commissioners and its Audit Review Committee, no evidence of misappropriation was found in the use of vouchers or Good Friends funds. Initially, the Internal Audit Department found all but $23,310 of the $162,289.74 in Giving Tree expenditures was accounted for.
The audit also found receipts that were incomplete, illegible or that might have been altered. Last week, a follow-up report by the Internal Audit Department revealed that, in fact, all $162,289.74 in Giving Tree expenditures were accounted for. The discrepancy was due to an error in the original report, which was corrected.
Although items purchased by Giving Tree funds remained in the county's possession, the altered receipts made it difficult for Mecklenburg County to validate these receipts. Therefore, county management asked law enforcement to investigate. This investigation is ongoing. To ensure the integrity of the investigation, the county commissioners are unable to share information about it publicly.
My hope is that law enforcement will produce findings soon, so the public will know the conclusions. I also want to be clear that if there is evidence of illegal activity within DSS - currently we have no firm indication of this - the county will take every action it can to prosecute those responsible to the full extent of the law.
It concerns me that many news stories about DSS have not acknowledged management's proactive call for these audits. It is only through the open actions of county management that we discovered these problems.
Management's response to the findings was swift and thorough. In addition to changes mentioned above, DSS employees are being re-trained in financial controls and reporting. Supervisors are ensuring that employees are retaining receipts and recording every transaction. Staff is examining controls in all areas of county government to ensure compliance with the county's financial policies and procedures. To date, we have found no instances of lax financial controls in other county departments.
County Manager Jones also directed county human resources and legal staff to conduct a separate investigation to determine accountability for any possible misconduct and/or other violations of county policy related to the Giving Tree. This investigation resulted in formal discipline and other actions for those employees involved. By state law, employee disciplinary actions must remain confidential, so there has been no release of this information.
Jones is changing the management of the Internal Audit Department. The county commissioners voted to expand the number of internal auditors, to enhance the department's ability to deliver more comprehensive audit services, and voted to change the composition of the board's audit review committee. On Nov. 6, county staff implemented an anonymous report line as another way county employees can report concerns about possible waste, fraud or abuse.
The county commissioners and county management believe sound financial management of your tax dollars is a priority. In this time of economic crisis, it is more important than ever that county government be accountable to those who need us. We stand ready to respond to any citizen with concerns, and will continue to provide for those who are suffering the most.
Public Corruption in North Carolina
North Carolina voters don't have much trust in their politicians, regardless of party.
45% think that the Democrats in state government are corrupt to 27% who think they are not. The Republicans aren't a whole lot better with 37% thinking they're corrupt to just 28% who believe they are not. There are a lot more undecideds about the Republicans probably due to their out of power status.
It's predictable that Democratic voters think Republicans are corrupt and vice versa, but there's actually a decent number of folks who think their own parties are as well. 26% of Democrats think their own party is corrupt and 25% of Republicans say the same of theirs.
These numbers are a good indication of why corruption hasn't been a particularly effective electoral issue for Republicans in 2006 and 2008 despite the number of Democratic scandals. The voters don't really trust them any more than they do the Democrats.
North Carolinians also think that corruption in the state is on the rise. 55% believe there is more of it going on in state government than there was 25 years ago with only 8% feeling it's on the decline. Even compared to just five years ago 43% think it's becoming more common to 9% who believe it's become less so.
We've talked frequently about how North Carolina gives its politicians some of the lowest approval ratings of any state in the country- these findings may at least be a start to explaining some of that- elected officials just haven't earned a whole lot of trust from their constituents.
Fire Harry Jones, Tomorrow
Over the years I’ve defended County Manager Harry Jones in public and private as a competent manager who seems to have the right goals and standards in place for Mecklenburg County. But his handling of the DSS mess is a firing offense, specifically his move to quiet a critic of DSS by calling the man’s employer to silence him.
Jones has not said why he contacted Bank of America after a local BAC employee complained that he felt “duped” by giving money to DSS’ charitable efforts for kids. That is no doubt because the tone of the email exchange is unmistakable — and chilling.
“There seems to be a need for a wholesale cleanup of many county agencies, and I think that starts from the top down,” BofA employee Harry Lomax wrote to county officials. A week later, Jones sent the email on to a BofA VP with an ominous “Do you know Harry Lomax” addition.
