12 Alabama agencies score ‘perfect’ audits says State Auditor Jim Zeigler
12 state agencies scored perfect audits — with no missing state property — for the latest quarter, according to a report released Thursday by State Auditor Jim Zeigler. Zeigler said he was surprised “all property in all the agencies was accounted for. Our new procedures are working, and there is more accountability.” Zeigler’s office is tasked with providing accountability to the taxpayers of Alabama by maintaining accurate records of all personal property valued at $500 and above by conducting property and equipment audits for all 176 agencies statewide with230,744 total assets. Typical items are state vehicles, computers and furniture. The 12 agencies with perfect audits: The Alabama State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners had 27 items of state property valued at $118,642.00. The Alabama Public School & College Authority had 5 items of state property valued at $5,152.75. The Alabama Hearing Instrument Dealers Board had 1 item of state property valued at $695.00. The Alabama Board of Examiners for Dietetics and Nutritionists had 2 items of state property valued at $2020.40. The Alabama Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology had 18 items of state property valued at $20,332.50. The Alabama Board of Examiners of Psychology had 31 items of state property valued at $32,281.86. The Alabama State Board of Chiropractic Examiners had 21 items of state property valued at $18,174.17. The Alabama Peace Officers Annuity & Benefit Fund had 15 items of state property valued at $53,017.84. The Alabama Peace Officer Standards & Training Commission had 172 items of state property valued at $469,227.79. The Alabama School of Mathematics and Science had 317 items of state property valued at $491,403.86. The Alabama Board of Public Accountancy had 98 items of state property valued at $167,258.00. The Alabama Department of Revenue had 3,777 items of state property valued at $7,954,034.12.
Jim Zeigler’s annual report reveals minimal losses of state property
An annual audit of Alabama’s state property revealed the state had minimal losses in 2018, just .0864% of total state assets. State Auditor Jim Zeigler’s staff conducted a property inventory of 45 agencies in the 2018 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30. According to Zeigler’s annual report, 35 agencies scored perfect audits, with all items of state property accounted for. 10 agencies had losses of 206 items valued at depreciated cost of $376,322.76. Zeigler’s office is tasked with providing accountability to the taxpayers of Alabama by maintaining accurate records of all personal property valued at $500 and above by conducting property and equipment audits for all 176 agencies statewide with 238,557 total assets. Typical items are state vehicles, computers and furniture. “The new safeguards we are putting into place are paying off with less loss of state property. Accountability works and re-pays for its costs many times over.” Zeigler said. Zeigler was elected to a second term as State Auditor Nov. 6. This is his final term, as he is term-limited.
Audit: Alabama loses $108,000 of state property in Q4 2018
The state of Alabama lost $108,000 worth of state property in the 4th quarter according to an audit report released Wednesday by State Auditor Jim Zeigler. Zeigler — whose office is tasked with providing accountability to the taxpayers of Alabama by maintaining accurate records of all personal property valued at $500 and above by conducting property and equipment audits for all 176 agencies statewide — the report reveals 36 items were lost in Q4. Four totaled vehicles amounting to $93,276 accounted for the largest area of loss on the report. “Without the totaled vehicles, losses for the quarter were $14,731, possibly the lowest quarterly loss ever,” Zeigler explained. Zeigler said new safeguards his office has put in place is paying off. In Q3, the state had lost nearly $200,000 in assets. “The new safeguards we are putting into place are paying off with less loss of state property. Now, if we could just do something to stop the wrecks of state cars, we could reduce losses to a remarkably low level,” Zeigler said “Accountability works and re-pays for its costs many times over.” Zeigler said he remains concerned about losses of weapons and weapons accessories. The 4th quarter report showed a bulletproof vest stolen from the Board of Pardons and Paroles, a bullet-resistant vest destroyed by fire, and a Glock pistol stolen from an Alabama Law Enforcement Agency vehicle. View the full Q4 loss report below:
AG Steve Marshall scores perfect audit: over $2 million in state property
Attorney General Steve Marshall has received a perfect audit report State Auditor Jim Zeigler announced on Thursday. “There were 955 items of state property under the care of A.G. Steve Marshall. All were present and accounted for. That is $2,113,157.43 worth of state property – all in place,” said Zeigler. The State Auditor’s office is tasked with providing accountability to the taxpayers of Alabama by maintaining accurate records of all personal property valued at $500 and above by conducting property and equipment audits for all 176 agencies statewide with total property valued at $1.1 billion. Typical items are computers, vehicles, and machinery. The auditor’s office affixes a unique bar code to each item so they can be scanned for inventory. Marshall’s perfect report comes in the wake of the revelation of nearly $200,000 of state property unaccounted for in Alabama’s 2018 Q3 Loss Report. Released Sept. 5, Zeigler’s report cited stolen computers and wrecked state vehicles atop the list of losses.
