audit - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T15:45:32Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/auditHighland Beach/Delray Beach: We don’t owe you — you owe us, town tells city in fire rescue disputehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/highland-beach-delray-beach-we-don-t-owe-you-you-owe-us-town-tell2023-03-29T15:56:43.000Z2023-03-29T15:56:43.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Florida auditor general may be final arbiter</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}11009432673,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11009432673,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="456" alt="11009432673?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></a></strong></span></p>
<p><strong>By Rich Pollack</strong></p>
<p>For more than a year Delray Beach has claimed that Highland Beach owes it thousands of dollars for fire and rescue services, even going so far as to claim the town is in default. <br />Now, in a reversal of the story, Highland Beach says that Delray Beach actually owes the town money — close to $238,000 — under a contract in which the city staffs a town-owned fire station. <br />That number, which Highland Beach says is based on overcharges by the city the last two years, could grow dramatically if the town discovers it’s been paying more than it should have ever since the current contract was signed in 2016.<br />The state waded into the controversy in March, when a legislative committee instructed the Florida auditor general to take a deep dive into Delray Beach’s books related to its contract with Highland Beach and “put these financial disputes to rest.”<br />The Joint Legislative Audit Committee action was taken at the request of first-term Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, who had been a Highland Beach town commissioner before being elected to the state House in November.<br />“This is the best method for both municipalities to set the record straight and move on,” said Gossett-Seidman, a member of the audit committee. <br />During her presentation to the committee March 13, Gossett-Seidman said that one of her biggest concerns was Highland Beach’s claim that Delray Beach failed to provide records supporting the city’s conclusion that the town owes it $121,514 for 2021 and $396,140 for 2022. <br />“I’m asking Delray Beach to show us the money,” she said. <br />Highland Beach Town Manager Marshall Labadie said the town had repeatedly asked for records from Delray Beach and finally received some of what it was looking for in early February. <br />When the town’s financial team members reviewed those numbers, however, they came to a very different conclusion than did Delray.<br />“The Town of Highland Beach has determined the City of Delray Beach has overcharged the town for FY 2021 and FY 2022 in the total amount of $237,852,” Labadie wrote in a letter to Delray Beach City Manager Terrence Moore on March 10.<br />For his part, Moore said Highland Beach’s conclusions don’t square with the city’s analysis of the numbers. <br />“We’ve done the math,” he said. <br />In analyzing Delray’s “true-ups” — bills sent to the town to cover the difference between what it paid based on projected costs and what the city says it owes based on the actual final costs — Highland Beach used an in-rank average method to reach its conclusions.<br />That method, which the town says is specified in the contract, uses the average of all Delray Beach Fire Rescue personnel in a given rank as a multiplier, which is then applied to the number of employees in the same rank assigned to the fire station in Highland Beach. <br />For example, if there are five paramedics from Delray Beach assigned to the Highland Beach station, the cost to Highland Beach would be the average pay to paramedics throughout the city’s entire fire-rescue department times five. <br />In a different interpretation of the contract, Delray Beach says the cost to Highland Beach should be based on the actual salaries of the individuals assigned to the station in Highland Beach. <br />But Labadie said the town calculated the numbers both ways and determined that Delray would owe even more money to the town — about $100,000 more — using the city’s contract interpretation. <br />Highland Beach also challenged Delray Beach’s claim that the town needs to pay back more than $100,000 for ambulance service reimbursements that the city said it incorrectly refunded to the town. Labadie said that the town may need to give some of the funds back to Delray, but not as much as the city was requesting.<br />In his letter to the city about the true-ups, Labadie said the town discovered that the amount of costs being assessed to Highland Beach for the last two fiscal years didn’t match the amounts listed in the city’s published budget. <br />That apparent discrepancy also drew the attention of state Rep. Mike Caruso, co-chairman of the joint legislative committee and the representative whose district included Highland Beach and part of Delray Beach until redistricting last year. <br />“What I see here is that internal controls and operational controls appear to be very lax when it comes to Delray Beach,” he said.