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That
Was Definitely Not OK
Despite
the protestations of the consultant hired by the Albany Police
Department at the 11th hour before a Common Council quizzing
[“Tough Questions Continue,” Newsfront, April 1], an audit
by the city comptroller, Thomas Nitido, found serious weaknesses
in the accounting for, and appropriateness of expenses from,
the police department’s Seized Asset Fund and Criminal Expense
Fund for the past several years.
These two funds have not historically passed through the oversight
of the comptroller, unlike the funds for every other city
department.
Nitido’s audit found that 31 percent of the dollar amount
of seized asset expenditures from 2000 through May 26, 2004,
lacked supporting documentation. In 2003 alone, 60 percent
of expenditures lacked documentation. For the Criminal Expense
Fund, lack of supporting documents peaked at 80 percent in
2001, but is no longer a problem because in 2002 the comptroller
began issuing receipts ahead of time for cash disbursements.
The audit also found that seized asset “funds were used for
a variety of purposes including retirement dinners, fundraisers,
decoration for offices, and a variety of other expenses that,
according to federal guidelines, are not among the categories
of permitted expenses or are within the categories of prohibited
expenses.” Prohibited expenditures include “any expense that
would create the appearance of extravagance, waste, or impropriety”
and “non-official government use.” The audit estimates that
3 to 16 percent of expenses were “questionable” in these ways,
though it notes earlier that it was impossible to test appropriateness
for those expenditures that were lacking documentation.
Nitido recommended that the funds go through the city’s accounting
system, that seized asset funds no longer be used for charitable
contributions, retirement dinners, or other “questionable
expenses,” and that the APD develop written standards detailing
the proper use of funds.
Though some of the activists who have been calling for APD
reform have said they hope “heads will roll” over the revelations,
Nitido said that “the purpose of the audit is not to point
fingers, it’s to make sure we have a system that isn’t vulnerable
to abuse.”
Common Council members, who requested the audit last winter,
seemed to agree, as they accepted the audit with little request
for clarification. Mayor Jennings, however, told the Times
Union the amount involved in the audit “wasn’t significant.”
Nitido sampled 25 percent of all expenditures.
Nitido added that he was optimistic that all of his recommendations
would come to pass, especially since change has already started.
Under the APD’s new leadership (former chief Robert Wolfgang
and former public safety commissioner John C. Nielsen both
left their posts last spring) of Chief James Turley, said
Nitido, “the police department was already moving aggressively
to change accounting procedures. Even at the time we started
our field work, they had started to make changes.”
—Miriam
Axel-Lute
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