Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/138828
Sarasota News Leader June 21, 2013 Page 20 nancial Planning, said, "Yes," Barbetta asked for more details. County Administrator Randall Reid said the new employee would follow up on internal audits and make sure staff complied with any guidelines recommended for implementation as a result of the audits. When Barbetta then asked whether somebody in the Office of Financial Planning should be handling that responsibility, Reid replied that Botelho normally would follow up on compliance, but multiple checks are needed to make certain nothing is overlooked. With benefits, the cost of the Ethics and Compliance Office already is about $200,000, Barbetta pointed out. When the Sarasota County County Administrator Randall Reid. File photo Clerk of Court's Office conducts an audit, he continued, it should be up to the manager or Office employee would collaborate with her director of the department audited and the new inspector general, Reid said. Office of Financial Planning to collaborate on When Robinson clarified whether staff was compliance. not just following up on recent audits but "I'm worried about creating a bureaucracy having to go back and determine compliance here," Barbetta added. with past audits, Reid said some issues with "I'm not happy with that [position request], audits going back to 2008 and 2009 needed to either," Patterson said, noting that Rushing be addressed. already had said she planned on hiring an inspector general for her office. "This sounds pretty duplicative to me," Patterson pointed out of the Ethic and Compliance Office position. "I think we're just building staff. … It's a real problem if you have an audit and two years later it hasn't been followed up on." The county should not have to employ two fulltime people to make sure of compliance with issues noted in audits, Patterson continued. Staff would work with Rushing to determine how the proposed new Ethics and Compliance When Robinson then asked whether a temporary hire could handle the additional work in the Ethics and Compliance Office, Reid said that was possible, but he felt, for the sake of continuity, that the position should be advertised as one lasting at least a year. He pointed out that when temporary employees learn of permanent positions, they are inclined to seek those. Turnover in that new Ethics and Compliance Office position might create even more delays in resolving the problems that had prompted the request for the new employee in the first place, he added.