Internal Audit Department
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PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AUDIT OF THE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW FUND May 2001 Prepared by: Internal Audit Division Clerk of the Circuit Court May 1, 2001 The Honorable Dick Van Der Weide, Chairman The Board of County Commissioners Seminole County, Florida 1101 East First Street Sanford, FL 32771 Dear Mr. Chairman: I am very pleased to present you with the attached audit of the Development Review Fund. Management responses have been incorporated into the final report. Based on those responses, we have concluded that management is responding to the conditions noted in the report; and that planned corrective actions, noted in the report, are underway. Internal Audit will conduct a follow up audit at a later date to ascertain if corrective actions taken by County management have been effective. I would like to thank the men and women of the Planning and Development Department, for their cooperation and assistance throughout the course of this audit. The assistance is deeply appreciated. With warmest personal regards, I am Most cordialy, aryanne Morse Clerk of the Circuit Court Seminole County Prepared by: Internal Audit Division Clerk of the Circuit Court DISTRIBUTION LIST BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Mr. Carlton Henley Mr. Daryl McLain Mr. Grant Maloy Mr. Randall Morris Mr. Dick Van Der Weide COUNTY MANAGER’S OFFICE Mr. J. ...
Informations
| Publié par | Machug |
| Nombre de lectures | 7 |
| Langue | English |
Extrait
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AUDIT OF THE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW FUND
May 2001
Prepared by: Internal Audit Division Clerk of the Circuit Court
Maryanne Morse Clerk of the Circuit Court Seminole County
The Honorable Dick Van Der Weide, Chairman The Board of County Commissioners Seminole County, Florida 1101 East First Street Sanford, FL 32771 Dear Mr. Chairman: I am very pleased to present you with the attached audit of the Development Review Fund. Management responses have been incorporated into the final report. Based on those responses, we have concluded that management is responding to the conditions noted in the report; and that planned corrective actions, noted in the report, are underway. Internal Audit will conduct a follow up audit at a later date to ascertain if corrective actions taken by County management have been effective. I would like to thank the men and women of the Planning and Development Department, for their cooperation and assistance throughout the course of this audit. The assistance is deeply appreciated. With warmest personal regards, I am Most cordially,
May 1, 2001
DISTRIBUTION LIST BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Mr. Carlton Henley Mr. Daryl McLain Mr. Grant Maloy Mr. Randall Morris Mr. Dick Van Der Weide COUNTY MANAGER’S OFFICE Mr. J. Kevin Grace Ms. Frances Chandler Mr. Jim Marino
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT Mr. Donald S. Fisher
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSION RECORDS Ms. Sandy McCann Mr. Bob Wilson
Prepared by: Internal Audit Division Clerk of the Circuit Court
Transmittal letter Introduction Purpose .............................................................................................................. 1 Background......................................................................................................... 1 Scope.................................................................................................................. 2 Overall Evaluation............................................................................................... 3 Findings and Recommendations 1. Impact fees are not always assessed in accordance with County Ordinances and Seminole County Land Development Code. Audit Recommendation ................................................................................. 6 Management Response ................................................................................ 6 2. County policy does not require contractors or property owners to pay for fees owed before the inspector reinspects a building project. Audit Recommendation ................................................................................. 8 Management Response ................................................................................ 9 3. Business practices are not documented. Audit Recommendation ................................................................................. 10 Management Response ................................................................................ 11
Attachment 1
Management’s Official Response
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Internal Audit Division of the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court has completed an audit of the Seminole County Development Review Fund. A member of the County Manager’s staff suggested the audit. In addition, Internal Audit received an inquiry from a private citizen regarding the fund. Purpose The purpose of this audit was: 1) determine compliance with management’s established procedures; 2) evaluate the fullness and effectiveness of those procedures; 3) evaluate compliance with county ordinances, Florida Statutes and the Seminole County Land Development Code; and 4) verify that fee collections are in accordance with the approved fee schedule.
