[00:00:02]
[I. Call Commission meeting to order]
SO WE'RE GONNA, UH, HAVE A ROLL CALL.UH, SHERRY AKA IS ABSENT, OR CHRIS CLEMENT? HERE.
[III. Review and approval of Minutes from the July 30, 2025 meeting]
VERY GOOD.UH, I'LL, UH, WE'VE GOT THE MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING IN FRONT OF US.
I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES PER I, I MOVE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING.
WE CAN HAVE TIME FOR A PUBLIC COMMENT.
DO WE HAVE ANY PEOPLE THAT WANNA MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT? NO, MA'AM.
[V. Presentation and discussion of Inspector General Report including Annual Work Plan, and public discussion of any recently published reports, open letters, data, and statistics by the Office of Inspector General]
ALL RIGHT.UH, KIM, DO YOU HAVE A PRESENTATION? UM, ABSOLUTELY.
UM, TO BEGIN MY REPORT, UH, JUST A CALL OUT IN TERMS OF STAFF RECRUITMENT, RETENTION AND DEVELOPMENT.
UM, SPECIAL AGENT AL ABU WAS TIMELY EVALUATED AND RECEIVED A RAISE IN ACCORDANCE WITH OUR POLICIES.
UM, THEN I WANNA CALL YOUR ATTENTION UNDER PROCUREMENT THIS TIME AROUND, UM, BECAUSE I NOTED FOR YOU A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN OF A NEW WEBSITE.
UM, I HAVE IT BOTH FOR JP OIG AS WELL AS FOR J-P-E-C-C.
UM, BY WAY OF SOME BACKGROUND IN HISTORY, WHEN, UM, THE ECC WAS LAUNCHED FIRST AND THEN THE ECC WAS CONSTITUTED AND HIRED THE IG, THE IG WAS HIRED.
AND THEN IT WAS SORT OF LIKE THE IG TOOK THE MANTLE FOR LAUNCHING BOTH, UH, OUR WEBSITE AND YOUR WEBSITE.
CLEARLY THE CONTENT ON YOUR WEBSITE IS NOT AS VOLUMINOUS OR AS COMPLICATED AS SAY THE DESIGN OF OUR WEBSITE.
UM, BOTH OF THESE WERE DONE, I BELIEVE.
I DON'T HAVE LIKE A HARD AND FAST MEMORY, BUT I BELIEVE WE UTILIZED THE PARISH CONTRACT WITH NEW ERA AT THE TIME AND SORT OF, UM, USE THEM TO HELP US IN THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF OUR WEBSITE, WHICH IS, UH, CURRENTLY SITUATED ON JULA.
AND WE ARE GETTING NOTICES THAT, IN OTHER WORDS, UH, THE SYSTEM SUCH AS IT IS CANNOT BE MAINTAINED.
LIKE KEN'S GETTING COMMUNICATIONS, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL LET YOU KNOW AND THEN THERE'LL BE A DATE AND YOUR WEBSITE WILL GO DOWN.
SO, UM, SO I HAD IT ON MY LIST OF THINGS TO DO AND IT JUST MOVED UP MY LIST ON THINGS OF WHEN I'M GOING TO DO THEM.
SO WE HAVE PREPARED A, UH, REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL AND TOOK IT UPON OURSELVES TO INCLUDE IN THAT, UM, THE DEVELOPMENT AND REDESIGN OF A WEBSITE FOR THE J-P-E-C-C AS WELL.
UM, WE, WHENEVER WE ISSUE AN RFP, WE WILL RECEIVE THE PROPOSALS AND WE WILL HAVE A TECHNICAL EVALUATION COMMITTEE COME TOGETHER.
UM, I WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN THAT HAPPENS AND YOU CAN JOIN ON THE COMMITTEE AND HEAR THE PROPOSALS SUCH AS THEY ARE.
UM, IF YOU WANT TO DESIGNATE ONE AMONG YOU TO DO THAT, UM, IF YOU WANT TO DESIGNATE MR. SULLIVAN TO DO THAT, UM, THAT IS YOUR PLEASURE AND YOU DO NOT HAVE TO MAKE THAT DECISION TONIGHT.
