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MADE BY: Tess Mabry
COMMISSIONERS' COURT AGENDA REQUEST
PLEASE FURNISH ONE ORIGINAL AND TEN (10) COPIES OF THIS
REQUEST AND DOCUMENTS TO BE REVIEWED BY THE COURT
MEETING DATE: 7/13/2U~9
~ 713 6 91 ~ 1 ~'
OFFICE: Auditor
TIME PREFERRED: none
SUBJECT: Consider, Discuss and Take Appropriate Action on acceptance of audit of the
Kerr County Department of Environmental Health
EXECUTIVE SESSION REQUESTED: (PLEASE STATE REASON)
NAME OF PERSON ADDRESSING THE COURT: Tess Mabry
ESTIMATED LENGTH OF PRESENTATION: 5 minutes
IF PERSONNEL MATTER -NAME OF EMPLOYEE:
Time for submitting this request for Court to assure that the matter is posted in
accordance with Title 5, Chapter 551 and 552, Government Code, is as follows:
Meeting scheduled for Mondays: 5:00 PM previous Tuesday
THIS REQUEST RECEIVED BY:
THIS RQUEST RECEIVED ON:
@ .M.
All Agenda Requests will be screened by the County Judge's Office to determine if adequate
information has been prepared for the Court's formal consideration and action at time of Court
Meetings. Your cooperation will be appreciated and contribute towards your request being
addressed at the earliest opportunity. See Agenda Request Rules Adopted by Commissioners'
Court.
REP 0 RT Tuesda ,June 30, 2009
Y
To: Jeannie Hargis, Kerr County Auditor
From: Theresa "Tess" Mabry,
Kerr County First Assistant Auditor
Subject: Audit Report of the Kerr County Department of Environmental Health
Background:
The Office of Environmental Health of Kerr County (hereafter, "the department" or KCEHD)
was created to act as an authorized law enforcement agent for the State of Texas' Commission of
Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in the management of On-Site Sewage Facilities (OSSF) as well as
other environmental health issues such as solid waste management and water contamination.
In operation of this agency, the department works to eliminate and prevent health hazards
by regulating and properly planning the location, design, construction, installation, operation and
maintenance of on-site sewage disposal systems and waste disposal.
In addition, KCEHD imposes and collects permit fees and may issue penalties during
construction, installation, alteration, repair or extension of these systems and any violation of
environmental health standards.
The department is governed by the laws of Chapters 366 and 341 of the Texas Health and
Safety Code; Title 30, Chapter 285 of the Texas Administrative Code and Section 7 of the Texas
Water Code as well as Kerr County's local OSSF, solid waste and water contamination regulations.
Changes to Risk Assessment:
Risk is assessed at a moderate level. There have been new employees added to the
department which elevates risk slightly, however; I believe the new employees are both competent
and well-trained which has alleviated much of the inherent risk.
In addition, KCEHD is and law enforcement body, elevating risk in safety. The two Deputy
Constables in this department minimize this risk by checking in the Odyssey system before a call to
determine if an individual has any current warrants or past violent behavior. They also wear body
armor in the field (American Body Armor Model XHP-IIA.O Level IIIA) and carry firearms in their
Deputy Constable capacities, which all reduce risk.
Objectives:
Determine:
• Internal controls are in place to ensure OSSF systems are installed in accordance
with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) rules and
regulations;
• Internal controls are in place to enforce all state laws and Kerr County regulations
in the illegal installation of OSSF systems which include, but are not limited to Title
30, Chapter 285 of the Texas Administrative Code Chapters 366 and 341 and
Section 7 of the Texas Water Code;
• Internal controls are in place to enforce all state and Kerr County regulations with
regard to solid waste and water management;
• Internal controls are in place to ensure proper investigation of complaints and
enforcement of the governing laws;
• Internal controls to ensure proper review of new subdivision plats and existing
plats for compliance with state laws and local Kerr County OSSF regulations.
• Internal controls are in place to ensure proper collection, reporting and deposition
of fees and fines associated with the department.
Scope:
The scope of the audit includes:
• Internal Controls with regard to OSSF matters;
• Internal Controls with regard to solid waste and water;
• Internal Controls and financial reporting with regard to cash and cash collections;
• Internal controls with regard to administrative duties;
For the period 10/1 /2007 to present.
Program and Fieldwork:
The audit program will be prepared by Theressa Mabry who is also assigned to fieldwork.
The deadline for the completion of the audit is 7/31/2009
Sampling:
Percentage sampling is measured at 8% of applicable cases and was not expanded
because sufficient errors were not detected.
Procedures:
• Determined statutory responsibilities of Kerr County Environmental Health
Department (KCEHD) by reviewing all applicable statutes;
• Reviewed all Policies and procedures manuals from the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and KCEHD;
• Reviewed KCEHD's budget, fees and fines;
• Verified Compliance with educational requirements of all employees of KCEHD;
• Tested sample of cases for completeness, accuracy and verifiability;
• Tested cash collections and deposits;
• Conducted surprise cash count and reconciliation;
• Verified security of assets including cash;
• Attended 2 OSSF permitting inspections;
• Reviewed KCEHD's reports to the Commissioners for verifiability;
• Reviewed KCEHD's efficiency;
• Interviewed employees;
• Verified Inventory;
• Observed protocols and procedures
Findings:
The Office of Kerr County Environmental Health operates with extreme competency. The staff is
very knowledgeable in all areas and very attentive to detail in its operation. KCEHD constantly
strives to improve through uses of technology and employee ingenuity. The office, complaints and
cases are handled with the utmost care and consideration and the entire department is a credit to
Kerr County and the State of Texas.
Recommendations:
No issues were found during the audit of KCEHD. It is; however, recommended that KCEHD
strive to continue in improvements by:
• Displaying a sign with a fees and fines list; visible to the public, for informational purposes.
• Purchasing a software package which will enable the office to work more efficiently. The
forms, applications and database were employee created and have reached the limit of
their technological usefulness. A professionally created system could maximize the
potential of this office by providing applications and services which the employees of
KCEHD are unable to create themselves.
• Continue to upgrade both environmental and law enforcement safety items to minimize risk
and maximize safety;
• Continue to pursue more grant funding for operations; and
• Consider going to a paperless system to reduce the need for file space and to maximize
workspace with KCEHD's growing number of staff.
• It is additionally recommended that a merit increase be considered to remunerate
Julie Trevino de los Santos for:
o continual improvement of the organization and operations of the KCEHD;
o work on the KCEHD Database; learning how to build and operate it complete with
forms, queries and other tools all of which was completed without formal training;
o work on multiple spreadsheet applications to identify, track, efficiently report and
dispose of cases handled by the KCEHD;
o work on the tracking and reporting of financial information within the KCEHD for
reporting to the TCEQ and the Kerr County Treasurer and Auditor; and
o establishment of internal control systems essential to efficient operations.