BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — Alachua and Bradford counties are jointly responsible for repaying nearly $900,000 to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
The amount was spelled out in a final determination letter following compliance monitoring of CareerSource North Central Florida spending and operations between 2017 and 2020.
DEO questioned nearly $6 million in costs. The final amount of disallowed costs was determined to be more than $1.4 million. Of that amount, $872,814 is owed to DEO.
According to the final determination letter, “This amount is subject to federal debt collection and must be repaid from non-federal funding sources. Because this finding affects all funding sources, DEO recommends that the board consult with the other grantor agencies for instructions on the remaining balance of the disallowed costs.”
Last week, the Alachua County Commission met and agreed to pay the full amount out of its reserves. The cost will be allocated between the counties based on the prorated split of operating the Alachua and Bradford county career centers. This will likely make Bradford’s share around 13%, or $113,360.
The obligation comes at a time when Bradford County is looking at cutting services to control spending. Alachua has indicated that if Bradford cannot afford a lump sum reimbursement, an interlocal agreement could be proposed to repay Alachua County over time.
DEO is also giving the counties six months to provide an independent auditor’s report for Fiscal Year 2019 and an independent accountant’s agreed upon procedures report for Fiscal Year 2020 because there are not sufficient records to complete a 2020 audit. They must adequately disclose of the financial results of the grants awarded and ensure the effectiveness of safeguards and accountability for all funds awarded by DEO.
In 2020, DEO released a 32-page report with 13 findings and other observations. Among them was the fact that the administrative company hired to run CareerSource had installed one of its own employees as executive director, but it was that director’s job to oversee the administrative entity. Issues of spending state and federal grant awards, as well as auditing and record retention, were also reported.
Focused Management Solutions is no longer running CareerSource North Central Florida, which has been reorganized to place the counties and workforce board in greater charge of oversight.