<br />Caruso said the work of the state auditor general’s office, when it does look at Delray’s financial processes, should determine if that is indeed the case. <br />“We’re not accusing the city of doing anything wrong, but just in case, let’s have the auditor general go in and check,” he said. “This is to make sure the city of Delray Beach is operating in a prudent and efficient manner.” <br />Caruso said the auditor general’s team will conduct a hard look at Delray’s finances in relation to its contract with Highland Beach from 2017 to 2023 and then provide its findings to the committee, which can make recommendation as to any further actions. <br />That process, Caruso said, could take up to 18 months, in part because the auditor general’s office is conducting about a dozen other reviews. <br />By that time, Highland Beach will have its own fire department, having decided in 2021 to break away from Delray due largely to high costs. In 2021, Highland Beach paid about $4.6 million to Delray Beach and in 2022 the town paid its neighbor $5.1 million, according to Labadie. <br />Highland Beach is also interested in getting documentation from Delray Beach similar to what it received for the last two years, this time for the 2016-17 fiscal year through the 2019-2020 fiscal year. <br />The town is now holding off further requests for that information, pending the audit.<br />Both Delray Beach’s Moore and Highland Beach’s Labadie say they welcome the audit. <br />“We are very supportive of any review,” Moore said. “Meanwhile the city of Delray Beach will continue to evaluate options to help consider a resolution of this matter.” <br />Labadie hopes the audit will bring an end to the financial disagreement. <br />“If they owe us money or if we owe them money, so be it,” he said. “We just can’t get to any conclusion.”</p></div>South Palm Beach: Town to return $455,000 in sewer charges to residentshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/south-palm-beach-town-to-return-455-000-in-sewer-charges-to-resid2021-03-31T13:52:30.000Z2021-03-31T13:52:30.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong><br /> <br />A county inspector general’s audit has concluded that South Palm Beach improperly billed its residents for $170,072 in sewer rate increases during a three-year period beginning in October 2016.<br /> The Palm Beach County watchdog, in a report released on March 22, found the town did not adequately notify the water customers of rate increases and did not inform them of the annual meeting during which hikes were considered.<br /> The problems arose during a four-year period in which South Palm Beach went through a succession of four town managers — before the hiring of current manager Robert Kellogg, who took over in 2019.<br /> In reviewing its sewer billing, the town uncovered another $285,431 in improper charges from 2018 to 2020. All told, the town will refund roughly $455,000 to customers through credits on their sewer bills this year.<br /> “The mayor and council feel strongly about maintaining transparency,” Kellogg said. “That’s why we’re returning the additional charges after 2019.” <br /> The inspector found “no indication of willful misconduct,” but did cite relatively minor deficiencies in the town’s overall financial operations that resulted in another $34,000 of sloppy or ill-advised practices.<br /> Residents can expect to see credits to their sewer bills for the next year. The biggest return goes to The Barclay condominiums for $48,465, to be divided among its residents. An individual homeowner could expect to get back anywhere between roughly $230 and $500.<br /> The town has promised to tighten its financial management and accounting. The IG report, which was the result of a routine audit, said the town’s staff “has been proactive and has already taken corrective action on a number of items.”</p>
<p><strong>In other business:</strong><br /> • On March 9, the Town Council decided to move the public comment period at meetings from the beginning of the agenda — where it has been for the last five years — to near the end.<br /> The vote was 3-2. Mayor Bonnie Fischer, Vice Mayor Robert Gottlieb and Councilman Ray McMillan backed the move. Councilmen Bill LeRoy and Mark Weissman voted no.<br /> “If people come to the meeting and have something to express, they don’t have to sit through the whole meeting to express it,” Weissman said in expressing his dissent. “Plus, we have the time to respond to them.”<br /> LeRoy argued that members of the public can shape the course of a meeting if they are allowed to speak early on.<br /> “They can influence us at the beginning,” LeRoy said. “At the end, they’re just grading us and that does nobody any good.”<br /> Fischer said the public has ample opportunity to comment during the meeting as individual agenda items come up for debate and voting. “I ask for public comments after each action item,” Fischer said. “That’s when they can really discuss what’s going on.”<br /> • “It’s a go for April,” Fischer said of the town’s dune stabilization project.<br /> The council voted 5-0 to transfer to the town of Palm Beach the existing easements from a previous proposed beach project with Palm Beach County. That plan to install groins along the town’s coastline was abandoned two years ago because of rising cost estimates and the objections of neighboring communities.<br /> The new, less ambitious project calls for partnering with Palm Beach to truck in dredged sand and fortify the town’s damaged dune line. The price tag is between $700,000 and $900,000, and work should be completed within a month.<br /> Fischer and council members praised Kellogg for getting the easements from condo dwellers and making the transfer to Palm Beach happen. </p></div>Manalapan: Town to crack down on water utility violationshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/manalapan-town-to-crack-down-on-water-utility-violations2018-02-28T19:47:17.000Z2018-02-28T19:47:17.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong></p>
