Regarding $1 Million Wasted in Child Services: Is this an example of fraud and abuse, or just waste?
OTHER STORIES FROM THIS WEEK:
Illegal Vending Allowed To Spread Throughout Los Angeles Under Villaraigosa: A threat to safety and economy other U.S. Mayors wouldn't allow (Good comments on both sides.)
LA Times covering the long term negative impact of LA's "Dumb Growth" Housing Plan. (Not posted on Mayor Sam yet.)
Non-profit public money abuse?: Is the City always short on cash to complete projects and get the job done because the mayor and City Council are handing too much money over to shady non-profits?
LA Live & Grand Avenue Everything you wish you didn't know about LA City's "Hail Mary" Downtown projects: (And you should know about them, you decided we need this and agreed to finance it with public money, right? (Project Reviews)
AND NOW...ON WITH THE COUNTDOWN!
Child services audit finds $1 million wasted
From LATimes.com:
The question I would like to ask mi amigo Mark “Mr. K” Germain on KTALK 1150-AM, is this: Mark, do you think this is just waste as in “incompetence and nincompoopism”; or is this the way people “hook each other up” in the fraud and abuse departments?
For example, who was responsible for doing the ordering of all these toner and office supplies and I wonder what the relationship is to the supplier? Is this just a way to pass off/sell a bunch of merchandise you acquired, stocked already, or maybe even was too close to expiration, so it was time to pawn off on the County.
I don’t know. This article just reported on the aftermath of the result. I have no information other than what was presented in this article to even think to ask the question, but this kind of fits the profile of how the system “front end loads” the spending and the cronies get the hook up. I’m not saying that happened here. Perhaps it was plain, old fashioned bureaucracy/waste. But if ZD was IG this would trigger a flag for the type of “cahootsism” racket that ZD feels drains enough money out of the system to keep it in a constant state of financial crisis (broken.
So perhaps they were ordering excessive amounts of supplies, and that’s why they had to hide the leftovers. But this stuff looks really bad:
* The department also failed to improve oversight of its gift cards in the wake of a theft of about $15,000 in gift cards in 2003, the audit said. The cards, which can be used at stores such as Target and Wal-Mart, are typically distributed to children and foster parents to buy food, clothing and other household necessities.
* The department could not show documentation to support about $115,000 of the $700,000 gift card purchases that auditors reviewed. Auditors said that without the documents they could not be sure the cards were used appropriately.
ALSO FROM THE REPORT:
[CLICK "READ MORE" for more report]
ZD CAN SUM IT UP IN THREE WORDS: “SHADY-AS-F*CK!”
Los Angeles County's child welfare agency wasted more than $1 million on unnecessary or overpriced equipment and failed to adequately keep track of hundreds of thousands of dollars more in supplies, a county audit has found.
* Procurement staff misled auditors to conceal storage locations that housed unneeded or obsolete supplies.
* "I think it's probably the most significant departure from purchasing practices that I've ever seen," said Auditor-Controller J. Tyler McCauley, who has worked for the county for 37 years. "We're surprised at the extent of it, but we're taking care of it."
* Auditors singled out for particular criticism a purchase by the department last year of more than 3,000 printer cartridges for $800,000. The supplies were enough to last the agency three years, even though the cartridges have a shelf life of two years.
* During the same month, the department paid $450,000 to buy more of the same cartridges at a 15% higher price. Additional toner cartridge purchases over the next nine months cost the county $150,000. The agency has been left with an estimated 4,500 cartridges due to expire before they can be used, the audit said.
Will Zuma Dogg have to be giving this speech a whole lot sooner? ZD's Mayoral Campaign Promises
SUBPRIME SURPRISE?: ZD PREDICTS SUBPRIME LENDING CRISIS AND RECESSION EFFECTS 3 MONTHS AGO (O.K. so the feds held the interest rate to not make things worse, but the rest was a good guess out of nowhere.)
ZumaDogg@gmail.com
ZumaTimes.com
Illegal Vending Allowed To Spread Throughout Los Angeles Under Villaraigosa: A threat to safety and economy other U.S. Mayors wouldn't allow (Good comments on both sides.)
LA Times covering the long term negative impact of LA's "Dumb Growth" Housing Plan. (Not posted on Mayor Sam yet.)