Seminole County Planning and Development Audit of the Development Review Fund
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audit, Internal Audit reviewed the revenue and expenses related to development review activities. The county also collects impact fees from developers on all new developments. Impact fees are assessed for: • Any new construction; • Mobile homes, unless a mobile home was on the site previously; • Any addition or expansion which will result in new units: For example, additional residential dwelling units, additional square footage for offices, or additional pumps at a gas station; and, • Remodeling or alteration, even if there is no expansion to the building which is being done in order to increase the number of units (i.e., converting a duplex to triplex); or to allow a change in use of the building (i.e. single family residence to an office). The results of the audit are included in the report that follows. Scope The scope of this audit included a review of business practices relating to development review activities. We evaluated the system of internal controls, reviewed management’s written procedures, evaluated compliance with those procedures, and verified that statutory and county codes are being met. We examined transactions and documentation for the period October 1992 through August 2000. The audit included: • Review of the procedures for processing applications for new building and review of the applicable fees assessed; • Review of disbursements from the Development Review Fund to ensure that the charges are legitimate charges to the Development Review Fund; • Review of the excess funds collected and being held in reserve; • Review of the internal controls over the revenue collection and disbursement process; • Interviews with County personnel; • Review of the county land development code, administrative code, and other county ordinances; and,
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• Any other procedures considered necessary under the circumstances.
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The audit was performed by Bill Carroll, Gail Joubran and Pat Tindel. Overall Evaluation It is our opinion that the system of internal controls over the assessment and collection of impact and building permit fees are inadequate. The county’s procedures to access the fees do not ensure compliance with the applicable ordinances of Seminole County. Our tests (on a sample basis) of the county’s records revealed that some developers were overcharged by the county by as much as $152,097.70 while others were undercharged by as much as $69,713.57. These conditions indicate that the management controls are not functioning effectively or are non-existent. The following conditions require management’s attention: • Impact fees are not always assessed in accordance with county ordinances and the Seminole County Land Development Code; • County policy does not require contractors or property owners to pay fees owed before the inspector reinspects a building project; and, • Business practices have not been documented in the form of written policies and procedures. Our findings and recommendations are included in the report that follows.
Finding No. 1 Impact fees are not always assessed in accordance with County Ordinances and Seminole County Land Development Code . An impact fee is a charge imposed against new developments to provide the county with the necessary funding to pay for the cost of capital facilities required as the result of growth in population. The county collects impact fees for roads, emergency medical services, libraries, schools, and respective fire districts. Seminole County Land Development Code and county ordinance requires county staff to calculate impact fees based on the application submitted by a developer. Should a developer believe that a certain development would have a lower “impact on the road network, the developer, at his own expense, is entitled to submit to the county an Alternative Road Impact Fee calculation. The study must comply with the criteria outlined in the Road Impact Fee Ordinance (90-10). Impact fees, including alternative impact fee calculations, are required to be collected prior to construction commencing. Internal Audit selected a sample of 86 building applications (generating a total of $2,820,722.39 in impact fees). We selected our sample from the Graphical User Interface (GUI) System and recalculated the fees based on the data contained within the GUI System. From the data, we determined the correct fees that should have been assessed per the County Land Development Code or per the Alternative Rate Impact studies performed. Internal Audit found discrepancies in 29 of the 86 applications. On September 5, 2000, a written inquiry was forwarded to county staff for an explanation as to why Internal Audit’s calculations were different from those actually assessed. County staff replied: 1. Alternative rate studies were used to calculate the fees owed in ten of the applications (Permits Nos. 99-425, 99-426, 99-1472, 00-3098, 00-3097, 00-2348, 99-7238, 00-3883, 99-10597 and 00-4308). Because the files had not been adequately documented with how the rates had been established, staff initially believed that no alternative studies had been performed for these developments. After staff conducted additional research, it was determined that alternative rates were in fact used to assess the fees. The GUI System did not have any reference to the alternative rate studies. While analyzing the discrepancies pertaining to two of the ten permits nos. (00-2348 and 99-7238), Internal Audit found an additional four permits with errors. Those four permits, (00-837, 00-842, 00-840, and 00-841) were calculated pursuant to an alternative rate study conducted July 1994 for car dealerships (in existence as of January 5, 1996). The taxpayer, Bill Heard Chevrolet, was