UM, WE HAVE THE RFP IN DRAFT PURELY DRAFT FORM.
UM, I HANDED IT OVER TO MR. SULLIVAN AND I'LL BE WORKING ON FORMALIZING THAT AND, UM, PUBLISHING IT.
SO, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT OR THAT PROCESS? DOES ANYBODY ON THIS BOARD HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE SETTING UP A WEBSITE? WELL, I'M INCLINED TO LET JERRY HANDLE IT.
OH, WHY DON'T WE, LET'S ALL GET TOGETHER AND I WOULD, I WOULD DEFER TO YOU 'CAUSE I JUST RECENTLY HAD ONE DONE AND I PAID SOMEBODY TO DO IT.
SO YEAH, IT'S BEEN A WHILE, BUT I'VE LEARNED HTML BACK IN THE OLDEN TIMES.
YEAH, WELL, HAPPY TO DO IT IF IT'S NOT A BIG BURDEN.
WELL THEN WE WILL MAKE YOU OUR POINT PERSON AND SEND COMMUNICATIONS TO YOU.
UM, AFTER THAT, THE NEXT ITEM THAT I HAVE, UM, IS A PRESENTATION OF OUR ANNUAL WORK PLAN.
UM, ONCE AGAIN, THERE'S UM, TWO REPORTS THAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO PUT OUT EVERY YEAR ABOUT ORDINANCE.
UH, ONE IS BY MARCH 31ST OF EVERY YEAR, WE ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT ON ALL OF OUR ACTIVITIES FOR THE PRECEDING CALENDAR YEAR.
UM, AND THEN ALSO BY SEPTEMBER 1ST OF EVERY YEAR, WE ARE REQUIRED TO PUBLISH AN ANNUAL WORK PLAN THAT IS QUOTE, RISK-BASED.
UM, WE DO DO A RISK ASSESSMENT, BUT UM, IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A FORMAL RISK ASSESSMENT.
IT HAS TO BE A RISK BASED ANNUAL WORK PLAN.
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DESIGNATES THE PROJECTS THAT WE INTEND TO PERFORM IN 2026.UM, JUST AS A REMINDER, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, NEITHER AUDITS NOR EVALUATIONS, THEY DON'T ALL START ON JANUARY 1ST AND THEN ALL END ON DECEMBER.
SO THEY ARE ONGOING AND THEN STARTED DEPENDING.
SO WE, WE ALWAYS REPORT ON WHAT IS ONGOING AND THEN WE ALWAYS LET YOU KNOW WHAT WE PLAN ON STARTING, UM, IN THE NEXT CALENDAR YEAR.
SO STEP, SO OUR RISK ASSESSMENT, UM, IS A PROCESS, UH, THAT I GIVE CREDIT TO MR. GREG GLEN PARD IN OUR OFFICE.
UM, GREG HAS BEEN DOING THIS PROCESS FOR QUITE SOME TIME, UM, HAS IT DOWN TO A GOOD SCIENCE.
I'M NOT TOUCHING IT BACK TO THE RISK ASSESSMENT SLIDE.
UM, SO IT BEGINS WITH UNDERSTANDING THE RISK UNIVERSE THAT THAT MEANS FOR US TO GO ABOUT.
UM, WHILE WE DEVELOP KNOWLEDGE YEAR OVER YEAR OVER YEAR, WE ALWAYS APPROACH IT WITH SORT OF LIKE A PRESS FRESH PERSPECTIVE TO UNDERSTAND THE PARISH AND WHERE IT IS, UM, IN ITS CURRENT STATE.
UM, WE'LL DO RESEARCH AND WE WILL DEVELOP, UH, RISK ASSESSMENT CRITERIA, ASSIST THE RISK AND THE RISK INTERACTIONS AND PRIORITIZE OUR RISK.
AND THEN WITH THAT BEING DONE, WE DEVELOP A RISK-BASED WORK PLAN.
