The Office of the State Auditor officially released its audit of the Uintah Transportation Special Service District on Wednesday. The report, addressed to current Board Chairman Dan Dilsaver, includes 8 findings for the period of January 2015 through September 2017. The entire Audit Report can be found at
www.auditor.utah.gov
but the following were included among the findings and recommendations from the Office of the State Auditor. Five specific instances were cited of potential violations of the Open and Public Meetings Act; one from 2015, one from 2016, and three in 2017 including in September when “in anticipation of an on-site investigation…three Board members made the decision to put the Executive Director on paid administrative leave pending [the Office of the State Auditor’s] investigation.” A memo from Board Chairman Dan Dilsaver placing Executive Director Adam Massey on leave was presented to Massey on September 11th in the presence of a law enforcement officer. The audit states that the memo was not shared with the entire board but rather only carbon copied to two other board members who had been informed about the decision that morning by text message. According to the audit, the decision to place Massey on leave “made it more difficult for the Office [of the State Auditor] to obtain needed documentation.” Any claims by the board that actions were administrative as justification were found baseless by the State Auditor’s Office and the Office of the Attorney General has been informed of the noncompliance. Another finding in the audit is that there is potential inadequate independence between the District and Uintah County. The report outlines an incident in September in which a County Commissioner stated in a public meeting that “if the terms of [Massey’s employment] agreement are real, then the County should take that into account prior to distributing funds to the Special Service Districts.” The audit states that this is especially concerning as it gives the appearance of the Commission steering funds to control the District. Findings also outlined inadequate controls over payroll expenditures, credit card transactions, and inadequate policies over non-travel or local travel expenditures. Details provided included paid time off cashed out by the Executive Director as well as bonuses, commissions, and meal and mileage reimbursements. Finally, findings included inadequate follow-up on District receivables and failure of the District to obtain certification by records officer which cited that GRAMA requests have been denied by the Board Chair since the Executive Director was placed on leave. The audit report states that there are concerns “when entities improperly withhold records from the public.”