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overcharged $150,356.96, due to a rate input incorrectly into the GUI System. (Refer to attached Calculation of County Impact Fees Schedule #1.) 2. For permits Nos. 99-3318, 99-10529, 99-3313, and 99-1743 County staff informed Internal Audit that an incorrect land use code had been input into the GUI System. Although the GUI System showed an incorrect land use category, County staff correctly assessed the impact fee for Permit No. 99-1743. However, the developer that was issued Permit No. 99-3313 has still been undercharged $401.66; Permit No. 99-10529 has still been undercharged $237.19 and Permit No. 99-3318 has still been overcharged by $7.70. (Refer to attached Calculation of County Impact Fees Schedule #2.) 3. Permits Nos. 99-3155, 99-7560, 99-8594, 99-3244 and 00-5089 county staff informed Internal Audit that each listed incorrect square footage in the GUI System. After a developer submits an application to the county, changes can be made to the plans, or the developer may submit new measurements. Although the GUI System had incorrect square footage, the staff still assessed (by manually calculating the fee) the correct impact fee due from the developer based on the actual square footage submitted with the plans. However, in addition to the impact fees, the County is required to add on a mandated .005 percent per square foot surcharge for radon and a .005 percent per square foot surcharge for certification. As a result of the incorrect square footage input into the GUI System, developers were undercharged by $4,730.00 for these two surcharges. (Refer to attached Calculation of County Impact Fees Schedule #3.) 4. For Permit No. 99-9467, the developer was undercharged $383.07, due to an incorrect rate calculation of the fire/rescue impact fee. (Refer to attached Calculation of County Impact Fees Schedule #4.) 5. For Permit No. 00-7327 impact fees for 45,740 total square feet of retail were calculated at an incorrect rate. Staff used the rate tier for 50,000 square feet to 99,000 total square feet for this project, instead of the rate tier assigned for square footage less than 50,000. Thus, the developer was undercharged for this project by $51,000.10. County staff informed Internal Audit that a corrected impact fee statement is being processed for this project. (Refer to attached Calculation of County Impact Fees Schedule #5.) 6. For Permit No. 00-10427 county staff incorrectly used the rate tier for 300,000 square feet to 499,999 total square feet for this project, instead of the rate tier assigned for square footage between 100,000 to 299,999. Thus, the developer was undercharged for this project by $10,304.00 . (Refer to attached Calculation of County Impact Fees Schedule #6.) 7. For Permit No. 00-336 county staff incorrectly used the rate tier for 100,000 square feet to 200,000 total square feet for this project, instead of the rate tier assigned for square footage less than 100,000 square feet. Thus, the developer was
Prepared by: Internal Audit Division Clerk of the Circuit Court
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undercharged for this project by $7,068.94. (Refer to attached Calculation of County Impact Fees Schedule #7.) Recommendation 1. The county should proceed with collecting the $69,713.57 that was undercharged and refund $152,097.70 that was overcharged. 2. All applicant files should be documented as to how the impact fees were calculated. Impact fee calculations should be reviewed and approved by management. 3. Procedures should be established to bill or refund overpayments and/or underpayments on a monthly basis. Management Response 1. The County should proceed with collecting the $69,713.57 that was undercharged and refund $152,097.70 that was overcharged. • A refund in the amount of $150,357.02 was processed on December 19, 2000 to correct the over-assessment associated with permits #00-837, 00-840, 00-841, and 00-842. • A correction to the Impact Fee assessment in the amount of $51,000.10 has been processed (September 2000) to correct the under-assessment associated with permit #00-7327. • A refund in the amount of $1,733.04 will be processed to correct the over-assessment associated with permit #99-10597. • A refund in the amount of $7.70 will be processed to correct the over-assessment associated with permit #99-3318. • A notice of Impact Fees due and payable in the amount of $318.61 will be processed to correct the under-assessment associated with permit #00-2348. • A notice of Impact Fees due and payable in the amount of $401.66 will be processed to correct the under-assessment associated with permit #99-3313. • A notice of Impact Fees due and payable in the amount of $237.19 will be processed to correct the under-assessment associated with permit #99-10529.
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