Loading...
Backup Documents 06/10/2014 Item #16J1 16J1 `-Gaunty of Collier CLERK OF THE C RC IT COURT Dwight E. Brock COLLIER COUNTY OURT OUSE Clerk of Courts g 3315 TAMIAMI TRAIL ST, S1 JITE#201 Accountant Clerk of Courts NAPLES,FLORID 534112-5324 Auditor Custodian of County Funds tr June 4,2014 The Honorable Tom Henning,Chairman Collier County Board of County Commissioners 3299 Tamiami Trail East;Building F,Suite 201 Naples,FL 34112 Commissioners: Audit report 2014-7, Fee Payment Assistance Program: Guadalupe Center, Inc., is enclosed for your review. Internal Audit has met with those involved and reviewed this report with management. We are issuing this report to the Board today, June 4, 2014. The report becomes a public record today and will be available on the Clerk of Courts website. Audit report 2014-7 is in the consent agenda of the June 10, 2014, Board of County Commissioners meeting. Staff is available to discuss any of the information regarding this report at your convenience. Please contact Jim Molenaar at 252-2283. Respectfully, giV.a4) Dwight E. rock Clerk of the Circuit Court DEB/pb Cc: Hon.Tim Nance, Vice Chairman Hon. Donna Fiala Hon. Georgia Hiller, Esq. Hon.Fred Coyle Mr.Leo Ochs Mr. Jeff Klatzkow Ms.Crystal Kinzel Phone- (239)252-2745 Fax-(239)252-2755 Website-www.collierclerk.com Email-collierclerk(c4clerkcollier.com 16J ' l Internal Audit Department te# , r c `� NECIR Audit Report 2014-7 Fee Payment Assistance Program: Guadalupe Center, Inc. Dwight E. Brock Clerk of the Circuit Court Issued: June 4, 2014 1299 Tamiami Trail East Suite #402 Naples. FL 14112-5746 www.collierclerk.com 16 1 Prepared by: Patrick Blaney, Senior Internal Auditor Kristina Schoen, Internal Auditor Report Distribution: Board of County Commissioners Leo Ochs, Jr., County Manager Amy Patterson, Manager, Impact Fee & Economic Development Jeff Klatzkow, County Attorney Mark Isaacson, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Cc: Dwight E. Brock, Clerk of the Circuit Court Crystal K. Kinzel, Director of Finance & Accounting Table of Contents SUMMARY 2 OBJECTIVE 2 SCOPE 2 BACKGROUND 2 MANAGEMENT RESPONSE 3 CONCLUSION 3 \\orkp; pcN supporting the oh crviitions rdcatcdt io.itilily this ricsxdirt < v Lav public record Lard can he ,narcl<< �r„l�lahic upon rcquc,` Lnal audit rci?.tl'i has hccn issued, 9 he and dr<l3, s Li i;ins of audit reports lcdna n cdtihildlt'i-in it liI.t_f t l )t tccie trorn records Iiditics5 Ha „ iilidC ' ( hli t Ranh If1 L d i`, { .OS /)(.. ,t f)1 ! I„ 171 ti 3' ''l i ;3tlti `?cctHil : i(),0713 viol:t,i,{ stult,itc' . 1 16J1 Internal Audit provided draft Audit Report 2014-7 to the Impact Fee Manager for management response on April 25, 2014. The Impact Fee Manager provided the management response on May 8, 2014. Summary Internal Audit conducted a site visit to vouch five Guadalupe Center, Inc., employees, filling created jobs,to payroll data. Pay rates of those jobs were annualized, averaged, and compared to Ordinance requirements. Payroll data was compared to the personnel records of employees filling the five created jobs. The data consisted of employees' names, addresses, hire dates,job titles, and pay rates. The procedures revealed no exceptions. These tests validated that Guadalupe Center, Inc., had created and continued to retain five jobs paying more than 50% of the County's private-sector average wage, and remains eligible to participate in the Fee Payment Assistance Program. Ob'ective The objectives of this special request were to validate the five employees in the jobs created by Guadalupe Center, and to validate the wages paid for the jobs created. Sco s e This engagement consisted of validating jobs created and their wages, including, but not limited to, the following: • Reviewing section 125.045, Florida Statutes; • Reviewing Collier County Ordinances 2003-61, 2004-24, 2004-45, 2005-30, 2006-36, 2008-25, and 2008-46; • Checking the Tax Collector's records of tax payments; • Validating payroll records from Guadalupe Center, Inc.; • Visiting Guadalupe Center and interviewing the Chief Financial Officer; • Tracing names, addresses,hire dates,job titles,and pay rates,to the