The response was immediate from BofA government liaison Betty Turner. Lomax’s email was deemed “embarassing” and Jones was assured that BofA execs were on to Lomax: “I am tracking it down. I don’t know him – I have alerted charles. Will be back to you.” Question: Who the hell is “charles?” The Uptown paper of record account leaves this out.
Anyone with even a glancing understanding of Charlotte’s history is probably flashing back to the time when uppity mill hands who questioned local leaders were met with, “What’s your name again? I know your pastor.” The threat was clear — shut up and know your place.
Harry Jones clearly has no problem pulling the same power levers as boss men of years past. And no doubt Jones has done this sort of thing before to be so comfortable as to put such a smoking gun in email form, and on such a high profile matter as DSS’s continued money and management woes. For that reason, the “isolated incident” defense we are sure to get this week does not wash.
Harry Jones has proven he does not have the temperament required of highly compensated public employees, particularly at a time when revenues are tight and citizens are concerned about spending. Criticism from engaged citizens — Harry Lomax was concerned that a county Christmas charity was misusing funds — must be welcomed and encouraged, not kick off corporate retaliation efforts among the lock-step Uptown crowd.
A unanimous vote by the Mecklenburg County commission to remove Jones from his position is the only thing which can restore confidence in the notion that local government works for local citizens rather than actively conspires against them.
Update: Betty Turner is a registered lobbyist for BAC in both North Carolina and Virginia.
What is Charlotte-Mecklenburg DSS Spending Taxpayer Money on??
Kinda hard to tell.
Local attorney Tom Ashcraft asked a straightforward question: Which local non-profits and churches are getting funds from DSS? What he got back was a 1311-page, non-responsive data dump of all vendors receiving funds. Still, there are some interesting things to note at first glance.
Things like the raft of Diners Club accounts floating around DSS. Like the $99,000 worth of charges to a Target charge card, including late fees and adjusted balances, which indicate disputed transactions or returns. Like the $3 million or so for Medicaid transportation and paratransit — that’s what I thought CATS paratransit was for, at least that is what the 2007 transit tax repeal campaign taught me. Like the dozens of parking tickets and several false burglary alarms — the latter at $500 a pop — worth thousands of dollars. Like the $250K to the Urban League ($25K per month) for a “Youth Empowerment Program.” And the $300K in U.S. Postal Service charges, a line item that was utterly abused in the House Post Office scandal of the early 90s.
All of these expenses might be completely legitimate. The problem is that the county’s inchoate data dump leaves any curious observer in the dark as to the ultimate destination and justification for millions in DSS spending. And that is just not acceptable.
Man's e-mail about Charlotte-Mecklenburg DSS Fraud sent to his employer (Retaliation)
As news spread about possible missing money from the Department of Social Services Christmas charity, Harry Lomax and other donors contacted Mecklenburg County leaders to complain.
"I feel duped," Lomax wrote in an e-mail to county commissioners and top administrators.
But Lomax likely did not anticipate County Manager Harry Jones' response.
Jones forwarded the e-mail to Lomax's employer, Bank of America, and wrote, "Do you know Harry Lomax."
A Bank of America vice president replied to Jones about one hour later, writing that she was "embarrassed" by Lomax's e-mail.
"I am tracking it down. I don't know him - I have alerted charles. Will be back to you," she wrote.
Some commissioners and ethics experts now say the actions by Jones and the bank official were improper because they could stifle free speech and blur the lines between employment and citizenship.
It's unclear how Jones knew Lomax worked at Bank of America. Lomax sent his message from a personal account and did not mention the bank by name.
"It is not appropriate," said Diane Swanson, a professor of business ethics at Kansas State University. "If this happened all the time, what kind of world would we have?"
The Observer obtained the e-mails from the county through an open records request. They provide a glimpse into how top Mecklenburg administrators reacted to reports of misspending and accounting lapses at the Department of Social Services.
Worried donors wrote to commissioners and county executives after auditors disclosed that they could not account for tens of thousands of dollars from a charity designed to buy Christmas presents for needy children.
Some county commissioners said they do not understand why Jones forwarded the e-mail from Lomax to his employer when he was speaking as a citizen and not on behalf of the company. They said they would question Jones about it.
Public officials publish their phone numbers and e-mail addresses to allow constituents to voice concerns and ask questions. They also set aside time during public meetings to listen to comments from constituents.
"Citizens are able to vent frustrations without thinking that (county) management will get their employer to engage in some retribution," Commissioner Bill James said. "This makes the county look bad. It makes Harry look vindictive. It makes Bank of America look like the county's hatchet man."
