Golden – More than $1 million in computer parts bought by Jefferson County’s information technology department over the past three years can’t be accounted for, the county’s internal auditor said Tuesday.
The amount is dramatically higher than the estimated $48,000 in computer items that could not be located and a $69,000 inventory discrepancy that were reported in a draft audit released in June.
The audit findings also led to the firing of the technology manager, who used his county credit card to charge $3.7 million in software and hardware over three years in a program to build computers from scratch.
The two-month-long probe of information technology practices in 2002, 2003 and 2004 completed in April said: “It appears nothing was done to investigate” the sloppy accounting practices.
“That this was allowed to go on and on and on is unbelievable,” said Jim Congrove, chairman of the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners. “Nobody paid any attention. Nobody asked any questions.”
County officials asked the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office to investigate when the items were discovered missing.
A large number of documents and at least one computer were seized by sheriff’s and district attorney investigators.
No evidence of criminal activity has turned up, but the inquiry continues, sheriff’s officials said Tuesday.
Susan Johnson, hired as internal auditor in January to look into allegations of financial mismanagement, said Tuesday that she has completed the audit except for investigators checking for “changes on the software program” on a hard drive.
Johnson and an outside auditing firm collected information on the computer purchases. A draft report came out in June, just before the Sheriff’s Office began conducting its inquiry. Since then, the report has been revised as more information was gleaned from the documents.
The county board hasn’t seen the report, Johnson said, although she has shared information with investigators.
Initial figures were based on a formula that gave a “ballpark” indication of computer inventory problems, Johnson explained. She added, “The number is quite a bit larger – over $1 million, I can tell you that.”
Johnson said the report includes new recommendations to tighten financial controls.
Among allegations probed by Johnson was one that county-owned items were being sold on eBay. Johnson said she did not find evidence of such sales, but the missing parts are “the types that sell like hotcakes on eBay.”
Congrove pointed out that the problems occurred under a previous administration.
“We want to make sure people know that we didn’t do this. We’re the ones that discovered” the practices and lax policies, he said.
He added that other county departments will bear scrutiny, saying, “We’re serious about this. We’re going to do the right thing here and find out who’s been doing what.”
The technology chief, Bob Roark, was officially terminated Friday.
The $3.7 million in purchases followed county policy at the time, but he couldn’t account for all of the items.
Roark’s credit card was withdrawn in July, and he was reassigned to a job that did not involve computer purchasing and inventory.
The firing “is a direct result of the audit and Bob’s lack of response to his supervisor’s questions regarding this whole issue,” County Administrator Patrick Thompson said Tuesday.
Roark, who could not be reached for comment, received no severance, Thompson said.
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
