Miller wants agency less “susceptible to fraud, waste and abuse”
Tuesday’s release of an outside analysis of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, including its oversight Commission, points out several worrisome areas that led to failures in meeting its established missions and left it in a financial quagmire.
Most notably, the 60-day review, conducted by Horne CPA and Business Advisors of Ridgeland, found that the Commission on Marine Resources neither asked for, nor was it provided, the information needed to ensure the agency:
* complies with legal requirements.
* meets established goals and objectives.
* adheres to approved policies and attains adequate performance in all program areas.
Jamie Miller, the state agency’s new executive director, said that he was not surprised by the findings of a lack of oversight and institutional control and has announced major organizational changes that will make the agency less “susceptible to fraud, waste and abuse” and regain the public’s trust.
The Horne report also said more emphasis on ethics is needed at the agency charged with managing sport and commercial fishing in state waters of the Gulf of Mexico, protecting tidelands and providing marine patrol.
“I think that’s a fair assessment,” Miller said at a press conference following Tuesday’s Commission meeting in Biloxi.
Part of the overall failure, Horne’s report says, involves inadequate accounting procedures. Miller took over the agency that is in a financial mess and under state and federal investigations. The Horne report did not look for or mention any criminal acts.
Miller said that without legislative help, the agency would face cuts in personnel and programs. Miller said the agency will finish the current fiscal year with a deficit of between $600,000 and $800,000, and is facing a projected deficit of $2 million for fiscal year 2014.
In January, the agency’s governing board fired Bill Walker as executive director. Gov. Phil Bryant nominated Miller for the job in March, and the Senate confirmed Miller in early April.
The Horne report recommends MDMR needs to upgrade to a better internal accounting system to track funding from all sources, which it said “would allow for more comprehensive reporting options … and timely reporting of MDMR’s financial status.”
It also suggests that the agency needs a senior-level staff member to act as a chief financial officer, and new executive director Jamie Miller said Tuesday (June 18) that hiring a CFO is in his immediate plans.
Miller said the position of deputy director, now held by Danny Guice Jr., would be deleted and replaced by a Chief Financial Officer. Guice has announced his intention to retire.
Miller said he hopes to have a CFO in place by the end of July, but said finding a quality candidate at the salary offered — about $70,000 — would be difficult.
The report also pointed to two other critical areas that need to be managed — grants and public relations. Mismanagement of grants is one of the primary failures.
Miller said the agency would create a position of Grant Management and Compliance Officer. In the past, he said, there were several grant administrators “kind of existing on islands throughout the agency” that would be centralized, brought under one roof with a competent manager. On top of that system, he added, would be the CFO.
State Auditor Stacey Pickering said his agency will work with MDMR in its healing progress.
“I believe that the 60-day Agency Assessment of MDMR is an eye-opening review of the challenges facing the agency from a structural, operational and accountability standpoint,” Pickering said. “As State Auditor, my office will continue to provide assistance in the area of performance auditing to ensure that MDMR is able to implement the appropriate recommendations made in the 60-day Agency Assessment.”
Miller also will have the Information Technology Department report directly to him. Horne’s report suggested that the Executive Director should have final approval of any public announcements or press releases, and “that is fundamentally important for MDMR to regain the trust of the public.”
Be the first to comment