Misappropriations
Public service is a public trust and as such, our elected and appointed officials have a Fiduciary Duty to stay within the bounds put upon them (5 CFR 2635.101 (a)).
According to the State Board of Accounts, the fundamental premise of segregation of duties is that an individual or small group of individuals should not be in a position to initiate, approve undertake, and review the same action. Without proper segregation of duties, it is impossible to have an effective system of internal control, which can lead to potential errors or fraud. Yet, that is exactly how our Health Department has been allowed to operate – without proper segregation of duties.
According to Jefferson County Title 36: Local Government, Chapter 4, § 36-2-4-11(B), Each payment of expenses under this section must be supported by a fully itemized invoice or bill and certification by the County Auditor.
The document presented by the Health Dept. or their assignee titled Final Invoice on Account of Terminated Health Administrator Ralph Armand Staff Time as of 04/01/2012 is purported to be the itemized bill supporting an additional appropriations final payroll claim for fired administrator, Ralph Armand.
However, this document does not constitute a properly itemized accounting or bill for the following reasons:
- Hand written calculations lack relevance or citation to verifiable sources and are not signed or certified by the creator.
- The hand written calculations reference the addition of 7 and 14; presumably hours that have not been properly promulgated, documented or accounted for.
- The units of measure (Hours, Days, etc.) are NOT uniformly defined for each benefit class and are indeterminable.
- Time sheets or other methods of collecting hours worked and the accrual of benefit hours have not been substantiated or certified by the County Attorney per State Board of Accounts regulatory standards pertaining to severed employees.
Pursuant to the Jefferson County Employee Handbook, the Fair labor Standards Act (FLSA), and The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations 29 C.F.R. § 516.700, OT/Compensatory hours apply ONLY to NON-EXEMPT HOURLY Employees.
By the above references, The Health Department Administrator is a SALARIED EXEMPT position; As such, Ralph Armand is NOT entitled to OT/Compensatory Benefits. But he was paid these unearned benefits, non-the-less.
Ralph Armand has been overpaid 236.25 hours at the cost of $5,036.85 in unqualified OT/Compensatory Benefits to simply go quietly away and unjustly enriched at the taxpayers’ expense.
The classic fox guarding the hen house story: Mr. Armand was allowed to initiate, approve and review his own payroll claims which far exceeds the bar of the appearance of impropriety. Mr. Armand and how many other EXEMPT employees may have received unearned OT/Compensatory Benefits?
The council “promised to look into the matter. To protect the public from potential errors or fraud, as a taxpayer, a complaint will be filed with the governing State Board of Accounts regarding these concerns. If our officials fail to act in an appropriate and timely manner an action to recover illegal, unwarranted, or unauthorized allowances may be initiated for the benefit of the county.
Editor’s Note: These concerns were presented to the full Jefferson County Council on Tuesday, May 15, 2012. However, our local paper has again shown their own media bias by failing to report on all agenda items, including this telling public discussion. Fortunately, there are other reputable mediums dedicated to reporting the unfiltered truth.