Jones did not respond to interview requests from the Observer. A county spokesman referred a reporter to a statement the county released, but it does not directly address questions about Lomax's e-mail.
Nicole Nastacie, a spokeswoman for Bank of America, said "on their personal time, employees are free to express personal opinions" to government officials about any issue that is not related to the company.
Betty Turner, the bank's government liaison who responded to Jones, suspected that Lomax's e-mail involved issues related to the bank and appropriately looked into the situation, Nastacie said. When she determined Lomax was speaking as a private citizen, there were no further discussions, Nastacie said.
Lomax declined to comment.
The e-mail
On July 7, Lomax sent his e-mail to commissioners, Jones, DSS Director Mary Wilson and County Finance Director Dena Diorio. He wrote that he had planned to speak during a commissioners meeting the same day at the urging of Commissioner Neil Cooksey.
Lomax wrote that he left before speaking and decided to e-mail his comments.
The e-mail criticizes county management for failing to prevent accounting failures and accuses some commissioners of a "flippant, hands-off response" to the issue. "There seems to be a need for a wholesale cleanup of many county agencies, and I think that starts from the top down," Lomax wrote.
A week after receiving the e-mail, Jones forwarded it to Turner.
Commissioners respond
Commissioner Karen Bentley said Jones should not have sent the e-mail to Bank of America.
"It should have no bearing on his job," Bentley said. "That's his right."
Commissioner Dumont Clarke called the move "unusual."
Clarke and some other commissioners said they would need more information to judge whether Jones acted appropriately.
"It's not a good practice for the manager to do," Clarke said.
Commissioner Chairman Jennifer Roberts said she would try to contact Lomax to speak with him. "I don't read anything into this," Roberts said. "Maybe Harry was trying to make sure Bank of America didn't feel duped."
Four business and government professors reviewed the e-mails for the Observer. Three said Jones did not have a valid reason to forward Lomax's e-mail since he did not mention his employer by name or present himself as a representative of the company.
"Given these circumstances, one would expect a public official to respond directly to Mr. Lomax and not contact his employer," said Denis Arnold, a professor of business ethics at UNC Charlotte.
Winthrop professor Marilyn Smith disagreed.
Considering public outcry over alleged misspending in DSS, Smith said it understandable that Jones would contact Bank of America. The bank also reacted appropriately, she said.
"To a certain extent, we represent our employers 24/7," said Smith, a professor of management. "We like to think it's my own personal opinion. Companies are judged by how their employees behave, fair or not."
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg DSS Fraud mystery: Where did money go?
Internal e-mails reveal new allegations of misspending at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services, raising more unanswered questions about what happened to money intended to help needy children.
Some of the more than 1,000 e-mails the Charlotte Observer obtained through a Public Records Request provide the most detailed account to date about the agency's accounting fiasco.
E-mails show:
Officials suspected an employee wrote $80,000 in checks to herself from donations.
An administrator questioned why other donations were used to buy $340 diamond earrings, leather coats and a $300 DVD player.
A top executive complained that a senior fiscal administrator frustrated co-workers with her "inability to explain the simplest concepts of revenue and expenses."
After nearly a year, officials have never said who was at fault for $162,000 that disappeared or whether anyone was disciplined.
No one has been charged in an ongoing police investigation and a county report says officials cannot be certain where the money went.
Meanwhile, donors are left to wonder whether their generosity ever helped buy Christmas gifts for those in need.
In one e-mail, a woman describes calling the county in 2007 to give $900 for single mothers at Christmas. The person who answered the phone told her to make a check payable to the worker's sister.
The donor said she grew suspicious and made the check out to the county, but the idea that it may still have been misused is "like a kick in the stomach."
In another e-mail, a founder of Second String Santa said he was concerned whether kids received the more than 50,000 toys his group had donated since 1989.
Will Miller said he believes some of the toys reached children, but he's not sure about the rest.
"Will we ever know? Probably not," he said.
Two Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Commissioners said they have asked County Administrators for a full accounting of what went wrong at DSS but have yet to receive answers. County officials have never explained who was responsible, they said.
"To fix it, you have to admit all the stuff that is messed up," Commissioner Bill James said. "They don't want to do too much digging."
County administrators declined interview requests. Instead, a county spokesman released a prepared statement saying appropriate fiscal controls have been installed in response to an outside audit and an internal investigation.