personnel records of Guadalupe Center; • Scheduling payroll data for all employees filling the created jobs; and • Annualizing, averaging, and comparing pay rates of the five jobs to Ordinance requirements. Internal Audit examined applicable payroll and personnel records for Guadalupe Center. Back' round The Fee Payment Assistance program was a performance-based Collier County initiative authorized in Board of County Commissioners (BCC) Ordinance 2003-61, as amended. It is found in Chapter 49, Article II, of the Collier County Code of Ordinances. The program paid selected impact fees for eligible development projects. Eligibility criteria included the creation of minimum numbers of new jobs at or above specific wage levels. Ordinance 2003-61 states that the program's purposes were to: 1) Provide a performance-based program offering financial relief for eligible targeted industry development or expansion projects in Collier County to mitigate the effects of rising Impact Fee rates; 2 16J1 2) Provide for the economic well being of Collier County residents by providing high-wage employment opportunities in Collier County; 3) Lessen the seasonal cycle of Collier County's economy; and 4) Encourage investment opportunities for new or existing companies thus increasing and diversifying the County's tax base. Ordinance 2003-61 originally terminated this program on October 1, 2008, but on September 9, 2008, the BCC enacted Ordinance 2008-46, which extended the Fee Payment Assistance Program to October 1, 2013. To be eligible, businesses had to apply to the County Manager prior to making the decision to locate or expand within Collier County. The Fee Payment Assistance incentive award was calculated by multiplying the total capital investment (land, building, equipment) of the expansion or relocation by the current millage rate, then multiplying by either ten (projects located in areas outside the enterprise community) or 15 (projects located within the enterprise community). This project used the multiplier 15 because it was located within the enterprise community. This award, $73,998.79, equaled the amount of impact fees due for the project. Payments made under this program were subject to funding availability. On January 25, 2005, the BCC approved the application of Guadalupe Center, Inc., to participate in the Fee Payment Assistance Program. The County Manager executed the BCC approved Fee Payment Assistance Agreement (OR: 3754 PG: 3815-3821) with Guadalupe Center on March 17, 2005. The legal description for the property, located at 509 Hope Circle, Immokalee, was included in Exhibit A to the Agreement. The Agreement required the creation and retention of five new jobs at "an average wage equal to or greater than 50% of the County's (then) current private-sector average wage..." The Agreement also provided that the Fee Payment Assistance Program would pay EMS, Correctional Facilities, Road, General Government Buildings, and Fire Protection impact fees totaling$73,998.79. Internal Audit observed the Impact Fee Office's verification of jobs created in accordance with Collier County's Fee Payment Assistance Program in order to validate ongoing eligibility for participation. For Guadalupe Center's location, program criteria called for a minimum of five new jobs paying at least 50% of the County's average private-sector wage in effect at the time of the agreement. The business also had to pay its property tax bill in full annually on or before its due date. However, Guadalupe Center is a Section 501(C)(3)not-for-profit corporation that is exempt from property tax. Mana ' ement Res s onse "We appreciate the ongoing cooperation to complete the required annual monitoring of businesses participating in the various County economic incentive programs. As always, the Internal Audit Department has been thorough, helpful and direct in its review of this matter, and staff looks forward to the opportunity for continued collaboration on this annual process. " Conclusion Due to Guadalupe Center's compliance with the requirements of the Fee Payment Assistance Program Ordinances, there are no adverse observations to report. 3