THESE ARE FRAUD RISKS THAT, UM, WHEN I TOOK OVER, I SORT OF REVISITED THE FRAUD RISKS THAT WE HAD.
UM, AND WE LANDED ON THESE, UM, IN COLLABORATION WITH BOTH JEFFREY ADOLPH AND ERICA SMITH, UM, TO INCLUDE CORRUPTION, RISK, CASH MISAPPROPRIATION, FRAUD, DISBURSEMENTS AND MISUSE OR THEFT.
THOSE ARE ACTUALLY FRAUD RISKS THAT ARE BORROWED, UM, FROM THE A CFE, UM, THE ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED FRAUD EXAMINERS, I AM A MEMBER, IT'S ALSO A GREAT RESOURCE.
UM, THEY DO A REPORT TO THE NATIONS EVERY YEAR WHERE THEY SORT OF REPORT STATISTICS ON THEFT OF TIME BY EMPLOYEES THAT THE RESOURCES ASSET MISAPPROPRIATION.
AND SO WE SORT OF BORROW THEIR WORLD TO LEVERAGE IT, TO DO OUR RISK ASSESSMENT.
AND SO THOSE FRAUD RISKS ARE ACTUALLY FROM THE A CFE.
AND THEN WE HAVE OUR OPERATIONAL RISK, WHICH WE DEVELOP.
UM, AND THOSE ARE COMPLIANT RISK PERSONNEL, RISK MANAGEMENT, RISK TECHNOLOGY RISK AND PROCESS RISK.
UM, WE ALSO, UM, WHEN I TOOK OVER, UM, RE-LOOKED AT HOW WE APPROACH THIS, WE USED TO LOOK AT IT AS A BUSINESS UNITS, AND I THINK IT WAS TWO YEARS AGO, I SAID, LET'S RE-LOOK AT IT IN TERMS OF HOW REVENUE COMES INTO THE PARISH BECAUSE REVENUE IS A HUGE INDICATOR OF RISK.
MEANING IF IT'S A GENERAL REVENUE DEPARTMENT, WELL THAT'S GONNA BE YOUR PARISH PRESIDENT'S OFFICE, YOUR COUNCIL'S OFFICE, YOUR PARISH ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
UM, THESE ARE LIKE INTERNAL OPERATING OFFICES THAT AREN'T GETTING A LOT OF REVENUE VERSUS, SAY FOR EXAMPLE, EAST BANK CONSOLIDATED FIRE DEPARTMENT, WHICH IS A DEPARTMENT THAT WE COVERED AND HAVE DONE AUDITS ON, RIGHT? THAT IS A DEPARTMENT THAT RECEIVES DEDICATED MILLAGE.
UM, AND THE DEDICATED MILLAGE COMES WITH ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS, MEANING AS TAXPAYERS, WE APPROVE A SPECIFIC MILLAGE FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE.
SO THE QUESTION IS, IS THE PARISH USING THE MILLAGE MONEY FOR THE APPROPRIATE PURPOSE? AND THEN WITHIN THE MILLAGE DEPARTMENT, DO WE HAVE ANY WASTE FRAUD OR ABUSE GOING ON? AND SO WE SORT OF REDESIGNED OUR RISK ASSESSMENT, UM, TO CONSIDER REVENUE STREAMS AND REVENUE AMOUNTS AS WELL AS OPERATIONS AND THEN DIVIDED THEM UP.
SO YOU'LL SEE, UM, SPECIAL REVENUE, PUBLIC SAFETY, SPECIAL REVENUE, PUBLIC WORKS, UM, SPECIAL REVENUE, CULTURE AND HEALTH.
AND THEN WE SORT OF LIKE ASSIGN RISKS BASED UPON BOTH THE MILLAGE AND THE NATURE OF THE WORK BEING DONE.
SO BASED UPON OUR RISK ASSESSMENT RESULTS, UM, WE CAME BACK WITH EAST BANK CONSOLIDATED FIRE SERVICES.