"Our review of the e-mails we provided and your follow up questions did not reveal any new information that would suggest any change in the audit findings or in management's response to those findings," the statement said.
Some commissioners said they have been told that the employees involved have either left county government or been placed in new positions.
Unusual spending patterns
DSS spends $176 million annually and employs 1,200 workers to assist Mecklenburg's poor and neglected. The agency administers everything from food stamps to foster care and child protection services.
Last spring, DSS Director Mary Wilson ordered financial audits following reports of suspicious spending.
Auditors looked at multiple spending programs and financial practices in the agency. They found a $10,000 check made out to an employee, missing and altered receipts and money for kids spent on office supplies.
County leaders responded by suspending the programs, putting DSS finance under direct county control, training workers on accounting procedures and ordering a review of financial procedures in each county agency.
The Observer reviewed e-mails dating from December 2008 to July 2009 for seven current and former county administrators, including Wilson, County Manager Harry Jones, County Finance Director Dena Diorio and Internal Auditor Cornita Spears.
E-mails show county officials noticed unusual spending patterns as early as last December but did not disclose problems to the public until March.
On New Year's Eve, Wilson told staff she had suspended a voucher program the agency used to purchase clothes and other items for clients at local stores. She wrote that officials were worried about a lack of oversight and a spike in spending.
One monthly retail bill leapt from between $5,000 and $6,000 to more than $20,000 in October 2008, the e-mail says. Employees turned in receipts only 30 to 35 percent of the time, she wrote.
At one time or another, workers possessed or had access to numerous credit cards and gift cards, including some to Bath & Body Works, Bass Pro Shops, Macy's, the Cheesecake Factory and Outback Steakhouse.
Outside auditors verified for county administrators that DSS workers possessed county-issued credit cards, including 10 credit cards for Sam's Club, three for Harris Teeter and an online charge account with Amazon.com
In February, county officials asked internal auditors to look into questionable spending, including purchases of diamond earrings, leather coats and a DVD player.
An e-mail to one of the auditors from a human resources consultant said the purchases raise "many questions and concerns."
According to the county's statement, most gifts were typical children's items such as toys, clothes and books. More expensive items such as diamond earrings and leather coats were approved purchases for foster children who reached special milestones like high school graduation, the statement says.
"Receiving a gift of some significant value was viewed as an incentive for other children who were in foster care to set goals and accomplish them," the statement said.
Commissioner Harold Cogdell said he spent part of his early childhood in foster care and believes the gifts are a good idea.
"It makes sense to me to show the kids some love," Cogdell said.
A new Accountant
DSS has endured multiple management shakeups in recent years. The latest came when Wilson reorganized the agency after she was hired in July 2008.
She laid out the reasons to hire a new finance director in a February e-mail.
Wilson wrote that the senior fiscal administrator who managed DSS finances failed to provide reports about oversight, alienated staff and lacked the ability to conduct productive discussions with senior county executives. The e-mail does not name the senior fiscal administrator.
DSS later hired accountant Angela Hurlburt to oversee its finances.
James, the commissioner, said he has asked for the names and background information on Hurlburt's predecessors. He wants them to answer questions from the Board of Commissioners' Audit Review Committee, which investigated accounting lapses at DSS.
He said administrators have failed to respond to his requests and complained that officials "keep us in the dark."
Other Charlotte-Mecklenburg Commissioners disagreed.
Chairman Jennifer Roberts and Commissioner Dumont Clarke said county leaders have already put in place reforms that will protect taxpayer and donor money.
"The highest priority" is implementing new financial controls, Clarke said.
Shifting the Finances
Auditors from Cherry, Bekaert & Holland reviewed DSS and found that Mecklenburg officials responded appropriately. The county's Audit Review Committee came to the same conclusion.
But DSS Director Wilson bristled at one of the major reforms.
Leaders put DSS finance under the direct control of the county's main finance department after allegations of misspending surfaced.
In April, Wilson sent an e-mail to County General Manager Michelle Lancaster to complain. Calling the decision "premature" and "shortsighted," Wilson said there are emergencies when DSS workers must write checks immediately, including occasions when the agency takes children in custody who need clothes, toiletries and school supplies.
"I understand the urgency at the time, but there was a reason DSS had check writing capability and I think we threw the baby out with the bathwater instead of fixing the underlying issue, which is documentation and accountability," Wilson wrote.
