Florida Rep. Paul Renner and Sen. Travis Hutson have written jointly to the Florida Joint Legislative Auditing Committee to request a state audit of the East Flagler Mosquito Control District, which has been left with a $1.1 million budget hole after an accounting error.
The Mosquito Control District’s total budget is $1.8 million, and the district spent $2.1 million on a new facility at the county airport while developing the deficit.
“Flagler residents pay additional taxes to support an independent mosquito control district and reasonably expect the district to achieve greater efficiency and cost savings,” Renner said in a joint news release with Hutson. “The lack of internal controls and safeguards that caused this deficit certainly call that efficiency into question. An independent audit will help determine what happened, who is responsible, and allow for appropriate corrective action.”
“It is important that we know how the Flagler Mosquito Control District uses its budget year to year,” Hutson said in the news release. “An audit will give us an opportunity to see where taxpayer dollars are spent.”
The text of the two lawmakers’ joint Aug. 25 letter to Joint Legislative Auditing Committee Chairwoman Debbie Mayfield is posted below.
For previous coverage of the East Flagler Mosquito Control District deficit, click HERE.
For a look at how the Mosquito Control District operates in the field, click HERE.
August 25, 2017
The Honorable Debbie Mayfield
Joint Legislative Auditing Committee
111 West Madison Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1400Dear Chair Mayfield:
Flagler County’s Mosquito Control District recently reported a budget deficit of $1,100,000.00. The district’s total budget is $1,800,000.00, making this deficit very substantial and the subject of significant concern to county taxpayers. The district incurred this deficit while spending $2,100,000.00 to construct a new facility for its fourteen employees, a facility that includes an adjacent helipad.
The Joint Legislative Auditing Committee (“JLAC”) has an important responsibility in its oversight of local government entities, including special districts such as Flagler County’s Mosquito Control District. The district’s dramatic budget deficit in relation to its overall budget requires investigation and justifies an independent audit. As members of the Florida Legislature representing the district that includes Flagler County, we are requesting that the Florida Auditor General conduct an operational audit of Flagler County’s Mosquito Control District and report those findings.
Please let us know if you have any questions related to this request. Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Travis Hutson
Florida Senate
District 7Paul Renner
Florida House of Representatives
District 24
Originally posted on Palm Coast Observer by Jonathan Simmons