<p>After receiving the results of an inspector general’s audit in February, Manalapan is moving forward with 21 recommended changes to tighten billing procedures and improve the internal controls of the town’s water utility department.<br /> Palm Beach County’s Inspector General Office examined the utility’s operation during the 2016 fiscal year and cited seven findings that could use corrective action from the town.<br /> The draft audit found no serious problems, but rather housekeeping and enforcement issues that were hurting the utility’s performance or preventing the town from technically “complying with its ordinances and resolutions.” <br /> Town Attorney Keith Davis, in a written response to the Inspector General’s Office, said the town already has implemented most of the proposed changes — even though the town’s “current system is working properly.”<br /> Manalapan has satisfied some of the report’s concerns, he said, by retraining personnel. <br /> Town Manager Linda Stumpf said the town is taking a more aggressive approach to deal with homeowners who aren’t complying with the utility’s rules, one of the complaints in the audit. Out of 253 residences, about 20 water customers still haven’t had backflows inspected and approved. Backflow valves prevent waste water from reversing direction and contaminating drinking water.<br /> “They’ll all get letters saying they have between a 60- and 90-day time frame to get their backflows repaired or inspected, otherwise their water will be turned off,” Stumpf told the Town Commission during its meeting Feb. 27. “That’s the only option I have at this point.”<br /> Davis said in his response that most of the issues cited were commonly seen, minor and easily remedied.<br /> “The findings in the draft report are not outside the realm of normal or typical findings when this type of audit is conducted,” the attorney wrote, “and they are meant to make a good process even better.”<br /> <strong>In other business:</strong><br /> • As part of its plan to expand its Police Department, Manalapan is considering partnering with the town of Palm Beach for dispatching and crime scene investigation services.<br /> Police Chief Carmen Mattox said that, because of similar demographics, Palm Beach and Manalapan share many of the same crime problems and it makes sense for them to work together.<br /> “I think Palm Beach is a very professional agency,” Mattox said. “And they have a very outstanding dispatch center.”<br /> The chief said the Palm Beach department has crime scene specialists on hand who could come in quickly and help Manalapan with investigations.<br /> “The other advantage is the information sharing that would be instantaneous,” Mattox said. “We’d be on their radio.”<br /> The chief also said he’s making progress toward screening applicants to fill four new police officer positions. Mayor Keith Waters announced a roughly $420,000 expansion for the department in January after a spate of car thefts.<br /> Stumpf said Stewart Satter, a resident on Manalapan’s ocean side, had sent the town a check for just over $51,000 to the cover the cost of a new Ford Explorer for police. Satter promised to buy the SUV after hearing Waters’ plan.<br /> • Because of inquiries from Point Manalapan, the town will begin surveying residents informally on the possibility of bringing in natural gas service. Three years ago, a straw poll of the 144 residents on the point voted against adding the utility by roughly a 2-1 margin.</p></div>Delray Beach: CRA votes Arts Garage some help, with strings attachedhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-cra-votes-arts-garage-some-help-with-strings-attache2016-05-04T18:00:00.000Z2016-05-04T18:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Related story: ArtsPaper Q&A with <a href="http://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/arts-ex-arts-garage-chief-ushe-i-have-a-clear-conscience">Alyona Ushe</a></strong></p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>By Jane Smith</strong><br /> <br /> The popular Arts Garage will soon be able to book bands for the summer, after its chief public provider decided to step outside its guidelines and aid the struggling arts venue.<br /> Dan Schwartz, Arts Garage finance director who has taken on the duties of co-executive director with Keith Garsson, said the Arts Garage board has agreed to loan the performing arts venue money to cover bank overdrafts and salaries. But it needs a cash infusion to be able to book concerts for the summer months.<br /> The Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency board agreed, deciding unanimously April 28 to release the first-quarter allocation, $68,750, under certain conditions.<br /> “The CRA needs a return on its investment, which will happen if the Arts Garage books bands this summer,” CRA board member Daniel Rose said. People will come for a concert and then eat at a restaurant, he said. “They are trying to crawl out of the hole. We need to crawl with them.” <br /> “We are in a tough spot,” said Reggie Cox, chairman of the CRA. “We are accountable for fairness in this process.”<br /> In that vein, the Arts Garage must:<br /> • Close the bank accounts associated with its Pompano Beach locations.<br /> • Provide checks, invoices and other financial backup for the first-quarter expenses for the Delray Beach location that are acceptable by CRA staff as sufficient documentation. <br /> • Provide an explanation from the Arts Garage auditor about the overdraft of $10,628.<br /> The Arts Garage severed financial ties with the Pompano Beach locations in early April, according to Schwartz. As of April 4, the bank accounts were no longer linked electronically, he said. <br /> The Arts Garage also eliminated its former executive director, Alyona Ushe, as an authorized check signer. After helping to create and build the Arts Garage, she resigned on April 4. <br /> Mayor Cary Glickstein called Ushe “a force of nature who through sheer will … took an embryonic idea … and turned it into a performing arts venue.” <br /> Not uncommon in the arts world, he said, the person who got you there is not the one who can manage it when the organization becomes more of a business.<br /> On April 19, Schwartz wrote, “It is worth noting that all staff related to Pompano has moved out of AG’s facilities and are completely funded by Pompano.” <br /> The Arts Garage was supposed to buy its location from the city in March, but it didn’t have the money. Instead it is seeking a long-term lease.<br /> To get the second quarter amount, another $68,750, the Arts Garage must submit:<br /> • Bank accounts showing CRA money is used only for the Delray Beach location.<br /> • A strategic plan or a timeline for completing one. <br /> • A final audit for the financial year of 2014-2015.<br /> Schwartz and Garsson estimated it would take 30 hours to pull the canceled checks and invoices for the first quarter and said their time could be better spent booking bands and performing other duties.<br /> But CRA executive director Jeff Costello insisted the documents be compiled.<br /> “To ensure the CRA money is used properly, we have to ensure the guidelines are followed,” Costello said. “If someone has to work extra to produce it that should be done.”<br /> Evelyn Dobson, executive director of the Delray Beach Community Land Trust that receives CRA money from the same program as the Arts Garage, noted that a final audit of the previous year was necessary to receive money for the current year. “Would you make the same concession for any other organization?” she asked.</p></div>Delray Beach: Commission sets agenda for Arts Garage improvementshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-commission-sets-agenda-for-arts-garage-improvements2016-03-03T15:45:28.000Z2016-03-03T15:45:28.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><strong>By Jane Smith</strong><br /><br /> The popular Arts Garage venue received reprieves recently from two Delray Beach agencies, but the nonprofit organization can no longer rely just on its programming.<br /> The organization needs a strategic plan, city commissioners and their Community Redevelopment Agency board members said.<br /> In its short history, the Arts Garage has developed a loyal base of fans who love the intimate setting of a small performing and visual arts space. The organization remains dependent on city tax dollars for its below-market rent of $800 a month for 10,000 square feet where it serves as the gateway to the Pineapple Grove Arts District. <br /> In addition, the Community Redevelopment Agency supplies about 18 percent of the Arts Garage’s $1.5 million budget. <br /> The Arts Garage ran afoul of the CRA last fall when it failed to produce an audit of the previous financial year showing the Delray Beach money was segregated from the money used in its Pompano Beach operations. The CRA withheld the fourth-quarter payment for the last financial year.<br /> Eight days later at the CRA board meeting, longtime Arts Garage board member Robert Schmier described the financial situation as “a severe cash crunch.” Executive Director Alyona Ushe said the organization is operating day to day and needs the money to help pay for the audit.<br /> The following Friday, the CRA board held a special meeting to release the fourth- quarter payment of $68,750. Before the CRA makes an allocation in its current financial year, it wants to see an audit of the last financial year, a long-term lease with the city, separate accounts for the Arts Garage’s Delray Beach and Pompano Beach locations, and a strategic plan.<br /> The Arts Garage has relied on the generosity of its volunteers and board members, including Schmier. He loaned the organization $68,000 without interest in the summer of 2014 while it waited for payment from the city’s CRA, according to the organization’s tax return. The loan was repaid that October. <br /> He also donated $6,000 during that year. The tax return listed $80,000 as the salary for Ushe, the Arts Garage executive director.<br /> Recent renovations costing more than $50,000 were done for free by Chuck Halberg, a general contractor who volunteered his services, according to the Jan. 15 letter sent to the City Commission. Schmier and his wife also agreed to pay $25,000 for new lighting and sound equipment, the same letter said.<br /> The Arts Garage had a March 15 deadline from the city to buy its space for $2.5 million. The city didn’t hear from the Arts Garage staff until the city manager sent a letter in early January asking for a written reply. Its executive director said the organization wanted a 10-year lease at the same rental rate with an option to buy.<br /> That letter set up a Feb. 16 confrontation with the Arts Garage on the City Commission agenda.<br /> “The Arts Garage created a silo in Delray Beach,” Commissioner Jordana Jarjura said, “and became a competitor when it partnered with Pompano Beach.”