[00:10:01]
WE CAME BACK WITH THE PARISH COUNCIL IMPROVEMENT ASSISTANCE FUNDS, FINANCE DEPARTMENTS, BUILDING PERMITS, DEPARTMENT, AND CONSOLIDATED RECREATION.UM, I WILL TELL YOU AGAIN, WE DO A RISK ASSESSMENT EVERY YEAR.
OUR WORK PLAN IS BASED IN RISK, BUT KEEP IN MIND WE HAVE WORK ONGOING.
SO WE'RE CONSTANTLY BEING INFORMED BY THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING ABOUT WORK THAT WE MIGHT SHOULD BE DOING.
SO I WILL SAY THAT ONE OF THE FACTORS THAT CAME UP IN THIS RISK ASSESSMENT AND A LOT OF ATTENTION WAS GIVEN TO IT THIS PARTICULAR YEAR.
AND THE REASON WHY FINANCE DEPARTMENTS IS LISTED AS A RISK AREA IS THAT, AS I'M SURE YOU'VE SEEN COVERED IN THE NEWS, THE PARISH HAS NOT FILED ITS FINANCIALS IN SEVERAL YEARS.
WE WERE LATE, UH, 2023, UH, WAS DUE IN 2024.
IT IS EXPECTED TO BE FILED THIS YEAR.
THE LATEST INFORMATION I HAVE IS THAT THEY EXPECT TO FILE 2024 IN 2026.
SO THE PARISH WILL BE IN A SITUATION NOT ONLY OF HAVING LOST ITS BOND RATING, BUT WE WILL HAVE A FINDING THAT WE WERE LATE IN THE FILING OF OUR FINANCIALS FOR THREE CONSECUTIVE YEARS.
SO FINANCE DEPARTMENTS, THE FINANCE FUNCTION, THE ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT NATURALLY ROSE TO POSITION ON OUR RISK ASSESSMENT.
UM, WE HAVE ONGOING EVALUATIONS, UH, RELATING TO BUS, UH, BUILDING PERMITS.
BUILDING PERMITS HAS BEEN WITHIN OUR RISK ASSESSMENT.
I THINK FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS.
UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF TIPS AND INTAKES REGARDING, UH, RECREATION.
SO NOT SURPRISING THAT'S GOING TO BE ON THE LIST.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT, AND WE HAVE PREVIOUSLY DONE AN AUDIT OF COUNCIL DISCRETIONARY FUNDS.
SO SEVERAL YEARS BACK WE DID AN AUDIT OF HOW THE COUNCIL USES DISCRETIONARY FUNDS.
SO I TALKED TO YOU ABOUT THE MILLAGE MONEY AND HOW THAT'S RESTRICTED.
COUNCIL DISCRETIONARY FUNDS ARE LARGELY UNRESTRICTED.
THERE'S CERTAIN AREAS THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE SPENDING MONEY ON, BUT IT'S VERY LOOSE.
AND IT IS, AS IT THE NAME IMPLIES DISCRETIONARY.
THAT PARTICULAR FUND HAS SEEN A LOT OF INFLUX, MEANING, UM, ARPA MONEY WENT INTO DISCRETIONARY FUNDS.
UH, SOME BP MONEY WENT INTO DISCRETIONARY FUNDS.
UM, HOSPITAL LEASE PROCEEDS MADE IT INTO DISCRETIONARY FUNDS, HOSPITAL SALE PROCEEDS MADE IT INTO DISCRETIONARY FUNDS.
SO WE HAVE LIKE A VERY LARGE AMOUNT OF DISCRETIONARY FUNDS BEING SPENT BY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT IN 2026 IS SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS THAT THOSE MONIES ARE BEING SPENT ON, UM, I INDICATE BELOW IT, YOU KNOW, WE APPROACH THIS OBJECTIVELY.
NONETHELESS, THERE IS NECESSARILY AN ASPECT OF PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT.
SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE ARE ALL SEATED DOWN AT THE TABLE, POUR OVER THE OBJECTIVE EVIDENCE, LOOK AT OUR RESOURCE LIMITATIONS AND SAY, OKAY, THIS IS THE BEST PLACE WE CAN SPEND OUR RESOURCES IN 2026.
