Jefferson County Commissioner David Carrington released an independent audit of Cooper Green's discretionary fund Sunday, which he said reveals several violations of federal healthcare laws and spending for unapproved purposes. His statement is below.
Commissioner Carrington's Statement on the Cooper Green Discretionary Fund Audit
"On August 28, 2012, the Commission received an audit report on the Cooper Green Discretionary Fund from Warren Averett, the County's CPA firm. (This report is attached for your review.)
Commissioners Brown, Knight, Stephens and I were unaware that this "discretionary" fund existed at Cooper Green until late this spring and quickly discovered that Commissioner Bowman had authorized $85,000 in payments from it to two consulting firms (Pollock Financial Group and Castle Oak Securities) without Commission approval. These [and other] payments were clearly outside the approved fund uses adopted by prior Commissions. As such, Commissioners Brown, Knight, Stephens and I demanded a complete audit of this fund, which we received last Tuesday.
The audit detailed many issues of concern, including several apparent violations of federal healthcare laws. The County is obligated to self-report any apparent violations of federal healthcare laws as soon as we become aware of them. As such, the County complied with that obligation within hours of receiving the audit report.
I continue to be disturbed with the lack of fiscal discipline and controls at Cooper Green. The number and seriousness of the issues raised in the audit are indicative of much deeper problems that will be addressed going forward."