<br /> She said the City Commission is accused of using “taxpayer dollars to support a private club.”<br /> Mayor Cary Glickstein added, “We are here because the Arts Garage failed to perform.”<br /> He said that he believes the arts can be an economic driver. “It was a terrible idea to sell the space to a law firm when we need public gathering places,” he said. “I support what the ideal represents to the town in the branding opportunity for the arts.” <br /> Glickstein pointed out that 35 people either quit the Arts Garage staff or were fired in the past few years, which he called an “exploitation of human capital.”<br /> Glickstein said he talked with the auditors who called the Arts Garage finances in 2013 and 2014 a “train wreck.”<br /> Commissioner Mitch Katz said his wife is a member of the Arts Garage guild and volunteers for it. Later he said they both pay to be guild members, but they don’t partake of any benefits listed on the Arts Garage website. <br /> Commissioner Al Jacquet wants to see a change in the board composition of the Arts Garage. “Then you could offer more programming that attracts people different than yourselves,” he said. <br /> In January, the Arts Garage had started a social media campaign urging its supporters to sign a petition to save it and email the city commissioners asking them to renew its lease.<br /> Commissioners said they received hundreds of emails.<br /> The emails said the city is attacking the arts. But the city gave the Creative Collaborative Community, which oversees the Arts Garage, ample opportunity to grow, Jarjura said.<br /> The collaborative was supposed to be an umbrella group for Delray Beach arts groups; instead, it morphed into the Arts Garage board and burned more bridges than created collaborations, the mayor said.<br /> Commissioners finally agreed to offer a month-to-month lease for six months while the Arts Garage board comes up with a plan to address specific issues:<br /> • Provide quarterly updates to the city about how it will solve financial problems raised by its auditor.<br /> • Seek city approval before subletting its space.<br /> • Add minority members to its all-white board. <br /> • Provide an out clause for the commission. <br /> • Expand its programming to attract a more diverse audience and youths citywide. <br /> • Consider other uses in its space, including a small independent bookstore.<br /> If all that were accomplished, then the commission would consider offering a shorter-term lease, between three and five years.</p></div>Delray Beach: CRA criticizes Arts Garage record-keeping, suspends fundinghttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-cra-criticizes-arts-garage-record-keeping-suspends-f2016-02-04T16:06:56.000Z2016-02-04T16:06:56.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><strong>By Jane Smith</strong><br /><br /> The Arts Garage in Delray Beach must present better financial records before its chief public provider will release any more money, the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency board voted unanimously in late January. <br /> The CRA had committed to providing $68,750 for the fourth quarter of the last financial year, which ended Sept. 30. That amount represents 18 percent of the popular performing arts venue’s budget. The CRA also had allocated a similar amount of $275,000 for the current financial year.<br /> But the Arts Garage did not follow the deadlines for the fourth-quarter report or for requesting an extension, according to CRA staff. The audits submitted in December for the two previous financial years did not separate the CRA dollars, as was required, Lori Hayward, finance and operations director, told the board.<br /> Alyona Ushe, Arts Garage president, said, “The first audit is clean.” She told the board that the underlying implications of financial mismanagement are “damaging to us and our reputation.” The day after the CRA meeting, the Arts Garage started an email blitz to the media to correct what it sees as misinformation.<br /> At the CRA meeting, Ushe apologized for submitting the documents late. “It’s my fault,” she said. She asked for a partial payment. <br /> CRA Chairman Reggie Cox said no. “This is not an ambush. You’ll have to do some heavy lifting going forward. It’s gut-check time,” he said.<br /> Ushe received advice from other CRA board members. <br /> “Your organization needs a strategic plan. You can ride the wave only so long,” said board member Cathy Balestriere. She said the box of checks and invoices that Ushe had dropped off that afternoon was not what the agency needed in terms of financial records.<br /> The Arts Garage did submit in January an updated audit for the 2013-2014 financial year that complied with CRA rules about accounting separately for the agency’s money, allocated for education and programming expenses. <br /> But it also contained a management letter that pointed out basic accounting problems, such as: no documentation for expenses, assets, receivables, payroll and the like; no indication that the executive director had approved credit card purchases; using a restricted grant of $200,000 to offset costs that were not allowed; and a bank overdraft of $70,089. <br /> Brian Rosen, vice president of the Arts Garage board, said the checks for the grant money were cut two days after the financial year changed.<br /> “We don’t have a lot of fancy spreadsheets,” Dan Schwartz, Arts Garage finance director, told the CRA board. “But we have the checks and accounts to show you.”