Paychecks issued too soon and company car benefits ? that went unreported to the IRS for at least three years ? were concerns the state turned up during a visit to Cowley County Developmental Services last summer.
County officials voted this week to establish a new county department to replace Cowley County Developmental Services as the gatekeeper of funds for the developmentally disabled. County administrator Leroy Alsup has said across-the-board changes and a revamping of the gatekeeper organization are necessary to ensure fewer problems in the future.
In a letter to then-executive-director Bill Brooks, dated Sept. 15, 2009, the Kansas Dept. of Social and Rehabilitation Services identified issues needing to be corrected following a visit prompted by complaints SRS had received. NewsCow obtained and reviewed a copy of the letter which was provided by a former CCDS official.
Many of the issues in the letter are the same concerns county commissioners voiced in a meeting late last year as the county considered whether to renew CCDS’s contract as the county’s CDDO gatekeeper.
Bill Brooks has since retired as executive director for CCDS and Penny Parker, a former administrative assistant for CCDS, is serving as interim director
According to the state the following issues were to be addressed:
COMPANY VEHICLES ? The state found that CCDS had four staff members, three of whom had company cars to use and take home. A review of documents showed that these employees, including Brooks and Parker, were not claiming the vehicles as a taxable fringe benefit on their federal income tax.
CCDS board minutes show that the subject was addressed as early as May 1, 2008 and board members were told that employees would begin claiming the benefit by Jan. 1, 2009. The SRS investigator, who visited CCDS about six months later, determined that reporting did not begin as scheduled.
SRS recommended that CCDS go back three years in calculating the taxes owed on the vehicle benefit so it could be properly reported to the Internal Revenue Service.
Both CCDS and county officials said efforts were made to address the tax issues. County manager Leroy Alsup was unsure if the issue had been totally resolved but said employees were no longer taking cars home.
CCDS now has just two full-time employees.
PAYROLL ? SRS found that CCDS would sometimes issue payroll checks well before the scheduled payday. The state had received complaints that the checks were sometimes pre-signed and issued days ahead of time.
As an example, the state said the checks were issued on a Monday when payday wasn’t until Friday. The state recommended that practice be discontinued, and it has been discontinued.
APPROVING EXPENDITURES ? It was found that board members were to approve any expenditure over $1,500. An SRS inspector found that did not always happen and advised the board to be sure to approve any expenditure over that amount.
Alsup said this was another key concern voiced by the county. Often board members waited a couple months or more before seeing what expenditures are made. As an example, Alsup said county expenditures are available to commissioners days after the current month is closed in the books.
The expenditure issue is one of the reasons the county is pushing to have majority control of the CCDS board of directors. Alsup said that’s the only way of making sure the county can step in to avoid future issues.