Donors left with questions
Past supporters of the DSS Christmas charity include Young Lawyers, employees of Wachovia and Bank of America, and Project Joy, the holiday fund drive initiated by Observer columnist Tommy Tomlinson. The Christmas charity, known as the Giving Tree, is now run by the Salvation Army.
The donor who gave $900 e-mailed the county in July after learning about accounting failures from news accounts. She attached a picture of the check copy she made around Christmas in 2007.
She wrote that she did not remember the name of the woman she spoke with on the phone.
The donor said she and her family all pitched in to raise the money so she could assist women like her who had struggled as single mothers.
When she heard there were allegations of misspending in a DSS charity program, "It's like your stomach just drops."
$33,000 repaid to Charlotte-Mecklenburg DSS but overlooked
Mecklenburg County's investigation into alleged misspending at a Christmas charity for children took a surprising twist Tuesday: Officials said a county employee returned more than $33,000 months ago, but auditors didn't account for it.
The finding raised new questions about the months-long probe, including why it took so long for administrators to learn about the money and why so much had been advanced to a county employee. Auditors said the worker had spent some of it on personal items.
County Manager Harry Jones said he was "damned embarrassed" by the latest information.
Commissioners, stunned by the revelations, said scrutiny of the Department of Social Services has eroded public confidence. They ordered a study of how to improve ethics throughout county government.
"I can't help but be baffled," Commissioner Dan Murrey said. "What we have done is confuse the public more."
The county's internal auditor told commissioners it was not until the past week that officials realized the returned money helped explain some of the $162,000 spent on the Giving Tree program that had not been fully accounted for.
But the auditor stood by her earlier report that said officials can't be certain where the bulk of the money went.
"I'm disappointed that we did not catch this earlier," Jones told county commissioners.
The county frequently advanced money to employees to help buy gifts for needy children, with receipts expected to document how the money was spent.
It wasn't immediately clear how much the employee who returned money had been given in the past, but it included at least two $10,000 checks made out in December and January, according to an internal memo released to commissioners Tuesday.
The money returned by the employee in February and March helped cover those checks, the memo stated, as well as other unspent money or funds meant to account for "personal purchases that were inadvertently included amongst receipts."
The employee also returned earrings and a DVD player whose costs drew concerns from management, and reimbursed the cost for the items.
The county did not identify who returned the money, only saying it was a former employee who had worked with the Giving Tree program for about 10 years.
A police investigation into the Giving Tree program is ongoing.
Murrey said an accounting error has unnecessarily harmed public perceptions about county government.
Commissioner Karen Bentley and other commissioners said they had received numerous complaints from citizens about DSS in recent months. Bentley reassured residents that she would look into concerns and seek answers to questions about accountability.
Commissioners Bill James said Tuesday's news only raises more questions.
James suggested that the employee only returned the money to escape punishment. He alluded to widespread problems with missing and altered receipts and said the county should investigate whether wrongdoing occurred in previous years.
Worker raised questions
The Giving Tree probe started earlier this year after a DSS employee raised questions about "large dollar" checks that had been written to a worker who managed the program, the county has said.
Two workers connected to the Giving Tree effort were suspended with pay. One was reinstated this summer, while the other had been put on medical leave.
Cindy Brady, a former DSS supervisor who collected donations for the Giving Tree program retired in August. But county officials have never said whether she was one of the two suspended employees.
Reached Tuesday, Brady said she had been advised by an attorney not to comment about the DSS issue.
In June, county auditors said they'd collected about $138,978 in receipts related to the Giving Tree.
But the county said they couldn't provide complete assurance that the money was spent properly because more than 99 percent of the receipts had problems, including information that had been altered or whited out.
That left about $23,310 that officials said they could not account for.
On Tuesday, Internal Audit Director Cornita Spears told commissioners that she received "clarifications" about how much money the employee had returned to the county.
Spears said the county had previously recorded some money the unnamed employee had returned to reimburse money used for personal items.
However, Spears said she learned last week that more money had been returned, but determined it had not been properly recorded in the earlier Giving Tree review.
Spears said the new information didn't change the overall findings of the June report.
Jones said that while he believed the county had made an "unacceptable error," he said county management had called for the various DSS audits, recommended changes and had not hidden information about the probes.
View Larger Map
Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, The Meck Deck Blog, John Locke Foundation, Public Policy Polling, Amazon.com Charmeck.org, Youtube, Google Maps
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment