Sludge Watch ==> Boise Idaho Scandal - Audit reveals even bigger sludge farm scam

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Sludgewatch Admin:

I like the bit about the flies....


................................................................................................
The Idaho Statesman

June 4, 2006 Sunday




AUDIT OF BOISE FARM REVEALS MORE FRAUD BUSINESSES THAT HELPED CITY EMPLOYEES 
VIOLATE CITY POLICIES COULD FACE SANCTIONS

BY :  Brad Hem


Boise taxpayers subsidized a former city employee's cattle operation at the 
city-owned 20-Mile South Farm, and  farm employees ignored city purchasing 
rules to avoid scrutiny, costing the city thousands of dollars over the past 
five  years, according to a recently released audit. Boise Mayor Dave Bieter 
and some City Council members say the situation  has been dealt with and new 
procedures are in place to prevent future problems. But city officials also 
say there might   be more consequences, including possible personnel action 
against additional city employees and sanctions against  businesses that 
sold or rented equipment to the farm and helped employees violate city 
policies.

The city uses the farm,  managed by the Public Works Department, to dispose 
of treated city sewage.


Former farm manager David C. Skinner resigned  in October in the midst of 
the city's investigation. He later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft. His 
six-month  jail sentence was suspended pending successful probation, and he 
was ordered to pay $3,380.04 in restitution to the  city. But the audit 
indicates that was just a fraction of the financial benefit he received at 
taxpayers' expense.   Auditors found Skinner billed the city $858.36 for 
feed corn, $366.42 for salt blocks and $5,511.56 for insecticide and   
equipment used for keeping flies off cattle.

A second farm employee, Brad Holmes, is charged with misdemeanor  
bid-splitting and faces an August trial. Auditors also found several 
instances when equipment was purchased in  installments less than $1,500. 
Purchases of $1,500 or more would have required purchase orders, resulting 
in greater  management scrutiny. In some cases, auditors said vendors 
willingly complied with farm employees' requests to split  invoices to dodge 
detection. Those vendors could face city penalties.

Some of the potentially criminal actions, such as   alleged invoice 
splitting and theft, happened years ago and were not discovered until after 
the statute of limitations  ran out, so charges could not be filed, 
according to auditors. In other cases, prosecutors indicated they could not  
prove charges beyond a reasonable doubt, council members said.

"This was a major investigation. It certainly  tarnishes the reputation of 
the city," Councilman Jim Tibbs, a former Boise police officer and former 
acting police  chief. Concerns about farm mismanagement first arose in March 
2005 when employees reported problems to management,  according to Bieter. 
Management looked into it and hired the auditors.

In June 2005, the council tapped the city's   Office of Internal Audit to 
investigate the farm. The office was created in 2003 after the City Hall 
spending scandal  that forced former Mayor Brent Coles from office. It 
issued a report May 26. "It was a screwed-up mess. We  aren't done with it 
yet," Councilman Vern Bisterfeldt said. Potential personnel action and new 
city policies  would be the next step. Auditors said there were purchasing 
irregularities that should have been caught earlier by  mid-level managers.

"What bothers me is the management that could have caught it and didn't," 
said  Coun-cilman David Eberle, who intends to question Public Works 
Department officials about the lapse. Bieter spokesman  Michael Zuzel called 
the farm problems a "great learning experience" for the city and stressed 
that new  procedures have been added to prevent future mismanagement. Public 
Works purchases now receive greater scrutiny. A new  bio-solids manager has 
been hired to provide hands-on management at the farm. Auditors inspected 
farm assets and  cor-rected inventory lists.

"We've put the processes in place to make sure it doesn't happen again,"   
Council President Maryanne Jordan said. The city bought about 4,000 acres of 
farmland east of Kuna throughout the 1990s.  Sewer waste from city treatment 
plants is taken to the farm and used as fertilizer for feed crops, and the 
crops are  sold at market. City officials still may decide to punish vendors 
if they were complicit in farm employees'  attempts to defraud taxpayers. 
Sanctions could include suspending a business's ability to bid for city 
projects or   equipment for three months to three years.

"We have options, but we want to be sure and careful before we tackle  any 
of those things," city purchasing manager Bill Albert said. Eberle said he 
suspects vendors were simply trying   to accommodate their customers. He 
said he wants more information before he recommends punishment.

Others council  members shared that view, but said a business that is found 
to have been part of the problem should face penalties.  "If vendors are 
complicit in this sort of affair, there should be sanctions against them," 
Councilman Alan  Shealy said. Contact reporter Brad Hem at bhem@ 
idahostatesman.com or 377-6402.