More taxpayer money goes down the drain, nearly $200k in state property lost in Q3 2018
According to Alabama’s 2018 Q3 Loss Report, state agencies were unable to account for nearly $200,000 of state property in the latest quarter. Compiled by State Auditor Jim Zeigler — whose office is tasked with providing accountability to the taxpayers of Alabama by maintaining accurate records of all personal property valued at $500 and above by conducting property and equipment audits for all 176 agencies statewide — the report reveals 81 items were lost in Q3 alone. Released Sept. 5, Zeigler’s report cited stolen computers and wrecked state vehicles atop the list of losses. “The total loss to the state, and thus to taxpayers, was $199,689.09 from 81 assets with a depreciated value of $108,345.50 due to the age of some of the items,” Zeigler said. Forty items, half of the losses, were categorized as lost — no one is able to explain where these items were or what happened to them. “This is concerning,” stated Zeigler. He believes the losses are “unacceptable.” There were 33 items stolen, some from offices and others from employee vehicles or residences. Eight items were destroyed. Five of those were wrecked vehicles, totaling a whopping $118,874.30. Three items were broken and thrown out without completing the proper paperwork to scrap the items. Breakdown of the losses Burglary/theft: 34 items Purchase price: $44,924.16 Lost: 39 items Purchase price: $34,313.63 Destroyed: 8 items Purchase price: $120,451.30 “One of our biggest problems is that not all agencies hold employees accountable for missing items. Items reported as stolen require a police report,” explained Zeigler. “For all items, whether stolen, lost or destroyed, the agency director must decide whether negligence was involved on the part of the responsible employee. When agency directors deem negligence is involved, they are required to seek repayment from the employee. However, if the employee is no longer employed with the state, there is no recourse for restitution.” Zeigler continued, “The way current law is written, when the Auditor’s Office finalizes a property audit and there are assets reported as lost, stolen or destroyed, a report is sent to the Attorney General’s Office to investigate further. Responses from the AG’s Office usually state that the dollar amount of the losses isn’t great enough to offset the cost associated with investigation and recovery to the state, so no further action is taken.” “Once my office completes an audit, I have no enforcement powers,” he said. Holding agencies accountable Zeigler says he may introduce a bill in the 2019 regular legislative session to give enforcement powers of the state audits to the State Auditor rather than another agency. “Unless something changes, no one will be held accountable for the losses that result from negligence by employees. That is not acceptable,” Zeigler said Thursday. “Not enforcing the audits eliminates the deterrent effect.”
