Annual audit plan and jail transfer report

1:15:37Okay. Um I have uh two things that I handed out earlier this morning. Um they should be on your dais. I also handed them out to the uh county attorney, county administrator, and the assistant county administrators. One of them um is uh noted item N sixty eight and it is um The annual audit plan that my Inspector General's office will be moving forward on with this calendar year. I included the cover letter that she sent to

1:16:07me because it gives to you how the plan was developed with the various sources. And then the plan itself is categorized by that source of how they put together their plan. The next item is um N sixty nine and it is the report from the jail transfer. So you might remember A few months ago when um we we had heard that the jail was going to be transferred to the county, um, I came before you and asked for an

1:16:38A quasi-audit to be conducted. It's really about an accounting to make sure that we know what we are getting when the jail transfers transferred from the sheriff to the county. You had a um allowed me the opportunity to partner with a a an audit company. We chose Cherry Beckard. They came became they came well in under the budget. Budget that the county set for they ended up under $50,000 for the report. They were the did all the legwork

1:17:09for my office because at that time we were at 50% vacancy in my inspector general office. And this report basically provides the background scope, methodology, and the results of that. I'm gonna call it an accounting. It's called an agreed upon procedures. It's it's 'cause it's not an actual audit. And in that they went through the financials, the assets, and the liabilities that transferred from the sheriff's office to the counties and um

1:17:39there were no significant vari um variances noted at all in any of the areas. So um I just wanna let you know it was a it was a great result that came out of it and it was a Big hole. Um besides the things that the county was doing on the operational end which was outside of this scope, which again was a lot of work as well. I wanted to say my my thanks and my appreciation to your staff and my staffs and the Pasco Sheriff's

1:18:09Office staff members. So I'd like to just call out by name, Chantel Sincard. She was an amazing workhorse on this for the county. She's your internal program administrator. Kathy Donahue with the Pasco Sheriff's Office. She's their finance director. There was a lot of work that had to be done by the Sheriff's Office, and she really pulled most of that weight, if not all of that weight. And then we have Captain Kimberly Riggins, who is now the County's Captain Support Services, and also

1:18:39your Chief Corrections Officer, Stacey Jenkins. Amazing amount of work that everyone had to put in to make this happen and I wanted to say thank you to them. There was also Jessica Blesser, your finance director, and Tiffany Poloff with your IT, as well as Manny in my office. Manny Long and Matt Lazar, the finance director and assistant director, and then of course my inspector general

1:19:10team putting this report together, Patrice Monaco McBride, Christine Calliano, Erica Hendricks, and Andrew Henson. I just wanted to say thank you. This was a great project to show multiple local agencies coming together with a fantastic result. This could have gone wrong, but it didn't. It went beautiful, it went right, and we all worked very well together on that. So if you don't mind just sharing those thanks with me, Mr. Karbala, I'd appreciate it with your with your team. Um and

1:19:40finally, um this morning Mr. Mallow spoke and I was contemplating around lunchtime you know, should I say something? Should I not say something? Um so um I appreciate Mr. Steinsteider uh making his comments at the end there. And I do appreciate Mr. Mallow's um statements that he made. Um I do want to say Mr. Steinsteider here he is correct um about the lawsuit. It's a declaratory Action, we're seeking an interpretation of a specific statute. That interpretation will set precedents for the entire

1:20:11state. And the reason for that is there is no case law that exists interpreting the statute. Hmm. So Once the uh court concludes it'll be in a trial court, it's not gonna end there because this is the first time it's in court. It's gonna continue on to appeal. I don't know if it would ever get to the Supreme Court of Florida, but we're in for a very long haul in in the court system. So regardless on how the court rules, you know, if they're going to rule in the interpretation in the favor of me and

1:20:41my interpretation or on the county's interpretation of the statute, I do believe that Mr. Mallow is correct and that it doesn't have to go that far. That our case doesn't have to set precedent in the entire state and that we can work out our differences together and and settle the case. So I just want to let you know that I am open and I'm happy to sit down and meet with all of you to discuss a resolution without having to go through the court system and having a judge decide our issue. So

1:21:12thank you a lot. I appreciate the opportunity to speak on it.

1:21:14All right. So I'd make a recommendation that you sit down with Mr. Seinschneider if you're comfortable doing that at this point.

1:21:20Well, I we have hired outside counsel. I would have I would have and Mr. Alfonso and Mr. Caldavia have indicated they want to mediate the case. If that's w what the board wants to do, that would be the appropriate venue. All right. Um

1:21:37Well either way you you know it's gonna be a long process. You don't want us to be the ones to set the precedent for it anyway. Yeah, no. So it would entail for the clerk to drop the suit and then have a conversation.

1:21:48Well no no I mean at at this point you're gonna have i it looks like you're gonna have a preliminary indication from the court in the second week in February. Um It was a trial court. It's a trial court. And I I agree with the clerk that it's not gonna end there on either side. Um so regardless of what that whether the court grants summary judgment or whether the court doesn't grant

1:22:18summary judgment and sets it for trial, there's an opportunity at that point for um parties to get together and mediate the

1:22:29point then. So the the question I have for you all is do you want a briefing on the case at on the February seventh agenda? Yes and yes. Okay.

1:22:39Um can I ask a question on some of that though? Go ahead. Um because I think there were two issues. And one is not in the court case. I don't think. And that is the IT response. They're both in the courts. Oh, they both are both in the courts. Oh, I was gonna try and separate them up, but I guess I can't.

1:22:55They're separated in the courts. And I just wanted to s say, um opposed your your contract counsel and opposing counsel, um, they have declined to do mediation. That was brought up in the um at the hearing last I'm I don't know 17th.

1:23:10They've declined to have the court not rule and do mediation, yes.

1:23:16I don't know

1:23:16what that that means.

1:23:22Oh yeah. My the what I have heard from outside council is that during the hearing Clerk's Council asked for mediation. to stay the judge from making a decision. They declined to do that, yes. And I would have done the same thing.

1:23:44Mr. Bradford. So uh Mr. Chair, thank you. So there's nothing to prohibit us f uh from making a decision and settling this, right? There's nothing we have the power to do that. We can settle this case. by saying we're

1:24:05not gonna move forward. Fundamentally I would rather give you that answer in in a litigation assessment meeting because it it's it's theory of case. Got it. Okay. But I'm happy to answer that question in the privacy of a litigation assessment meeting. Okay.

1:24:28Okay, so February seventh we'll have a a briefing on it. You can have your conversations ahead of time with the county attorney if you choose. Uh nothing wrong with that either.

1:24:36Okay. Yeah. Be happy to talk to any of you at any time. Jack,

1:24:40I left one thing off.

1:24:40Yeah, one sec. Anything else?

1:24:42That's it. Thank you. Okay.

1:24:43Commissioner Starkey.