State Auditor, R. Thomas Wagner, Jr., has released the June 30, 2018 Career and Technical Education Performance Audit.

The engagement was performed by the Office of Auditor of Accounts (AOA) in accordance with attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the standards applicable to attestation engagements contained in Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States.

Please read the full report, available on AOA’s website (auditor.delaware.gov), to gain an understanding of the procedures performed and conclusions reached.

Please direct any questions to R. Thomas Wagner, State Auditor, at 302-739-5055 or r.thomas.wagner@delaware.gov.

State Auditor, R. Thomas Wagner, Jr., has released the following June 30, 2018 State of Delaware School District Construction Projects examination engagement reports:

• Delmar School District
• Indian River School District
• Laurel School District
• Sussex Technical School District

The engagement was performed by AOA in accordance with attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the standards applicable to attestation engagements contained in Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States.

Please read the full reports, available at auditor.delaware.gov, to gain an understanding of the procedures performed and conclusions reached. Additional reports will be issued in the coming weeks for the remaining districts.

If you have any questions, please contact R. Thomas Wagner, State Auditor, at 302-739-5055 or R.Thomas.Wagner@delaware.gov.

State Auditor, R. Thomas Wagner, Jr., has released an Inspection report on Statewide Overtime for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017.

The Office of the Auditor of Accounts (AOA) obtained Statewide payroll data^[1] to identify the top 50 overtime earners, and determine whether overtime was properly approved and reasonable.  The State spent roughly $57 million in overtime during Fiscal Year 2016, with those costs increasing to approximately $60 million in Fiscal Year 2017.  In Fiscal Year 2016, 50 people across 5 departments earned roughly $3 million in overtime, with 2 individuals earning more than $100,000 in overtime.  During Fiscal Year 2017, 3 departments spent roughly $3.5 million on overtime payments to 50 individuals, with 5 individuals earning more than $100,000 in overtime.

All overtime reviewed by AOA was properly approved and for a valid purpose.  In applying our reasonableness test, we found that 30 out of 200 pay periods reviewed showed employees working greater than 150 hours per pay period in Fiscal Year 2016.^[2]  For Fiscal Year 2017, 44 of the 250 pay periods reviewed showed employees working greater than 150 hours.

Most of the overtime payments were made by agencies that were experiencing staffing shortages in positions that require minimum staffing levels to ensure the safety and security of patients and the public.  As such, the State should consider implementing changes to attract and retain employees in the nursing and youth counselor career paths to reduce the need for large amounts of overtime.

For the full results of the inspection, please see the report available on AOA’s website, auditor.delaware.gov.

Please direct any questions to State Auditor Wagner at 302-739-5055 or r.thomas.wagner@delaware.gov.

_{[1] Excluding Department of Corrections (DOC) and the Department of Education (DOE), school districts, and charter schools.}

_{[2] A standard State employee works 75 hours per pay period.}

State Auditor, R. Thomas Wagner, Jr., has released the Paramedic Reimbursements Agreed-Upon Procedures report for Fiscal Years 2017 and 2018.  The engagement was performed pursuant to Section 13 of both Senate Bill Number 295 (148th General Assembly) and House Bill Number 281 (149th General Assembly) which states, “Emergency Medical Services shall have an audit performed by the State Auditor annually to insure that reimbursement to the counties for the State share of costs was for approved Advanced Life Support Services.”

Although Paramedic units are a part of county government in Delaware, the Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS), under the Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, is responsible for the coordination of training, certification, financing, and oversight of the State’s paramedic system. OEMS provides Grant-in-Aid funds to New Castle, Kent, and Sussex Counties on a reimbursement basis of 30 percent of each county’s total operational costs for paramedic services in Fiscal Year 2017, and 24 percent in Fiscal Year 2018. The remainder is paid by the respective county government.

The full report is available on the Auditor of Account’s website, auditor.delaware.gov.

For any questions regarding the report please contact State Auditor Wagner at 302-739-5055 or r.thomas.wagner@delaware.gov.

(Dover, Delaware) – On October 18, 2018, the Federal Bureau of Investigation formally recognized two employees of the Office of Auditor of Accounts (AOA) for their assistance with two cases.  Auditors Nicole Polite and Stephenie Tatman played a key role in the investigation that led to former Academy of Dover Charter School Principal, Noel Rodriguez, being sentenced to 13 months of imprisonment and $145,480 in restitution payments.  Additionally, Polite and Tatman conducted the investigation of the Family Foundations Academy which led to Sean Moore, the Director of Finance and Operations for the Family Foundations Academy, being sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment for embezzling $161,871 from the school.

R. Thomas Wagner stated, “Without the work of Stephenie and Nicole, the arrest and prosecution of both Rodriguez and Moore might not have been possible.  Our auditors work day in and day out to protect the tax dollars of Delawareans, and I am thankful for the contributions that Stephenie and Nicole had in bringing these violators of the public trust to justice.”

Nicole Polite, a Certified Fraud Examiner, has been employed with the AOA office since 2014.  She is currently an Audit Supervisor.

Stephenie Tatman, a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner, was hired by the AOA office in 2007 and was promoted to Audit Manager.  She is currently the Internal Audit Director for the Office of Pensions.

Contact: Deputy Auditor James Spadola
James.spadola@delaware.gov
Office: 302.857.3946
Cell:  302.746.2584