DOVER, Del. – State Auditor Kathleen McGuiness said today that her office has remained the No. 1 ranking for state and local agencies that have uploaded reports to a website that seeks to improve transparency and accountability for federal, state and local agencies nationwide.

“Oversight.gov was created by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency,” McGuiness explained. “The site’s goal is to consolidate all public reports from Inspectors General to a single online resource in order to improve the public’s access to independent and authoritative information about oversight efforts across the country.”

The Delaware State Auditor’s Office uploaded 188 reports out of 700 total state and local reports uploaded to Oversight.gov to-date. With millions of views per year, the website has become a popular place for people to access a variety of government-produced reports.

In 2020, McGuiness’ office was the first agency that participated in Oversight.gov’s pilot initiative for state and local governments.

“The Delaware State Auditor’s Office has remained the number-one agency ranking for over 6 months,” said McGuiness. “My team and I value transparency and accountability in government, and Oversight.gov allows us the opportunity to uphold these values by sharing all of our reports for the public to compare oversight efforts at all levels of government.”

To see the rankings on Oversight.gov, go to https://www.oversight.gov/state-local/reports.

About the Delaware State Auditor

The Delaware State Auditor serves Delawareans by providing independent objective oversight of the state government’s use of taxpayer dollars with the goal of deterring fraud, waste and abuse through unbiased assessments, including the use of various audits, special reports, and investigations of financial operations designed to ensure statutory compliance while enhancing governmental economy, efficiency and effectiveness. For more information, visit the website, and connect with the office on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram.

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Contact:

Alaina Sewell, Chief of Staff

302-857-3931

Alaina.Sewell@delaware.gov

DOVER, DEL. – State Auditor Kathy McGuiness estimates the state’s volunteer fire service saved Delaware taxpayers over $320 million in fiscal year 2022.

“Delaware’s fire service is a tremendous asset to Delawareans,” McGuiness said. “We performed our annual detailed cost analysis and identified what it would cost taxpayers to have an entirely state-employed fire service instead of having mostly volunteers.”

While the state has no current plans to transform Delaware’s combination system into an entirely state-employed one, McGuiness’ office performs these calculations annually to show the fiscal value of having dedicated volunteer firefighters and EMTs.

“Delawareans would see a significant increase in property taxes if the state were to have a fully state-employed fire service,” McGuiness said. “For every $1,000 of a home’s assessed value, those residents would pay an additional $13.17. That means for a home assessed at $100,000, it would cost those residents an additional $1,317 in property taxes each year to support a fully state-employed fire service.”

McGuiness again recommends in this year’s report that the General Assembly consider creating a fund independent of Grant-In-Aid in the state budget to help pay for fire services.

“It takes adequate training, funding and resources to protect the public,” McGuiness continued. “To keep pace with call volume, career and volunteer fire service members need our support in ensuring proper funding to continue the long-standing and proud tradition the fire service has in Delaware.”

Read the Delaware Volunteer Fire Service Report by clicking here. Learn more about the Delaware Auditor’s Office at https://auditor.delaware.gov.

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Contact: Connor Perry, connor.perry@delaware.gov

DOVER, Del. – State Auditor Kathy McGuiness announced today the upcoming release of 19 new performance audits reviewing school district local funds.

“You may have noticed, a lot of our work at the Auditor’s Office concerns school-related audits. This time, we’re releasing 19 performance audits reviewing our school districts’ local funds,” said Auditor McGuiness.

These performance audits were conducted in accordance with 29 Del. C., §2906 and Delaware Code explains the State Auditor is to conduct post-audits of local school district tax funds budgets and expenditures.

“To put it simply, school districts and vocational-technical school districts can levy and collect additional taxes for school purposes based on the assessed value of real estate in the district,” said Auditor McGuiness. “These performance audits review those real estate taxes or “local funds” to determine if school districts are compliant with the relevant rules and requirements over these important funds,” explained Auditor McGuiness.

The 19 School District Local Funds Performance Audits had four objectives:

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’s district’s tuition tax funds were calculated and spent in accordance with the requirements.

“We are excited to release the remaining 17 the coming weeks. People want to know if these funds are being calculated and used appropriately, and we’re here to keep providing Delawareans insight into their state government,” said Auditor McGuiness.

