WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Friday released the initial report of the Independent Review into causes of the February 1 hostage incident at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center. A final report is due to the Governor by August 15.

“I’d like to thank Judge Chapman and former U.S. Attorney Oberly. The review team has worked hard to examine the conditions that may have contributed to the February 1 incident, and to recommend changes that will help us improve security inside James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, and across Delaware’s correctional system,” said Governor Carney. “I am continuing to review the recommendations. But as I have said since February, we will take this report seriously. It will not collect dust on a shelf. We are committed to taking appropriate action that will enhance safety and security for Delaware’s correctional officers and inmates at Vaughn and at all of Delaware’s correctional facilities. We owe that to Lieutenant Floyd and all the victims of the February 1 incident.”

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Delaware has received a triple-A credit rating from all three major rating agencies – the highest mark a government agency can achieve. Highlighting the state’s fiscally responsible approach, Moody’s Investors Service, Fitch Ratings, and Standard & Poor’s Rating Services have recognized the state’s strong fiscal practices, as well as the strength of Delaware’s economy and labor market.

“These reports affirm our progress in strengthening Delaware’s economy, while budgeting responsibly,” said Governor Jack Markell. “Recognition of Delaware as one of the top rated states shows Delaware is well-positioned for continued success. However, our work is never finished. We must continue efforts to prepare our workers with the skills they need to compete for jobs, foster a nurturing environment for businesses to start and expand in the state, and ensure our budget is sustainable for years to come.”

The reports take into account expected workforce reductions in the first quarter of 2016 due to the DuPont merger with Dow Chemical, but cite positive trends and continued growth in other employment areas – including business services, financial activities, education, health, leisure and hospitality.

In its analysis, Standard and Poor’s pointed to Delaware’s “diverse economy,” “strong financial and budget management,” “consistently strong general fund reserves,” “moderate overall debt burden,” and “well-funded pension system.”

Delaware has now earned the top rating from all agencies for the past 16 years, including through the recent economic recession and ongoing recovery.

“Delaware has maintained its triple-A ratings through some challenging economic cycles – in large measure due to our disciplined adherence to responsible fiscal practices and focus on economic development,” said Secretary of Finance Thomas J. Cook. “Even through the Great Recession, this administration has maintained the highest possible credit ratings through strong financial management and fiscal discipline, while improving our business climate. The confirmation of our rating will translate to the lowest cost of capital, permitting greater investment in the essential infrastructure that is essential to attracting new business and spurring job creation.”

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Leslie A. Poland
Public Information Officer
Delaware Department of Finance
(302) 577-8522
leslie.poland@delaware.gov

Dover, Del. – State Auditor R. Thomas Wagner, Jr. releases an inspection report on the Belvedere Volunteer Fire Company (the Company). The Office of Auditor of Accounts agreed to perform an inspection over the Company’s financial records after the Office of the Attorney General notified us that Belvedere’s former Chief pled guilty on November 12, 2014, to theft related to his tenure as Treasurer of the Wilmington Fire Fighter’s Association and theft and forgery at Belvedere.

The Belvedere Volunteer Fire Company is plagued with mismanagement. During the period of our inspection, we found the Company struggling to pay its bills on such a scale that it puts the mission to protect loss of life and property in jeopardy.

According the Board of Director’s Meeting Minutes from March 2014, the ambulance used to serve the community “has been out of service more than in service.” Further, we found an instance where the Company’s paid EMTs did not receive their bi-weekly paychecks for an entire month. Both issues stemmed from the Company’s severe financial difficulties.

The Company did not ensure they had a proper accounting system or supporting expenditure documentation for the period under review. During the period January through May 2014, they claimed the accounting records were lost when backing up their accounting software. Correspondingly, they somehow lost or failed to obtain the majority of the supporting documentation for the same period of time. We were able to obtain the bank records directly from the bank and found that more than 78% of the expenditures were never posted to their accounting system for one of the seven accounts alone.

The Company’s mismanagement is reflected in Company officials’ inability to respond to inquiries and provide documentation during this inspection. Our report provides details of our initial request for records at the opening of our engagement, which the Company could not locate and questioned whether the former external bookkeeper still had them. It took the Company about two months to find and provide us with what little records they maintained. Throughout the inspection, it took Company officials weeks to return phone calls and email inquiries, if responses were received at all.