SO OUR ONGOING AUDITS ARE HOSPITAL SERVICES DISTRICT NUMBER ONE.
UM, THIS IS THE AUDIT ON, UM, THE PERFORMANCE BY LCMC OF THEIR CAPITAL EXPENDITURES.
SO WHEN WE PRIVATIZED WEST JEFF HOSPITAL, UH, WE GOT LEASE PROCEEDS, UM, BUT THEY ALSO MADE A COMMITMENT TO DO CAPITAL EXPENDITURES OVER, UM, A PERIOD OF TIME WITHIN THE LEASE.
NOBODY HAS GONE BACK AND ASSESSED THEIR PERFORMANCE UNDER THAT CONTRACT.
SO WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON, UM, HALEY, WHO WAS WITH OUR OFFICE BUT IS NO LONGER WITH OUR OFFICE STARTED IT, ERICA SMITH IS FINISHING IT, AN AUDIT OF DID THEY MEET THE DELIVERABLES OF THE CAPITAL EXPENDITURES PER THE TERMS OF THEIR CONTRACTS.
SO THAT IS THE ONGOING AUDIT WE HAVE THERE.
DROPPING DOWN BELOW, WE ARE ALSO AUDITING THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TRANSACTION.
SO THEN WE GOT, UM, OVER $200 MILLION INTO THE PARISH COFFERS FOR THE LEASE OF WEST JEFF HOSPITAL.
SO HOW HAS THAT MONEY BEEN SPENT? SOME OF THE MONEY WENT TO SATISFY AND IS GOING TO SATISFY PENSION OBLIGATIONS.
AND THEN THERE IS A BALANCE OF MONEY THAT IS ACTUALLY MAKING IT INTO COUNCIL DISCRETIONARY ACCOUNTS.
SO THOSE TWO ITEMS SORT OF DOVETAIL.
UM, FINALLY WE ARE DOING EAST BANK CONSOLIDATED, UH, FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND I ACTUALLY THINK THAT I NEED TO CALL THIS OUT TO YOU AS A CORRECTION.
I MEAN, IT'S NOT A BIG CORRECTION, BUT EAST BANK CONSOLIDATED FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS AN ANNOUNCED ONGOING AUDIT, UH, WHICH WE WERE PLANNING.
AND THIS WAS LIKE A FOLLOW UP TO OUR AUDIT, WHICH WAS OFF-DUTY SICK LEAVE, WHICH YOU WERE ALREADY BRIEFED ON AT THAT
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TIME.WE TOLD YOU THAT OUR NEXT INSTALLMENT WAS GOING TO BE ON SECONDARY EMPLOYMENT.
UM, WE PLANNED IT, AND THIS IS PART OF PLANNING.
WE PLANNED IT, WE DISCUSSED IT, WE BEGAN LOOKING AT THE METHODOLOGIES THAT WERE AVAILABLE TO US TO AUDIT SECONDARY EMPLOYMENT.
AND AFTER DISCUSSIONS, WE CAME TO A PLACE THAT AN AUDIT OF SECONDARY EMPLOYMENT WAS NOT GOING TO BE POSSIBLE.
WE CAN DO AN EVALUATION OF IT, BUT WE COULDN'T DO AN AUDIT OF IT.
MEANING AN AUDIT WOULD MEAN THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO GO IN AND BE ABLE TO FIND DOCUMENTS AND AUDIT AGAINST SOMETHING.
BUT SORT OF THROUGH THE PLANNING PROCESS, WHAT WE REALIZE IS THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA FIND THOSE DOCUMENTS.
SO IT'S ALMOST LIKE LOOKING AT SOMETHING FROM A NEGATIVE AND NOT AUDITING SOMETHING TO RECONCILE.