<br /> Ushe indicated she could present the financial records in two weeks.<br /> The Arts Garage also has a major deadline looming on the Ides of March.<br /> It rents 10,000 square feet from the city for $800 a month. The organization has not raised the money needed to buy the building for $2.5 million. The sale was supposed to close March 15. Its lease also expires on that date.<br /> Instead, Ushe wants a 10-year lease with an option to purchase. Her letter to the city dated Jan. 15 explains the role the Arts Garage plays in Delray Beach: a $2 million-plus annual economic impact where its patrons pay to attend an Arts Garage show, pay for parking, purchase dinner at a local restaurant and buy dessert after the show.<br /> To bolster its case, the Arts Garage has started a social media campaign with email blasts to its patrons urging them to contact commissioners and a petition to save the Arts Garage. The petition also is accessible on the organization’s Facebook page. As of late January, nearly 500 people had signed the petition. <br /> In addition, the Arts Garage has started a money drive on Facebook after the CRA suspended payments. Rosen, the board’s vice president, wrote the Arts Garage has a “clean audit opinion.”<br /> Last fall, Mayor Cary Glickstein wanted the Arts Garage and the Old School Square to merge because of their arts focus and proximity. Glickstein said back office operations could be combined, the Old School Square could share its liquor license with the Arts Garage and the merger would lessen the burden on taxpayers. The city contributes to both venues. <br /> But Ushe prefers to remain independent. In her lease-extension request, she said that merging would decrease the amount of grant money available to each organization from state and county sources.<br /> But Bill Branning, a CRA board member and chairman of Old School Square, offered up this suggestion to his fellow board members: The CRA should buy it. That way, the space would be used for cultural purposes and the purchase would help the city.</p></div>Delray Beach: Clarity sought in wake of CRA audithttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-clarity-sought-in-wake-of-cra-audit2013-10-02T16:21:10.000Z2013-10-02T16:21:10.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Betty Wells</strong><br /> <br />A state senator says he will find a way to get a second, clearer, attorney general’s opinion about whether it’s legal for community redevelopment agencies to fund projects for nonprofit organizations.<br /> Sen. Joseph Abruzzo, D-Wellington, who chairs the joint legislative audit committee, made the statement in the wake of the findings of an audit of the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency. Audit results were released Sept. 12.<br /> Of 19 citations, the primary one questioned the authority of the agency to fund nonprofits.<br /> When Abruzzo ordered the audit last spring, it was to review how the CRA is spending its funds — specifically, whether it’s legal for the agency to give money to the Arts Garage, a nonprofit music and theater venue. The request came in a letter from Delray resident Gerry Franciosa.<br /> An opinion issued in 2010 by former Attorney General Bill McCollum said CRA grants to “promote tourism and economic development, as well as to nonprofits providing socially beneficial programs, would appear outside the scope of the community redevelopment act.”<br /> Abruzzo said on Sept. 27 that he’s going to seek a clearer ruling. The Delray Beach CRA and other CRAs have continued to fund nonprofits since the 2010 opinion.<br /> “I believe for the good of all CRAs across the state, I need to get a very clear opinion,” Abruzzo said. He said he would discuss it with the state auditor, and use the proper channels for seeking clarification.<br /> The joint audit committee hearing on the Delray Beach CRA audit is scheduled for Oct. 7 in Tallahassee.<br /> Abruzzo said that he was “very concerned and alarmed about the audit. Nineteen findings is an unusually high number of findings.” <br /> But, he said, “Most likely, the CRA will have adequate time to fix them. The procedure is we give them 18 months and then check back.”<br /> Of the citations, the primary issue was the CRA’s giving of funds to nonprofits. The other findings included how the agency leases space from the city, purchases property and administers grants.<br /> The CRA answered each one of the findings, noting for the majority that the issue was already addressed, or would be.<br />Abruzzo said that the findings support his request for the audit in the beginning — and that Mayor Cary Glickstein’s criticism of the review at the time was unwarranted.<br />“The mayor acted extremely negative about this,” Abruzzo said. “I feel that the mayor, by facts now, was very much off base.”<br />Glickstein in response said that Abruzzo would laud “nineteen findings of improper use of paperclips,” that the audit was politically motivated and that the state should review why an audit that found nothing substantailly wrong was performed in the first place. The CRA uses funds for nonprofits based on the advice of its own lawyer, Glickstein said. “Whether we need another opinion to clarify that, I don’t know.”<br />Glickstein said Abruzzo has not been honest about the origin of the audit, but “it doesn’t benefit our CRA to get into a dog fight.”<br /> CRA Executive Director Diane Colonna and CRA Commissioner Bill Branning bristled at the notion that the agency has committed any major errors.