You bought it, they lost/stole it; $745k in state property unaccounted for in 2017
Alabama’s government is not keeping good track of the various items state agencies have purchased using hard-earned taxpayer dollars. According to Alabama’s 2017 Annual Loss Report state agencies were unable to account for a whopping $745,759.50 last year. Compiled by State Auditor Jim Zeigler — whose office is tasked with providing accountability to the taxpayers of Alabama by maintaining accurate records of all personal property valued at $500 and above by conducting property and equipment audits for agencies statewide — the report reveals 282 items were lost in 2017 alone. That said, all property shown as lost on the report may not be due to neglect. According to the auditor’s office, property reported lost includes property lost, property destroyed by natural causes (such as fire) and property stolen that has been reported to the local law enforcement authorities. Legally, it is not the responsibility of the auditor to locate lost property and equipment of state agencies, but to report it to the proper authorities including the Governor, Attorney General, Legislature, Agency Directors and to provide the information to members of the media and the general public. Biggest losers Topping the list of agencies that lost the most last year was overwhelmingly the Alabama Law Enforcement Association (ALEA), which lost a total of $148,864.66 including two fingerprint capture stations that cost taxpayers $21,600 a piece. Alabama’s Department of Conservation is certainly not conserving funds. The department lost 15 items years totaling $75,565.55. The reason for the inflated number? Two vehicles were totaled, which cost the agency $49,387.11. The Department of Conservation-Parks was right behind it’s parent agency with even more items lost — 47, worth $56,251.26. Among their lost items was $4,768 worth of clothes that were destroyed when a park employee “accidentally disposed” of an inoperable washing machine and dryer. They also lost another $9,835.94 worth of computers. The auditor’s office believes these agencies, and others where they found losses, are not being good stewards of taxpayer dollars. “State Agencies are not being good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” Zeigler told Alabama Today “While overall losses of state property of one percent are below the national average of about 1.5 percent, the list of losses of each agency appears to include avoidable losses. Some of the things lost would almost sound funny if this were not our tax dollars — a golf car, a truck, 140 tasers. Best stewards of taxpayer dollars Of the agencies which lost items in 2017, overwhelmingly the Examiners of Public Accounts lost the least. They lost a 500GB hard drive worth $53.96. The Office of Voter Registration was unable to locate an IBM monitor during the audit, which cost the agency $229.40. Beyond all control As the auditor’s office pointed out, some losses were beyond the control of the given agencies. For example the ABC Board lost 13 items totaling $17,252.70 due to a tornado. While other agencies lost some items due to fires. Holding agencies accountable According to Zeigler, all his office can do is report the loss. “Once my auditors complete an audit that shows losses, I lose jurisdiction. I am required to turn the audit report over to the Alabama Attorney General,” Zeigler explained. “The enforcement of the audit cannot be done by the auditor’s office but must depend on the AG. I am sad to report that during the two years I served with former Attorney General Luther Strange, not one piece of missing property was ever recompsensed by the AG. Not one person was ever held accountable.” Solutions for the future Zeigler is working on a bill that will transfer authority to enforce state audits from the AG to the State Auditor, to avoid similar situations in the future. He says that’s how it is done in Mississippi where their state auditor is legally allowed to take legal action to enforce his own audits. Zeigler says his office is now installing a high-tech audit system called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) which will allow for an easier auditing process in the future. “It will allow my auditors to do the audits more quickly and more often It will also allow them to actually find the missing item using a chip embedded in each item,” said Zeigler. “It will take us another year and a half to have RFID operative. Our goal is to lower losses to as close to absolute zero as humanly possible. 