Statewide Unit Count Agreed-Upon Procedures Engagement School Year 2016 – 2017 – Cape Henlopen School District

State Auditor, R. Thomas Wagner, Jr., has released the Statewide Unit Count Agreed-Upon Procedures Engagement Report for the Cape Henlopen School District, School Year 2016-2017.

The Office of Auditor of Accounts (AOA) performed procedures to determine whether Cape Henlopen School District properly included selected students in the September 30th Unit Count.  The majority of our exceptions resulted from the selected schools failing to maintain the Unit Count file.  The exceptions identify which selected schools improperly counted students in the Unit Count and failed to maintain the Unit Count file.

The engagement was performed by AOA in accordance with Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States.

For the full results of the Statewide Unit Count Agreed-Upon Procedures Engagement for Cape Henlopen School District, please see the report available on AOA’s website, or by clicking here.

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


A Joint Statement on Charlottesville By Elected Leaders of Delaware

We join together to denounce the intimidation and violence perpetrated by white supremacists and Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend, and to make clear that such conduct will not be tolerated here in Delaware. 

We come from different backgrounds, different parties, and different parts of the state.  Some of our colleagues have relatives who served and died fighting the Nazis in World War II.  Some of our colleagues have ancestors who were imprisoned and killed in Nazi-run concentration camps.  Some of our colleagues have ancestors who were enslaved and oppressed when white supremacy was permitted by law here in the United States.  

All of us, together, reject the white supremacist and Nazi views espoused last weekend in Charlottesville, and condemn the behavior and violence that accompanied it.  It will not be tolerated here in Delaware.  We are a state that rejects hate, discrimination, and violence. 

Governor John Carney            Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long

                                                          Attorney General Matthew Denn            State Auditor Thomas Wagner

State Treasurer Kenneth Simpler            Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro

 

President Pro Tempore David McBride, Majority Leader Margaret Rose Henry, Majority Whip Nicole Poore,

Minority Leader Gary Simpson & Minority Whip Gregory Lavelle

of the Delaware State Senate

 

Speaker of the House Peter Schwartzkopf, Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst, Majority Whip John Viola,

Minority Leader Daniel Short & Minority Whip Deborah Hudson

of the Delaware State House of Representatives


State of Delaware Deferred Compensation Plans Financial Statement Audits

State Auditor, R. Thomas Wagner, Jr., has released the following Financial Statement Audits of the State of Delaware Deferred Compensation Plans:

These audits were performed by Belfint, Lyons & Shuman, P.A. under the direction of the Office of Auditor of Accounts and in accordance with 29 Del. C. §2906 and §6058.

For any questions regarding the report, please contact State Auditor, R. Thomas Wagner, Jr., CGFM, CICA, CFE, at 302-739-5055.


Sussex Technical School District Inspection

The Office of Auditor of Accounts (AOA) received an anonymous complaint that Mr. Michael Horsey of Laurel, DE, purchased a piece of land and then sold it for a high price to Sussex Technical School District (Sussex Tech). Sussex Tech then awarded the Construction Manager (CM) contract for the High School Bus Entrance project to Common Sense Solutions, LLC (CSS), a business owned by Mr. Horsey.

AOA examined land transaction documents provided by Sussex Tech and Sussex County land records. Governmental Services, LLC, a business owned by Mr. Horsey, purchased the land parcel Sussex Tech needed for the High School Bus Entrance project for $110,000 and sold it to Sussex Tech two weeks later for $200,000. In addition, AOA obtained documentation proving that Mr. Horsey had prior knowledge of Sussex Tech’s need for the land parcel. CSS, another business owned by Mr. Horsey, was subsequently awarded the CM contract for the High School Bus Entrance project for $205,699.

During our review, Sussex Tech awarded CSS additional CM contracts for other construction projects by way of “piggybacking” from the existing High School Bus Entrance CM contract. AOA expanded the scope of this inspection to include review of these contracts and other payments to CSS. AOA reviewed $3,873,431 in expenditures paid to CSS for the period July 1, 2011 through November 4, 2016.

AOA’s review of payments to CSS identified an overall lack of support for invoices, numerous State of Delaware Budget and Accounting Policy Manual violations, avoidance of fair procurement processes, and conflicts of interest. In an effort to avoid oversight by the State, AOA identified 105 payment vouchers with a total dollar amount of $929,682 that appeared to be split in order to stay below the thresholds requiring purchase orders, three letter bids, and competitive bidding.

In addition, the former Director of Facilities retired from Sussex Tech on July 1, 2015 and was subsequently employed by CSS as the project coordinator and liaison for Sussex Tech projects. These projects were the same contracts he awarded to CSS and managed when employed by Sussex Tech.

Throughout the course of this inspection, Sussex Tech lacked appropriate scrutiny of transactions and enforcement of fiscal policies and procedures. The School Board entrusted Sussex Tech administration to make decisions regarding the construction projects without the School Board’s involvement which created a lack of accountability. These practices and violations are still occurring as of the release of this report, and CSS continues to gain additional contracts from Sussex Tech.

For the full results of the inspection, please see the report.

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


Department of Correction Overtime Analysis Inspection

As part of ongoing data analysis, the Office of Auditor of Accounts (AOA) used Statewide data to identify top earners of overtime. After the events at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center (JTVCC) on February 1, 2017, AOA focused on the Department of Correction (DOC) to provide factual and analytical information to Governor Carney’s Independent Review Team. AOA used DOC payroll data to analyze overtime payments for each of DOC’s divisions, identify individuals with highest overtime payments as a percentage of their salary, compare DOC overtime payments to those of other State of Delaware (State) departments, and review overtime trends by pay period for the current fiscal year.

Our analysis showed that the State paid employees approximately $57 and $46 million in overtime during Fiscal Year 2016 and 2017, respectively. Nearly $22 million of those costs were paid by DOC in Fiscal Year 2016 and $17 million in Fiscal Year 2017, with the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center incurring the highest overtime costs. The $17 million in overtime during Fiscal Year 2017 was paid at an average of $838,839 per pay period. Also, over 75% of all DOC employees received overtime with the highest earner receiving approximately $76,000 in overtime during Fiscal Year 2016.

For the full results of the inspection, please see the report.

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