<br /> “(Abruzzo) is continually bringing up that ‘19 is so many, 19 is so many.’ Well, Riviera Beach had 25, and Daytona Beach had 22,” she said of audits of other CRAs.<br /> “After three auditors examine every piece of paper and spent four months doing it, finding 19 things is probably to be expected.”<br /> Branning said, “If this was a test, where we could score 1 to 100, I would say our staff scored 93.”<br /> Branning said the auditors found “no misconduct, no mismanagement, no fraud, no misuse of money. Our staff is professional and the one goal is to make Delray Beach a better place.”<br /> Colonna also said that the procedure following the hearing would be that the CRA would have 18 months to correct the findings.<br /> She declined to comment on Abruzzo’s statements about seeking a new attorney general’s opinion on CRA funding of nonprofits.</p></div>Boca Raton: Council, auditors take opposite sides on lunch meetingshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-council-auditors-take-opposite-sides-on-lunch-meetings2013-05-29T16:52:48.000Z2013-05-29T16:52:48.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /> The City Council quickly disposed of $5,600 in questions the county Office of the Inspector General raised in an audit of city expenses.<br /> Council members voted unanimously that buying food for its three-day goal-setting sessions in May and its budget presentation to the Chamber of Commerce in August serves the public good.<br /> “As you know, the inspector general is going around the county inspecting things, and they have expressed a concern in the city and other cities that food being purchased for different types of events in their opinion does not meet a public purpose,” City Manager Leif Ahnell said as he asked council members to weigh in.<br /> “There’s no question that the food at the goal-setting meetings definitely serves a public purpose, the public purpose being to keep the meetings as short as we can,” council member Michael Mullaugh said.<br /> Mullaugh said someone doing “a little bit of arithmetic” could subtract the $1,300 cost of the food from how much longer the meetings would go if the participants went out for lunch and how much would it cost to have the city’s consultant for the additional time.<br /> “I think you’d actually come up with a public purpose in saving money,” Mullaugh said. “This is a no-brainer. The food at the goal-setting meetings definitely serves a public purpose.”<br /> Council members Anthony Majhess and Constance Scott and Deputy Mayor Susan Haynie agreed.<br /> “It becomes a working lunch,” Majhess said. “It allows us to deliberate more effectively with the information that comes out of some one-on-one discussions [with staff] during the lunch period.”<br /> The $4,300 Chamber of Commerce breakfast got a separate discussion.<br /> “I think it makes a statement to our business community and to the members of the Chamber of Commerce that we want them to be aware of what we do, how we operate. And that meeting reviews our budget, and it explains how we’re spending our money and how the residents’ taxes are being allocated,” Scott said.<br /> “So do I think it’s a public purpose? They attend that meeting, they eat and they hear from usually the city manager and/or the mayor and so I do believe it’s a public purpose.”<br /> Again her colleagues unanimously agreed.<br /> “That is our kickoff for our budget presentation to the general public. And a lot of people look forward to that. I think it’s a very valuable public purpose,” Haynie said.<br /> In its audit the inspector general’s office said Boca Raton is the top city in Palm Beach County for dollar amount paid with “purchasing cards” instead of checks. “Over 15,000 transactions were made totaling $4.7 million” in fiscal 2011, it said.<br /> The food purchases “are generally not allowable expenditures for state agencies,” the auditors wrote. “Although municipalities have more latitude in the expenditure of public funds, we believe that state guidelines are a sound point of reference.”<br /> Assistant City Manager Mike Woika said the questioned expenses amounted to less than 1/20th of 1 percent of Boca Raton’s total purchase orders.<br /> "This is not to suggest that the city should not review its food purchases by the use of procurement cards, just an observation of the magnitude and materiality of the findings,” he wrote in a response to the audit.<br /> Woika also said the city received $55,000 in a year-end bank rebate from using the cards.<br /> The audit is online at <a href="http://www.pbcgov.com/oig">www.pbcgov.com/oig</a>.</p></div>Briny Breezes: Meeting tape at issue in audit proceedingshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/briny-breezes-meeting-tape-at-issue-in-audit-proceedings2013-05-29T16:18:02.000Z2013-05-29T16:18:02.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Tim O’Meilia</strong><br /><br /> The Palm Beach County Inspector General has begun an audit of the financial operation of the town of Briny Breezes.<br /> A representative of the Inspector General’s audit division has met several times with the town staff in April and May. Documents and a recording of one of the meetings were subpoenaed in early May. <br /> The chief of the Inspector General’s audit division, Dennis Schindel, declined to reveal why the audit is being conducted, or whether it was prompted by a complaint, until the investigation is completed. The audit and subsequent report may take several months. <br /> Briny Breezes Town Attorney Jerome Skrandel said the investigation was a performance audit — an examination of the internal controls of the operation of the town.