A copy of the complete report can be found at:  Belvedere Volunteer Fire Company Inspection

For more information, please contact Kathleen A. Davies, CPA-PA, CISA, CGFM, CGAP, CFE, Chief Administrative Auditor, at 302-857-3919 or kathleen.davies@delaware.gov.

WILMINGTON, DE – Attorney General Matt Denn released the second annual report on compliance by Delaware schools with state anti-bullying laws today. The report analyzes the implementation by the Department of Education, school districts, and charter schools of significant changes that were made to the state’s bullying statutes in 2012.

The report finds that the state’s efforts to require schools to communicate with parents about bullying incidents are showing success, but that the state’s evidence-gathering practices regarding bullying are in need of reform and that school districts and charter schools are not consistently complying with their obligation to direct students and parents to help when bullying occurs.

The report notes that there were 11% fewer substantiated bullying incidents reported in the 2013-2014 school year than in the 2012-2013 school year, but questions about the reliability of the state’s bullying statistics make it difficult to gauge whether a real reduction in bullying of that amount occurred.

“It is encouraging to see the progress our schools have made in keeping parents informed about bullying, because that was one of the primary goals of the 2012 legislation,” said Attorney General Denn who co-authored the 2012 legislation as Lieutenant Governor. “But our schools clearly have more work to do in letting parents know what recourse they have when bullying does occur, and the state needs to do a better job accurately tracking bullying incidents so we can accurately monitor our overall progress.”

In addition to conclusions highlighted in the report, the document proposes recommendations for moving forward, including:

(a) That the state revise its system for tabulating reported and substantiated bullying incidents so that data the legislature intended to gather can be accurately tabulated.
(b) That the state more uniformly educate and monitor the reporting practices of districts and charter schools so that incidents and data are properly reported on a consistent basis.
(c) That school districts and charter schools ensure that contact information for the state’s bullying ombudsman is prominently displayed on their web sites, and that the Delaware Code be revised to provide specific enforcement provisions for this statutory requirement.
(d) That the Department of Education continue to emphasize reporting of bullying incidents to parents of both victims and perpetrators.

“Delaware students, parents, and educators share genuine concerns about bullying–in-school bullying, bullying outside of school, and especially, the rise in bullying on social media,” said Frederika Jenner, President of the Delaware State Education Association. “We appreciate the attention that has been brought to these concerns, as well as efforts from the AG’s office to both curtail and monitor bullying. All progress is welcomed and celebrated.”

“We are pleased with the progress the state has made in addressing the issue of bullying in our schools,” said Dr. Terri Hodges, President of the Delaware PTA. “The findings and recommendations are consistent with the changes we have seen in the schools, as well as the reports we receive from parents in regards to how incidents of bullying are handled.”

You can view the entire report here: http://www.attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/documents/2015_anti-bullying-laws.pdf

Dover, DE – On Thursday, May 15, 2014 at 1:00pm, Lt. Governor Matt Denn will host a press conference to present the Workers’ Compensation Task Force Report to the Governor and the General Assembly, submitted pursuant to House Bill 175, 147th General Assembly. He will be joined by members of the Task Force – including Senators Blevins and Hocker, Representatives Briggs-King and B. Short – and the Governor, who will all make remarks, along with Rich Heffron of the State Chamber and others.

BACKGROUND – Created by House Joint Resolution 3, the task force was established on January 30, 2013 by the General Assembly and Governor to address the 34% increase in average workers compensation rates over the prior two years. Those rate increases increased costs for Delaware businesses and made it harder for them to compete for bids with businesses from neighboring states. On May 13, 2013, the task force made their first set of recommendations to Governor Markell and the General Assembly to stop the large workers’ compensation rate increases that burden Delaware businesses. The General Assembly accepted the recommendations unanimously, including keeping the task force in existence through June 30, 2014, both so that it could consider some issues that it did not have time to discuss during the short time that it had to make recommendations, and so that it could monitor the impact of its recommendations and suggest stricter measures with respect to medical costs if necessary.

The task force stated in the 2013 report that if the reforms recommended in that report were not successful in controlling workers compensation premium increases, then the task force would recommend stricter measures to control premiums. The task force believes that the 11.4% to 14% increase in rates resulting from the last filing was an unacceptable result, and that rates need to be reduced.

The report to be issued on Thursday offers those stricter measures.

Thursday, May 15, 2014
1:00pm
Tatnall Building (next to Legislative Hall)
3rd Floor – Governor’s Press Room
150 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. South
Dover, DE 19901