SO INSTEAD WE'RE APPROACHING IT AS AN EVALUATION AND WE WILL DEPLOY THOSE METHODOLOGIES TO LOOK AT HOW EAST BANK CONSOLIDATED FIRE DEPARTMENT FROM THE PARISH'S SIDE IS TRACKING, REPORTING, MANAGING SECONDARY EMPLOYMENT ACROSS THE ENTIRE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND ANY RISKS THAT ARE RELATED TO WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE TRACKING IT.
ANY QUESTIONS? SO THAT IS EAST BANK CONSOLIDATED FIRE DEPARTMENT.
ARE YOU CROSS REFERENCING THOSE TWO CASES? IN OTHER WORDS, WERE PEOPLE WORKING SECONDARY WHEN THEY WERE CLAIMING TO NOT BE ABLE TO WORK? THAT WOULD BE NOTEWORTHY.
I CAN'T TELL YOU WHETHER THAT CORRELATION IS GOING TO BE, UM, ACHIEVABLE BECAUSE OF THE WAY DOCUMENTATION IS KEPT.
AND IT'S NOT JUST THE DOCUMENTATION ON SECONDARY EMPLOYMENT.
IT'S HOW THEY DOCUMENT THEIR TIME AND ATTENDANCE.
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT'S LIKE THE ABSENCE OF DOCUMENTATION.
YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PROVE SOMEBODY IS AT WORK AND YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PROVE, YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PROVE THAT SOMEBODY IS CLAIMED TO BE AT WORK AND PROVE THAT THEY'RE NOT AT WORK TO BE ABLE TO MATCH THOSE TWO UP.
AND WHAT I'M TELLING YOU IS ALL INDICATIONS BASED UPON OUR PREVIOUS AUDIT AND OUR PLANNING PROCESS ARE THAT THERE'S GONNA BE AN ABSENCE OF DOCUMENTATION TO MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE LOOKING INTO IT BECAUSE OF COURSE IT'S A HUGE RISK.
UH, I'M SORRY, DID YOU START TO SAY SOMETHING? I DID.
UH, SO IF, WHAT ABOUT IF WHETHER OR NOT SOMEONE HAS SICK LEAVE USING SICK LEAVE BUT IS WORKING SECONDARY EMPLOYMENT? I HEAR YOU.
AND YOU WOULD SAY LIKE, THAT'S A RISK.
AND THE ANSWER TO THE RISK IS YOU PUT IN A CONTROL AND IF THERE'S NOT A CONTROL, IT'S ALMOST LIKE YOU CAN'T ADDRESS THE RISK.
AND SO THIS IS WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON WITH EAST BANK IS, AND A LOT OF THE STUFF THAT WE DO WITH THE PARISH AND MOST OF OUR FINDINGS ARE RELATED TO AN ABSENCE OF CONTROLS.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A CONTROL, YOU CANNOT HOLD SOMEBODY ACCOUNTABLE.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE.
IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT EVALUATION.
UM, AND WE'LL ALSO BE LOOKING AT PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTING.
WE HAVE ONGOING EVALUATIONS OF PERSONNEL, UM, AND THIRD PARTY INSPECTIONS, UM, WHICH RELATES TO BUILDING PERMITS, UM, PERSONNEL HIRING PRACTICES.
UM, WE ACTUALLY EXPECT FOR THAT TO GO OUT AND DRAFT OCTOBER-ISH.
WE ALSO EXPECT WEST JEFF, UM, HOSPITAL SERVICES DISTRICT, UH, PART ONE TO GO OUT IN DRAFT OCTOBER-ISH.
SO THOSE TWO, UH, SHOULD BE PUBLISHED BEFORE THE END OF 2025.
ANY QUESTIONS? I DID HAVE ONE QUESTION ON THE, UH, ANNUAL REPORT SIDE.
UM, SO ON THE, ABOUT THE INTAKES OPENED AND CLOSED VERSUS CASES OPENED.
AND SO PAGE THREE, I JUST NOTICED THERE WAS AN AWFUL LOT OF INTAKES THIS YEAR IN RELATION TO OPENED IN RELATION TO CLOSED.