<br /> During a May 13 special meeting, Skrandel was critical of the Inspector General’s office for seeking a subpoena to determine if an April 25 meeting of the audit representative and town personnel was taped illegally.<br /> Skrandel said the recorder was in plain view and an announcement that the meeting was being taped was made so town employees could refer to it to supply the information that the audit required. <br /> During the meeting, the auditor asked if the April 25 meeting was being taped and did not object, Skrandel said. Investigators returned April 29 with a subpoena.<br /> “I think the conduct by the Inspector General’s employee was reprehensible,” he said, referring to the auditor’s apparently seeking a subpoena to investigate the taping as a criminal act. <br /> The recording and recorder were returned to the town by State Attorney’s Office investigators May 16. <br /> Detectives Robert Flechaus and Daniel Amero said the taping case would not be pursued, but that town employees had improperly taped the meeting by neglecting to get everyone’s consent on the tape.<br /> Under the Inspector General’s auditing procedures, the town will have an opportunity to meet with the auditors over the preliminary findings and later be able to include its own response and make comments to the final report.</p>
<p><br /> <strong> In other business:</strong><br /> • Alderman Nancy Boczon said the town was negotiating with Hi-Byrd Inspections to continue as the town’s building official. The firm planned to resign as of June 2 over a dispute with the management of Briny Breezes, Inc., the corporation that owns the town. If an agreement is not reached or another building official is not found, town residents may be forced to seek permits through Palm Beach County, which would greatly prolong the application period. <br /> • The town will submit address lists and “living quarters” counts to the U.S. Census Bureau as part of its challenge to the number of housing units reported in the 2010 census. The town insists it has 484 mobile homes and four empty lots. The census counted exactly 800 dwellings. If the number is corrected, the town’s official population of 601 would likely drop as well, since the population figure is derived using a statistical formula based on the number of housing units. The correct numbers are needed for the town’s comprehensive plan and would have little effect on the amount of state revenue-sharing the town receives. </p></div>Delray Beach: Audit to examine CRA spending on nonprofitshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-audit-to-examine-cra-spending-on-nonprofits2013-04-03T20:25:14.000Z2013-04-03T20:25:14.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Tim Pallesen</strong><br /><br /> Money given to nonprofits by the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency will be examined in an audit by the Florida Auditor General’s Office. <br /> The Legislature’s Joint Audit Committee ordered the audit April 1 at the request of Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, after questions were raised last month.<br /> “It was an issue that was discussed throughout the election season,” committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Abruzzo, D-Wellington, said. “I believe it is in the best interests to at least check.”<br /> Abruzzo said the auditor general will also examine possible conflicts of interests between CRA board members and contractors who do work for the agency.<br /> A city planning and zoning board member, Gerry Franciosa, wrote city officials last month saying it was illegal for the CRA to financially support the Arts Garage, a popular music and arts venue.<br /> “The CRA has run amuck and gotten way out of bounds,” Franciosa said again early this month. “This is the perfect example.”<br /> The CRA spent $304,795 on the Arts Garage last year, a legislative staff report said.<br /> CRA Executive Director Diane Colonna said expenditures to nonprofits that benefit downtown development are proper.<br /> “Our attorneys have looked at it and advised that everything we’re doing is allowed by state statutes,” Colonna said. “I hope the audit confirms what we believe is correct.”<br /> “The Arts Garage has been a huge hit, bringing many families downtown for the first time,” Colonna said.<br /> The CRA also contributes money to Old Square Square, the Spady Museum, the city library and other nonprofits that attract people to the downtown.<br /> Mayor Cary Glickstein defended the CRA and said the state audit is unnecessary. <br /> “I hope this audit is not the result of one person’s letter that was full of innuendo and no factual information,” Glickstein said.<br /> “Our CRA has been a model for the state and the country,” he said. “The CRA has been funding nonprofits since its inception. This is not some sinister plot.”<br /> Franciosa quotes a 2010 written opinion by former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum that CRA money should not be given to promote socially beneficial programs. “The CRA is operating outside its scope by funding the Arts Garage with tax dollars,” Franciosa said.<br /> The CRA says its purpose in supporting the Arts Garage is to bring Atlantic Avenue traffic into the Pineapple Grove Arts District.<br /> “The CRA should be happy this audit is happening because they can get a definitive answer from the state whether they can do this,” Franciosa said. </p></div>