Guest MINDSETTER™ Ernie Almonte: Poor Leadership Costs RI Money

Guest MINDSETTER™ Ernie Almonte: Poor Leadership Costs RI Money

I would like to commend GoLocalProv.com for their coverage of Auditor General Dennis Hoyle’s new audit report, which highlights the State of Rhode Island’s mishandling of federal grant money and failure to follow the rules governing the grants. The inability to monitor federal grants and other funds may not attract headlines like the pension issue, but it deprives Rhode Islanders of substantial fiscal resources and undermines trust in government.

As the article noted, federal grant oversight is not a new problem. As the Auditor General for fifteen years (Hoyle succeeded me in 2010), I issued numerous reports detailing the same type of lax oversight of funds. It is beyond frustrating that our elected officials have done nothing to address the most serious of these problems.

It is yet another example of Rhode Island’s good old boys’ network that takes care of their own while the people’s business is neglected.

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The new audit report has seventeen findings that were considered significant deficiencies or material weaknesses. There are several findings that continue every year and are ignored by our state leaders.  These chronic issues include: RI’s Medicaid programs lack of internal controls and accountability; the Department of Taxation lacks the ability to process tax forms from local businesses in a timely manner; and the Department of Transportation created a dual accounting system which makes its process “unduly complex.”

There have been many occasions over the last few years where state and municipalities have had to repay the federal government for not complying with grant guidelines. This has cost our government millions.

We cannot afford to throw away our taxpayers’ money! This money, if spent properly, could bolster the culture of business growth, job creation, improving our schools and the lives of our citizens.  That is what our government should be doing.

The report also states “Overall, the State has not sufficiently addressed IT security risks, an increasing concern given the State’s very complex computing environment.”  The state holds significant amount of our personal information, when there are weak protections for this data the risk of identity theft becomes much greater.

Rhode Island state agencies also manage more than $8 Billion.  We should have strong controls over our money and hold our government officials accountable for spending and investment.

As Rhode Island’s next General Treasurer, I will provide the leadership to impose the required  financial controls and information technology security measures.

I will provide strategies for reducing payment errors, stress the importance of commitment from senior leadership, partner with our state and federal key stakeholders, and leverage risk management and business intelligence. 

Here are several examples of best practices in accountability that I will enact.

• Continuous monitoring so we can find errors and potential overpayments before the money is spent. Currently, we wait until we spend the money and then determine if there were any mistakes. In the accounting profession we call this the “pay and chase method.” It is basic common sense that it is easier to resolve an error before the check is written instead of having to track down the misspent money later and ask for it to be returned.
• Automated controls, fraud prevention and detection activities. With better investment in information technology, we will be able to automate most of the key processes rather than rely on human judgment. This has been successfully done by other government bodies and could be easily brought to Rhode Island.
• Training in the proper use, distribution, and monitoring of federal and state money.

 

This lack of accountability has to end.  As we continue to attempt to rebuild the Rhode Island economy, we cannot afford to squander funds available though federal grants.  As your next RI General Treasurer, I will appoint a Chief Accountability Officer who will provide best practices to individuals and organizations in and out of government to increase compliance with laws and regulations and reduce the risk of fraud and abuse.  I will be the bridge between the citizens and the government to provide transparency and accountability.  I have spent thirty-five years providing accountability to local, state, national, and international governments and businesses.  I will bring this skill to the RI Treasurer’s office to benefit all one million citizens.

Ernie Almonte is a Democratic candidate for RI General Treasurer.