COMPTROLLER DISCOVERS MORE THAN $3 MILLION IN MISPLACED REVENUES AT DRUG & ALCOHOL AGENCY

Funds Restored to County Coffers

A review by Comptroller Howard Weitzman of grant activity in the Nassau County Department of Drug and Alcohol Addiction for the years 1996-2001 has discovered that the department misallocated approximately $3 million in grant revenue and was owed nearly $400,000 more in uncollected grants, Comptroller Weitzman announced today.

As a result of the audit, a total of $3.4 million has now been added to the county's general fund.

"Sometimes an audit will reveal monies that are irretrievably lost due to wasteful practices or fraud," said Comptroller Weitzman. "This one has a much happier ending. We found that the Department of Drug and Alcohol Addiction held about $3 million dollars more in its accounts than it realized, due to improperly categorized expenditures and revenues. Now that this misplaced money has been restored to the county's general fund it can be applied to help cover Nassau's expenses in 2005."

In 2002, a preliminary review of the department's grant activities resulted in an additional $4 million of funds, which had been overlooked between 1996 and 2001, added to the county's general fund. It also noted the potential for recovering millions more when grant accounts were fully reconciled. Today's final report for those years fixes the additional recovered amount at $3.4 million.

The $3 million in the grant fund came about because drug and alcohol program expenses were improperly charged to the county's general fund instead of to the department's grant fund.

"There was a long tradition of accounting errors at the drug and alcohol agency leading up to today's finding," Comptroller Weitzman said. "As a result of our report, the department has now created a remedial action plan that includes establishing written accounting procedures for the grant funds - something that should have been done many years ago.

"After reviewing the Commissioner's response to our audit, I believe the department now has an effective plan for solving its fund accountability problems," Comptroller Weitzman added. In addition to the misallocated funds, the auditors discovered that an additional $392,000 in state aid was due to Nassau from the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), Comptroller Weitzman said. "When the Drug and Alcohol Department submitted our audit finding to OASAS, the money was remitted to the county."

The Department of Drug and Alcohol Addiction offers information and treatment options for those residents suffering from alcohol and/or substance abuse and serves as a liaison between community organizations offering education and support for residents and their families. In 2005, it has a budget of $13.7 million.

The complete audit report may be read and/or downloaded by clicking on the report title below.

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Limited-Scope Financial Review of the Nassau County Department of Drug and Alcohol Addiction - Grant Activity (~ 166 kb, 27 pages, pdf file)