SO I'M JUST BASICALLY WANTED TO SORT OF HEAR A LITTLE BIT OF NARRATIVE ABOUT THE INTAKES OPENING AND BEING CLOSED VERSUS CASE, LIKE THE WORKFLOW BETWEEN THOSE AND BASICALLY ASSURE ME THAT IT'S GONNA BE OKAY IN 2026 WITH THAT NUMBER OPEN INTAKES.
UM, IF JEFFREY WANTS TO SPEAK ABOUT, HE CAN SPEAK ABOUT, I COULD SPEAK ABOUT IT, BUT HE IS THE PERSON WHO WORKS INTIMATELY WITH IT.
AND SO JEFFREY, I WOULD ASK FOR YOU TO SPECIFICALLY SORT OF LIKE ADDRESS HOW INTAKES REFLECTS OUR TIPS AND
[00:20:01]
HOW WE WORK 'EM.SO, UM, SO YES, YOU ARE RIGHT.
YOU HAVE SEEN A, UM, AN UPTICK OF OPEN INTAKES AND THE ABSENCE OF KIND OF CLOSING THEM OUT.
UM, THAT'S DUE FOR A COUPLE DIFFERENT REASONS.
FOR A WHILE WE WERE PRIORITIZING GETTING CONTROL OVER OUR INTAKES AND OPEN 'EM AND CLOSING 'EM IN A TIMELY MANNER.
BUT IT ALSO, AS WE PUT OUT REPORTS AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN THE NEWS, I GUESS PEOPLE DO NOTICE IT.
AND THEN WE, I I DO SEE AN UPTAKE OF INTAKES WHEN THOSE COME IN.
WE'VE KIND OF SWITCHED OUR, UM, PROCESS OF, WE'RE FOCUSING MORE ON, ON THE INVESTIGATIVE SIDE, WHICH WE'RE ALSO GONNA, WE'RE ALSO THE ONES PROCESSING THE INTAKES FOR THE MOST PART ON GETTING, UH, A LOT OF OUR REPORTS OUT.
UM, SO WE'RE FOCUSING A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME ON THAT NEXT MEETING.
YOU WILL SEE, UM, I WOULD SAY A STEEP INCREASE IN INTAKE CLOSURES AS WE PROCESS 'EM THROUGH BECAUSE WE'VE HAD, UM, SOMEBODY ON THE AUDIT SIDE WHO HAS A LITTLE BIT OF DOWNTIME IN BETWEEN TWO PROJECTS WAITING ON INFORMATION AND, UM, AND HE'S COMING THROUGH HELPING US PROCESS SOME OF THOSE.
UM, YOU KNOW, JUST IN THE, IN THE, THE VERY RECENT PAST, I HAVE HAD A LOT OF 'EM COME THROUGH.
IT'S JUST, IT DIDN'T SHOW UP ON THIS REPORT.
UM, SO WE TRY AND KEEP A HOLD ON IT WHILE, WHILE KEEPING THE INTAKE NUMBERS, GETTING THOSE PROCESSED THROUGH, BUT ALSO BALANCING GETTING A LOT OF REPORTS OUT.
WE'VE HAD SOME BIGGER, UH, INVESTIGATIONS AND EVALUATIONS ON THE, ON, ON OUR SIDE OF THE HOUSE, THE INVESTIGATIVE SIDE OF THE HOUSE, UM, THAT WE JUST HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET TO AS MANY OF THEM AS WE NORMALLY HAVE.
UM, JUST WITH THE LIMITED AMOUNT OF RESOURCES.
SO YOU WILL, YOU WILL SEE A JUMP IN CLOSURES OF INTAKES OR PROCESSING OF INTAKES NEXT MEETING.
UM, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN CONTINUE TO, TO STAY ON TOP OF IT.
IT'S JUST THE MORE REPORTS WE PUT OUT, THE MORE COMPLAINTS WE GET AND WE WILL TRY AND STAY ON TOP OF IT.
AND EVERY OTHER YEAR IS A COMPLETED YEAR.
THIS ONE ISN'T QUITE YET, SO YEAH.