You can find the first two releases, “Caesar Rodney School District Local Funds Performance Audit For Year Ended June 30, 2021” and “Milford School District Local Funds Performance Audit For Year Ended June 30, 2021” here.

Learn about the Delaware Auditor’s Office at https://auditor.delaware.gov.

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Contact: Tori Parker, Deputy Auditor tori.parker@delaware.gov

DOVER, Del. – State Auditor Kathy McGuiness announced today the release of a new special report detailing the Auditor’s Office’s fraud hotline.

“The Fraud Hotline is a critical resource for the public to report concerns about their state government, and it also serves as a valuable resource for identifying areas of increased risk for fraud, waste, abuse, or misuse in our state,” said Auditor McGuiness.

The Special Report, “Auditor’s Office Fraud Hotline Summary Report of Fiscal Year 2022,” reviewed recent changes improve the economy and efficiency of the hotline and the Auditor’s Office’s implementation of a continual improvement process to better serve Delawareans.

“This office is committed to improving all parts of state government, and that includes reviewing our own processes and programs to identify additional value for the public who depend on our work. I am pleased our effort to expand reporting options and improving our communication efforts are yielding more public engagement,” said Auditor McGuiness.

The Fraud Hotline saw a substantial increase in reporting in FY2021 and demonstrates the subject of public tips tend to correspond with national issues and current events. FY2021 was the period of July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, and the types of fraud tips received by our office mirror some of the most pertinent and discussed issues of the year.

Auditor McGuiness explains, “The Fraud Hotline received more tips in FY2021 than the prior 10 years combined, and a substantial number of those reports concerned the Department of Labor and the Office of Attorney General.” Auditor McGuiness continues to say, “These tips paralleled national and local discussions over criminal justice issues and concerns with Unemployment Insurance.”

The Fraud Hotline is a critical resource for the public to have their voice heard and address their concerns, but it also serves a practical purpose for improving how we identify issue areas.

“Thank you to the people who bring their concerns to our attention. We take these reports very seriously, and they help shape our annual audit plan,” said Auditor McGuiness. “These reports are a critical resource for improving accountability and transparency and providing better public service in our state.”

You can find the special report, “Auditor’s Office Fraud Hotline Summary Report of Fiscal Year 2022” here.

Learn about the Delaware State Auditor’s Office at https://auditor.delaware.gov

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Contact: Tori Parker, Deputy Auditor tori.parker@delaware.gov

DOVER, Del. – State Auditor Kathy McGuiness announced today her support for recent updates to the process for testing Sexual Assault Kits.

“Back in April, my office published a report on Delaware’s progress in clearing its backlog of untested sexual assault kits. This special report was conducted and contributed to a trend of auditor’s offices across the country helping provide data and insight on this critical issue. We found several issues that deny and delay victims justice from those who perpetrate these atrocious crimes,” said Auditor McGuiness.

The Special Report, “Delaware Erases Rape Kit Backlog,” was released April 28, 2022, and we found that there are over 463,634 victims of rape and sexual assault each year in the United States aged 12 or older. Unlike other proactive states in our region, Delaware had not yet implemented policy or legislation to test all sexual assault kits. These policies are critical for reducing backlogs and preventing them from reforming.

“I am pleased this update coincides with best practices and recommendations identified in our special report, and we are proud of the efforts from the Criminal Justice Council (CJC) and Delaware Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Coordinator Mike Kelly’s efforts to address this critical workload,” said Auditor McGuiness. “These recent policy updates from the CJC are an important step in ensuring victims receive justice, but there is more work to be done,” said Auditor McGuiness.

The National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative provided a total of $2.1 million in federal grants in 2015 and 2018 through the Bureau of Justice Assistance to improve the criminal justice response to sexual assault crimes within our state, but these grants do not provide a lasting resolution for victims of sexual assault in Delaware.

“These federal grants were helpful in providing one-time solutions, but they have limitations that can prevent the review of more recent sexual assaults,” said Auditor McGuiness.

“Legislators must codify ‘Test All Kits’ policies to solidify these expectations for the future, and they should provide the CJC with the ongoing funding necessary to address this critical issue – or we risk developing significant backlogs again,” said McGuiness.

You can find the special report, “Delaware Erases Rape Kit Backlog” here.

Learn about the Delaware Auditor’s Office at https://auditor.delaware.gov.

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Contact: Tori Parker, Deputy Auditor
tori.parker@delaware.gov