- September 9, 2024
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Commissioner George Kruse said every level of government should have some version of an inspector general, not because the government wants it, but because the people demand it.
“Government, and people in government, will always take more power and take more advantage of anything if you let them,” Kruse said. “An inspector general’s job is to look out for the people to make sure the government doesn’t overreach.”
The inspector general’s office is a division of the Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller. Lori Stephens holds the title of inspector general. She started as an auditor in the office 30 years ago.
Stephens oversees a staff of five auditors, who investigate fraud, waste, abuse and misconduct. The office’s jurisdiction includes the Board of County Commissioners, all departments under the board and any agency that receives funding from the board.
The office fielded 109 complaints in 2023 but only conducted five investigations. Some were complaints without any proof, but more than half of the complaints were deemed to be outside of the office’s jurisdiction and were referred to other departments and agencies.
The office doesn’t deal with personnel issues or criminal cases. Clerk and Comptroller Angel Colonneso said if an auditor suspects anything criminal, that case is immediately handed off to law enforcement.
“We don’t want to interfere with a potential investigation,” Colonneso said.
As for personnel, Stephens said a code officer being rude is a management issue. When three employees in the department were accused of mishandling a case, that was investigated.
“We have no ability to control employees,” she said. “We can audit processes.”
While one rogue employee doesn’t fall under the purview of the inspector general, more than one employee engaging in fraud or abuse indicates a faulty process.
The Animal Services Department was accused of padding their timesheets with extra hours in 2015, and the Transit Division was accused of the same in 2019. Auditors interviewed staff members and sifted through timesheets, key card data, computer logins, calendars and emails.
Stephens said that usually something stands out when it comes to fraud. In the case of Animal Services, auditors found 380 instances of “irregular timekeeping” over an eight month period.
When abuses are identified, the inspector general's office creates a management action plan. The department has a timeframe in which to comply with the plan, and auditors follow-up to ensure the proper steps have been taken to rectify the problem.
Instead of dealing with each employee, which is management’s job, the management action plan addresses the policies and procedures that made the abuse or fraud by the employees possible.
The inspector general’s office is looking at the efficiency and effectiveness of each department.
Investigations take priority. Stephens said there were five investigations in 2023, but staff also performed nine audits and completed 15 projects. The work auditors perform is confidential until the final reports are issued and posted online at the clerk's website.
A review of quarterly sales tax is a project. A review of a department is an audit. Audits fall under three categories: Financial, compliance and operational.
A risk assessment of how autonomous a department is, how big the budget is and how many complaints have been received helps to decide which departments will be audited in a new year. Then, data analytics software helps to identify potential fraud and errors.
Data from various county systems is downloaded, and the software analyzes the data based on whatever criteria is entered.
“While tips continue to be the primary source for identifying potential fraud, periodically performing these types of tests ensures we remain proactive in our efforts,” Stephens said.
The software can search for duplicate vendor payments and identify when vendor addresses match employee addresses. When matches are found, auditors follow up to ensure the vendors aren’t fraudulent and that a conflict of interest doesn’t exist.
An audit of county purchase card expenditures is how Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge’s purchase of voter information was discovered.
Van Ostenbridge paid $1,609 to McShane LLC for District 3 voter data, which he said was for the purpose of distributing a district-wide informational newsletter. However, the data contained more than 200 fields of information beyond email addresses.
Once the purchase became public, Van Ostenbridge reimbursed the county. The Florida Commission on Ethics ruled in January that there was insufficient evidence to prove “wrongful intent” by Van Ostenbridge.
Audits and projects work the same way as investigations in that if problems are found, then recommendations are made and followed up on.
Colonneso said oftentimes they find genuine human errors that are easily corrected. She used travel expenses as an example. An employee charged lunch to a purchase card thinking per diem would cover it, but lunch was provided through the conference. The employee pays back that money, and the issue is resolved.
There are several ways to file a complaint with the inspector general. The office provides an online form and a 24-hour hotline number. Letters by mail, email and fax are also accepted.
However, complaints are not the only way an investigation is started. Audits and auditors can also trigger investigations.
"We keep an eye on things," Stephens said. "We read the news."
When receiving a complaint, the process starts with a preliminary review of the complaint to determine if it should be referred to another agency and if there’s enough information to warrant an investigation.
Sometimes, an audit is more appropriate than an investigation. And oftentimes, the complaint simply doesn’t fall under the inspector general’s jurisdiction.
If an employee steals a county vehicle or drives it drunk, those are criminal acts that should be reported to law enforcement. If an employee is suspected of using a county vehicle for personal use, that would fall under the jurisdiction of the inspector general because a process in the system somehow allowed that abuse to occur.
The best way to report something, such as the misuse of a county vehicle, is to provide a photo with the complaint.
It’s not always as easy as snapping a picture of someone driving a vehicle. However, Jen Hamey, a lawyer who’s running to be the next District 1 commissioner, said it’s not always difficult either.
Hamey filed a complaint against former Commissioner Vanessa Baugh with the Florida Commission on Ethics, which Colonneso said is the agency to report to — not the Inspector General's office because a procedural failing didn't lead to abuse of the system.
Baugh was accused of prioritizing herself and friends for COVID-19 vaccines at a pop-up clinic in 2021 when the vaccines were supposed to be distributed by a lottery system.
However, Hamey said the proof required to open an investigation in either office is the same.
“You don’t have to have a ton of proof, but it can’t just be word of mouth,” Hamey said. “With this commission, they’re so blatant with their activities that it’s really not that difficult to gather documentation. They do a lot of text messaging. All of it is public record.”
Hamey submitted references to board meetings, newspaper articles, and emails regarding the VIP list for vaccines and statutes that Hamey felt Baugh violated.
It was enough for the Florida Commission on Ethics to trigger an investigation, that resulted in Baugh paying an $8,000 fine for using her position to deviate from the county’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution policy.
Hamey offered a tip for anyone looking to file a complaint: Don’t inundate the office with 300 pages of information because it most likely won’t be read. Her complaint against Baugh was about 15 pages.
The inspector general isn't immune to scrutiny either. The office is evaluated by independent auditors once every three to five years.