Non-profit public money abuse?: Is the City always short on cash to complete projects and get the job done because the mayor and City Council are handing too much money over to shady non-profits?
LA Live & Grand Avenue Everything you wish you didn't know about LA City's "Hail Mary" Downtown projects: (And you should know about them, you decided we need this and agreed to finance it with public money, right? (Project Reviews)
AND NOW...ON WITH THE COUNTDOWN!
Child services audit finds $1 million wasted
From LATimes.com:
The question I would like to ask mi amigo Mark “Mr. K” Germain on KTALK 1150-AM, is this: Mark, do you think this is just waste as in “incompetence and nincompoopism”; or is this the way people “hook each other up” in the fraud and abuse departments?
For example, who was responsible for doing the ordering of all these toner and office supplies and I wonder what the relationship is to the supplier? Is this just a way to pass off/sell a bunch of merchandise you acquired, stocked already, or maybe even was too close to expiration, so it was time to pawn off on the County.
I don’t know. This article just reported on the aftermath of the result. I have no information other than what was presented in this article to even think to ask the question, but this kind of fits the profile of how the system “front end loads” the spending and the cronies get the hook up. I’m not saying that happened here. Perhaps it was plain, old fashioned bureaucracy/waste. But if ZD was IG this would trigger a flag for the type of “cahootsism” racket that ZD feels drains enough money out of the system to keep it in a constant state of financial crisis (broken.
So perhaps they were ordering excessive amounts of supplies, and that’s why they had to hide the leftovers. But this stuff looks really bad:
* The department also failed to improve oversight of its gift cards in the wake of a theft of about $15,000 in gift cards in 2003, the audit said. The cards, which can be used at stores such as Target and Wal-Mart, are typically distributed to children and foster parents to buy food, clothing and other household necessities.
* The department could not show documentation to support about $115,000 of the $700,000 gift card purchases that auditors reviewed. Auditors said that without the documents they could not be sure the cards were used appropriately.
ALSO FROM THE REPORT:
[CLICK "READ MORE" for more report]
ZD CAN SUM IT UP IN THREE WORDS: “SHADY-AS-F*CK!”
Los Angeles County's child welfare agency wasted more than $1 million on unnecessary or overpriced equipment and failed to adequately keep track of hundreds of thousands of dollars more in supplies, a county audit has found.
* Procurement staff misled auditors to conceal storage locations that housed unneeded or obsolete supplies.
* "I think it's probably the most significant departure from purchasing practices that I've ever seen," said Auditor-Controller J. Tyler McCauley, who has worked for the county for 37 years. "We're surprised at the extent of it, but we're taking care of it."
* Auditors singled out for particular criticism a purchase by the department last year of more than 3,000 printer cartridges for $800,000. The supplies were enough to last the agency three years, even though the cartridges have a shelf life of two years.
* During the same month, the department paid $450,000 to buy more of the same cartridges at a 15% higher price. Additional toner cartridge purchases over the next nine months cost the county $150,000. The agency has been left with an estimated 4,500 cartridges due to expire before they can be used, the audit said.
Will Zuma Dogg have to be giving this speech a whole lot sooner? ZD's Mayoral Campaign Promises
SUBPRIME SURPRISE?: ZD PREDICTS SUBPRIME LENDING CRISIS AND RECESSION EFFECTS 3 MONTHS AGO (O.K. so the feds held the interest rate to not make things worse, but the rest was a good guess out of nowhere.)
ZumaDogg@gmail.com
ZumaTimes.com
Posted by Zuma Dogg @ 8/09/2007 10:46:00 PM
11 Comments:
Seems what "impressed" spiritualfacts is the you need help, zuma. And he's apparently a first-time newbie.
12:52am,
I think he is a newbie because he may have been going through my "zuma master file" or "executive strategy" page? And those link to mayor sam. Perhaps that is why he is a newbie?
He doesn't seem to be passing judgment saying I need help. It says it might help me in my life. So thanks for mentioning it!
I checked out the site. I liked the first article. The other articles looked thought provoking, as well. Are you scared to think about these things? I know one thing. You have a tough time comprehending what you read. Hey Maxx, must be those fear driven filter, distortions and deletions.
