The Salt Lake County auditor’s office clanged precautionary alarm bells about potentially untoward or unregulated spending among county employees in an audit released this week.
The investigation looked into county use of its Amazon Business Account and proprietary cards throughout 2023. And while the audit states the investigation didn’t uncover misused funds, it did expose vulnerabilities.
According to a letter from auditor Chris Harding within the evaluation, the goal was to make sure appropriate internal controls were in place and policies were being followed.
He said the audit “revealed significant deficiencies across key areas” and reflected a “pervasive lack of accountability from Salt Lake County management and those charged with governance.”
Stronger actions are needed, he said, and management and county leaders need to address risks that have been identified in county audits over the last 2½ years.
Missing, misused gift cards
According to the audit, 10 agencies spent a total of $82,119 on a combined 1,914 gift cards in 2023.
At one point, the audit found that the Health Department had 424 gift cards worth a combined $4,230 on hand, some of which were bought 15 months before. Some gift cards that were marked as undistributed were missing, and others marked as distributed were still around.
The auditor’s office recommended the county’s Contracts and Procurement department work to establish countywide policies about purchasing, tracking and dispersing gift cards.
The audit noted that the county’s Office of Regional Development also spent $882 on gift cards for employees and volunteers, which is broadly against county policy with the exception of service awards. When asked about the situation, office management said the gift cards were approved by a former director so staff and volunteers could order food delivery during remote meetings.
“The current Administrative and Fiscal Manager noted she was not aware of the Countywide policy prohibiting such practices,” the audit states.
Throughout other payroll audits, the auditor’s office has also found concerns with how $58,000 worth of gift cards for used for employee recognition were handled and distributed throughout 2023.
Though Harding said there wasn’t anything nefarious found, he did see a potential issue in that some of the gift cards were purchased and distributed with “a lack of segregation of duties.”
Amazon Business Account usage
According to the audit, several departments also failed to follow appropriate policy when using the county’s Amazon Business Account.
One employee reportedly ordered a personal item through the account, thinking he was using his personal account, and thus received a tax exemption.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake County Government Center pictured on Monday, May 23, 2022.
On the business account, the Aging and Adult Services department used an advisory committee card, and Youth Services let the nonprofit organization ShelterKids use its credit card for transactions that would benefit Youth Services’ efforts.
According to the audit, the Contracts and Procurement department were unaware of departments using non-county cards on the business account and wouldn’t have authorized it.
The auditor’s office recommended training, heightened monitoring and stopping the use of non-county cards on the business account.
Proprietary cards that regulators didn’t know existed
According to the audit, two Salt Lake County agencies use proprietary cards — Youth Services uses a Smith’s/Kroger Card, and Criminal Justice Services uses a Sam’s card.
Last year, the two proprietary cards were used to spend a total of $4,535. According to the audit, the county’s Contracts and Procurement department wasn’t aware of the cards’ existence or use, which was identified as an issue given the department’s responsible for county card oversight.
Among its discoveries, the audit revealed the cards weren’t always appropriately checked out for use. Some didn’t have set spending limits and neither agency conducted annual reviews.
Packages delivered to employees’ homes
The audit states that last year, 13 county agencies shipped 393 orders worth $28,176 to 45 non-county locations — Amazon lockers or employees’ homes — without authorization, a practice that’s not compliant with county regulation.
“While occasional shipments to non-county facilities may be justifiable, they should be the exception,” the audit states.
It explained the practice lowers transparency and heightens fraud risk. The audit recommended training employees about and more closely monitoring deliveries.
‘Tone-at-the-top issue’
Harding gave credit to county management who accepted the 29 specific recommendations outlined in the audit, but he also expressed concern that the audit was necessary.
“It’s more of a tone-at-the-top issue,” he said. “By and large, they don’t look at their own department and try and analyze what’s going wrong. ... Everybody just assumes everybody’s doing everything right.”
He noted that some departments wait for audits to fix internal issues even when the auditor’s office is reporting on similar issues in other areas of government.
“Only if we’re knocking at your department door, asking you questions, then you take us seriously,” he said.
Since releasing a public news release about the most recent audit, which he doesn’t typically do, he said he’s noticed it gain more attention among county leaders.