2017 agency loss overview Agency Quantity Acquisition Cost Depreciated Value Alabama Law Enforcement Agency 21 $148,864.66 $22,766.64 Department of Conservation 15 $75,565.55 $34,800.99 Department of Conservation-Parks 47 $56,251.26 $7,998.41 Department of Transportation-State General 23 $53,445.30 $24,707.93 Insurance Department 3 $47,564.00 $22,378.00 Office of Prosecution Services 4 $43,902.00 $4,521.90 Department of Education 26 $33,913.79 $4,904.08 State Board for General Contractor 1 $30,837.20 $24,669.76 Historical Commission 3 $27,992.00 $2,851.70 Board of Pardons and Paroles 31 $23,927.74 $2,893.83 Alabama Forestry Commission 6 $23,717.03 $19,966.30 Department of Corrections 5 $23,339.09 $2,578.72 Alabama Onsite Wastewater Board 1 $23,055.00 $18,444.00 Department of Transportation-State Truck 1 $22,618.00 $13,570.80 HAVA/New oter Registration 12 $17,871.22 $1,787.12 ABC Board 13 $17,252.70 $10,142.99 Alabama Historic Ironworks Commission 15 $14,763.65 $1,476.37 Alabama Space & Rocket Center 9 $11,444.13 $2,046.91 Department of Transportation-Highway Dept 14 $11,129.45 $5,180.69 Finance Telecommunications Inventory 5 $5,846.73 $1,230.40 School of Fine Arts 3 $5,277.00 $906.70 Department of Revenue 4 $4,345.24 $3,431.32 Alabama State Port Authority 3 $4,312.39 $924.57 Department of Forensic Sciences 3 $3,856.50 $594.40 Agriculture & Industries 2 $3,489.62 $2,583.52 Youth Services 2 $2,810.60 $427.56 Alabama Dept. of Environmental Management 1 $1,914.79 $1,340.35 Banking Department 1 $1,758.00 $1,054.80 Department of Human Resources 2 $1,604.00 $1,144.10 Alabama Tourism Department 2 $1,559.95 $950.69 Board of Medical Examiners 1 $787.55 $630.04 Medicaid Agency 1 $460.00 $0.10 Office of Voter Registration 1 $229.40 $22.94 Examiners of Public Accounts 1 $53.96 $37.77 TOTALS 282 $745,759.50 $242,966.40
Jim Zeigler trains for field auditing on Ala. Speaker of the House
In the wake of cuts to the State Auditor’s office operating budget, State Auditor Jim Zeigler announced in June that in order to help keep the State Auditor’s office operating he would, in addition to his normal duties as State Auditor, also train to work as a field auditor. There he will do the actual property inventory of the state’s 175 agencies totaling over $1.1 billion in state property. On Tuesday, Zeigler made good on his word and began training as a field auditor starting with the Alabama Speaker of the House, Mac McCutcheon‘s office. “People had suggested I go to a small, little-known state agency for my training. But the first agency up for a regularly-scheduled audit happened to be the Speaker of the House, so that is where I went first,” Zeigler said Tuesday after finishing the first phase of the audit of the Speaker’s office. Zeigler continued, “We were looking for 50 items of state property. We found 49, missing one printer. It may have been moved to another office, so the staff there is looking for it. Hope we can update it to reflect a perfect audit.” The audit took took an hour and 45 minutes to complete. “Speaker Mac McCutcheon came in from Huntsville while we were finishing up the audit, and I talked to him. I had let him know last week that I would be in his offices, and why,” Zeigler added. “We had not anticipated any problems in the Speaker’s offices, and there were not any surprises.” Zeigler says he will continue to train as a professional auditor as his office’s budget has been cut 28.5 percent since January 2015 when he first took office. “At some point, I will be on my own and will hit the road by myself,” Zeigler explained. “I can make up for one of three auditors that we have lost as my budget was cut.” According to Zeigler, his office is now current on all state audits.
FBI readies audit of Robert Bentley’s Finance Department
An audit of Gov. Robert Bentley’s Finance Department has been completed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is expected to be released next week. The audit comes after Bentley himself requested it saying “potentially criminal” actions took place in the state Department of Finance, and is expected to cover allegations of improper access to criminal justice databases. Bentley admitted on June 10 that contract personnel working for the Finance Department’s Information Services Division (ISD) were “improperly given access to IT resources” supporting ALEA and the state’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) network. “(ALEA) Secretary (Stan) Stabler informed me that ALEA has met with members of the Office of the United States Attorney here in Montgomery and confirmed that some of the actions of senior managers within the Department of Finance and its Information Services Division are potentially criminal in nature,” the governor wrote in his request. Bentley’s letter to the FBI also stated there were “several major security concerns” with the state’s wide area network (WAN). “Since honesty and integrity are two virtues that I have and will continue to prioritize for my Administration, I was very disheartened to know that the improper actions of a few appear to have had a significant negative impact on the security of the state’s technology resources, especially those serving our criminal justice community,” Bentley said. In light of Bentley’s discoveries, one Department of Finance official was fired and another suspended by the governor the same month. Bentley fired Department director James Nolin, who was still in a probationary period, and placed Assistant Finance Director Rex McDowell on mandatory leave. State Auditor Jim Zeigler says “the FBI audit can help clear the air on questionable activities of the Bentley Finance Department.” Zeigler has a lawsuit against Bentley and Acting Finance Director Bill Newton alleging their $47 million STAARS software contract violated the state’s bid laws and that the software does not work. A hearing is set Sept. 21 in the suit. -30-