YEAH, IT'S, THERE'S A, I WOULD SAY THERE'S A DECENT REPRESENTATION OF IG OFFICES THAT HAVE SOMEBODY DEDICATED TO, UM, RECEIVING AND WORKING TIPS.
LIKE IT'S THE SCREENING THAT GOES ON WITHIN THE OFFICE.
WE DO NOT HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE BUDGET OR THE RESOURCES TO HIRE ONE PERSON THAT THAT'S ALL THEY DO.
SO IT IS A, IT'S A BALANCING OF RESOURCES AND YES, THE MORE, UH, REPORTS WE ISSUE, THE MORE WE'RE IN THE NEWS, THE MORE WE GET TIPS, THE MORE WE GET TIPS, THE MORE CASES WE CAN DO.
SO IT'S SORT OF LIKE A, A DANCE.
SO HAS THERE EVER BEEN A TIME WHEN YOU HAD SOMEONE DEDICATED TO THAT OR IS THAT ON A WISHLIST DOWN THE LINE? THAT'S ON A WISHLIST.
UM, THE PUBLIC LETTER OBJECTIVE THAT YOU'RE, UH, REGARDING THE PARISH FINANCIAL, DO YOU ANTICIPATE THAT THAT WILL BE ISSUED FOLLOWING THE CONCLUSION DRAFT PERIOD AT THE END OF THE MONTH? UM, YES SIR.
THE, THE COMMENT, UH, PERIOD, UH, TERMINATES ON OC SEPTEMBER 25TH NEXT THURSDAY MM-HMM
AND SO WE WILL ISSUE, UH, THE LETTER, UM, IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER.
SO, UM, I DON'T HAVE A CALENDAR IN FRONT OF ME, BUT LIKELY IT'LL BE PUBLISHED, IT'LL BE PUBLISHED FOR THE PUBLIC THE FOLLOWING WEEK.
SO THE WEEK OF THE 30TH? CORRECT.
UM, I DO HAVE THE FINDINGS TRACKER INFORMATION IN THERE.
THAT FINDINGS TRACKER IS UPDATED QUARTERLY.
SO AT YOUR NEXT MEETING YOU WILL SEE OUR UPDATE, UM, ON OUR BUDGET, UH, FOR THIRD QUARTER AS WELL AS THE FINDINGS, UH, TRACKER WILL BE UPDATED.
UM, WE ANSWERED MR. SULLIVAN'S QUESTIONS ABOUT AUDITS.
DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT OPEN AND ONGOING? I COVERED SOME OF THEM, UM, WHILE COVERING MY ANNUAL WORK PLAN.
WILL THAT WILL CONCLUDE MY REPORT THEN.
[VI. Next Meeting Date: November 19, 2025]
OUR NEXT MEETING IS, UH, NOVEMBER THE 19TH.MR. JERRY, IF I, IF I MAY ADDRESS, JUST IF YOU WILL RECALL, WE DID HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION LAST TERM.
WE DID REFER A MATTER TO THE INSPECTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE.
JUST SO YOU UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS.
THE INSPECTOR GENERAL DOES ALL CONFIDENTIAL INVESTIGATIONS.
AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE INVESTIGATION, WE'LL EITHER HEAR SOMETHING FROM THEM THAT THE MATTER WILL PROCEED TO A HEARING OR WE'LL HEAR SOMETHING FROM THEM THAT THE MATTER IS CLOSED AND IT WILL REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL, BUT IT MAY TAKE ANOTHER MEETING OR TWO BEFORE WE HEAR FROM THEM.
[00:25:01]
I JUST WANT YOU TO BE AWARE THAT THE PROCESS IS ONGOING.THE REFERRAL HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN MADE, NOTIFICATION HAS BEEN SENT.
SO WE ARE IN COMPLETE COMPLIANCE WITH THE STATUTES AT THIS POINT.
UH, IS THERE ANY FURTHER BUSINESS? CAN I ENTERTAIN A MO MOTION TO ADJOURN? SO MOVED.