Well, zuma, someone is calling on you to help analyze Tony Castro on CD14's blog, since his body language and pathetic expression -- in a photo he clearly chose to have published and reflect "who he is" -- cries out for someone who both proclaims himself an expert on such things, and is his own chief subject.
1:19am,
Wow! Thanks for making a comment about the "non-verbal communication" of the picture. And it's interesting you comment on it. Obviously it struck you, as it struck me. Except I thought it was a good picture because it DOES make a statement. To me it says, "Thoughtful". AND YES, there is some degree of "proclamation of implied authority" -- but good for him if he can create that perception through non-verbals. That's what it's about. But that's an interesting point to remember, as well. Two people can look at the same picture, or hear the same story or see the same movie and come away with different experiences and interpretations.
But besides that...thanks for using that "music to ZD's ears example" as an opportunity to do you slamming of Tony!!! (Even though I like him as far as I can tell from his articles in the DN. Good use of intelligent hate! We need more of that around here.)
It's not a matter of "hate" of Castro (why do you and your followers keep using that word, putting people into a camp of "haters" whenever they disagree with you or think you're a downright fool? That says a lot more about how YOU see the world). I see a Castro who's sad and insecure and out-of-shape and pasty-faced and too beaten down by the world and life and his pessimism to sit up straight and give a straight-on expression.
Speaking of body languge in photos, have you looked at yours lately ZD?
If that isn't a telling communication, I don't know what is.
You need some serious help so don't try to evade the issue. Go see a qualified therapist and try to deal with your hostility and serious insecurities now, before they overtake you and you literally find yourself permanently transformed into the monsterous personality depicted in screen as ZD.
You are perilously close now.
We understand, ZD, that you know little, or nothing about government, but you have to learn that government cannot do anything as efficiently or well as private enterprise.
Of coure there is waste; there is always waste, in private enterprise and in government.
I know that a million dollars sounds like a lot to you, but in government it is often just the cost of doing business and is basically a drop in the barrel.
For example, the LADWP is a Four Billion (with a "B") dollar a year operation. They lose tens of millions each year by not paying promptly and losing discounts; do they do anything about it? No way.
But, in fairness, they can't get all the approvals necessary in the time period needed to earn the discounts.
So, don't be so quick to criticize until you understand the reasons for the loss or apparent waste.
And, go get a real job and stop running around like a chicken with his head cut off, looking for scandals uner rocks.
There are reasons for everything, and if you want to be the Controller and do audits, run against Wendy and see how you fare.
700,000 in GIFT CARDS??
"I know that a million dollars sounds like a lot to you, but in government it is often just the cost of doing business and is basically a drop in the barrel."
DROP IN THE BARREL? (as if a million is all that is involved in the overall picture...)
And they continually are looking for more ways to drain MORE money off of taxpayers???
115,000 in "MISSING" GIFT CARDS?? Maybe they can start looking into the personal "GIFTS" and spending patterns of sleaze politicians with whores on the side to locate some of that...
Maybe the sleaze politicians, those responsible for spending and accounting should all be held personally responsible for replacement of wasted and unaccounted public funds, perhaps that could begin to eradicate this cavalier attitude towards the taxpayers' money!
4:12am=dumbest comment in the history of this blog. you have been completey revealed.
2:05am, I'm sorry I considered that hate. My bad. Very loving and supportive comment.
3:37am, Nice observation...I'll keep it in mind coming from you, that means alot. (Just kidding. I'd love to set up a therapy session with you, but I am not available at 3:37 in the morning.
You never took up the issue of why the community college board wasted the $2.2 billion in bond money voters stupidly approved to build "much- needed" physical plants like performing arts center, gyms, etc. Even though any one of these would have cost a relatively minor 50-60 mil out of that huge budget.
ALL the money went for plans never executed, a little landscaping and painting and lightbulbs, while the costs have doubled, so they're coming back to YOU, Kmart shoppers, for another hit.
Guess you can't wrap your heads around big numbes and big issues, you have to keep harping on more relatively minor stuff and AV.
3:18 PM
How in the world does anyone - even a corrupt politician or appointee - spend 2.2 BILLION dollars on plans, paint and some light bulbs??!!??!!
I will NEVER understand the mentality of any person who would EVER vote FOR any bond measure!
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