Zimmerlink questions contract agreements
After discovering that independent contractor agreements for substitute veteran’s affairs van drivers were authorized without receiving approval from any of the three Fayette County Commissioners and other problematic contract agreements, Chairwoman Angela M. Zimmerlink said Friday she will no longer be approving any 2007 requisitions without a thorough review. Zimmerlink said after finding incomplete agreements that have been processed, her confidence level with department heads has just dropped, citing Veteran’s Affairs Director Don Seroka as an example.
“The excuses I was given and reasons and responses to questions are not acceptable. Telling me as a county employee you didn’t know the procedure or didn’t know you had authority to enter into a partially executed agreement and didn’t complete it, and then (you) permitted them to drive a leased new van is unacceptable to me,” Zimmerlink said. She also said there are other examples of improperly executed contracts she has discovered of late.
As an example of an improperly issued contract, Zimmerlink pointed out that Seroka and Human Resource Director Jim Moore worked to execute agreements with four substitute van drivers that were filed in the controller’s office without key information, such as a date the contract was signed. The agreements, made with Todd Naponic, William Smith, William Parker and Brett Seroka (Don Seroka’s son), are not signed by any of the county commissioners and do not say what the contracted services are specifically for, other than a pay rate of $8.04 per hour.
Zimmerlink also pointed out that she and Commissioner Vincent A. Vicites unknowingly signed requisitions to pay for training for Naponic and Smith, thinking they were signing for training for the two full-time drivers. Although she signed the first two, Zimmerlink said she became concerned when two days later, requisitions for additional training came across her desk and then began to look into the issue. Vicites and Hardy signed a requisition for Parker, and a requisition for Brett Seroka was only signed by Vicites after Zimmerlink questioned it.
Last October, the Veteran’s Affairs office took over transportation duties from the Fayette Area Coordinated Transportation, a move Zimmerlink opposed.
After the switch was made, the county commissioners approved the hiring of two full-time drivers, Bill Marva and Marion Turner, but never voted to hire part-time drivers.
After discovering the incomplete contracts, Zimmerlink wrote a letter to Don Seroka asking about the training, how the drivers were hired and the contracts, among other things. She said Friday she is not against hiring the four part-time drivers; she simply believes the process must be done correctly.
In his response, Don Seroka wrote that the four backup drivers, (all of which are veterans except Brett Seroka), were selected through the interview process, and the rate of pay was determined to be the same as starting rate for full time, at $8.02 per hour. Don Seroka wrote the training included riding the routes, and “all four backup drivers have signed agreements as independent contracts which are on file at the controllers office.”
Don Seroka’s response also stated that only Naponic has been used as a backup driver, for a total of three times.
Vicites, who said he had not seen the independent contractor agreements with the four part-time drivers prior to Friday afternoon, said the problem must be corrected. He echoed Zimmerlink’s statements regarding the requisition form for the driver training, saying he did not remember the names of the full-time drivers that had been hired when he signed the requisitions. Vicites said there are days that he signs requisition forms stacked several inches thick.
Saying they need to focus on the best way to correct the problem, Vicites said the issue of independent contracts does not come up in the county very often and it is likely the first time Moore was dealing with the issue. “Let’s get new contracts done and move forward,” Vicites said.
Vicites said his biggest concern is the veterans of Fayette County. “They should have uninterrupted transportation,” Vicites said. “Anything I do is what’s best for veterans.”
Zimmerlink said the van driver issue is only one example of things that have concerned her as a commissioner in the last couple weeks. Two other instances include a contract for security services that was signed by Moore, and a contract signed by only one commissioner that would circumvent the county code that stipulates a bidding process be followed for purchases of more than $10,000.
Zimmerlink said the latter matter involves a software contract for a county office that was presented in three separate requisitions, which amounts to breaking up the contract into smaller chunks, which is not allowed under the county code.
The independent contractor agreement to allow a sheriff’s deputy to provide security was signed by Moore instead of the county commissioners, although there was a paper attached to it signed by the three commissioners allowing Moore to renew the contract.
When contacted late Friday afternoon, Moore said his reasoning behind pushing the independent contracts forward was to ensure there are drivers for the routes. Moore said he was unaware that county manager Warren Hughes is in charge of the independent contractor contracts and gave Seroka a form off of his computer to use. “It was the first time I dealt with independent contracts,” Moore said. He admitted that he didn’t follow up with Seroka to see if the form was signed. Regarding the sheriff deputy issue, Moore said he felt it was sufficient to receive signatures from the three county commissioners allowing the county to enter into another agreement, and didn’t think signatures were required additionally for the agreement.
Vicites said in addition to the independent contracts with the sheriff’s deputy and the van drivers, there is probably only one other example of an independent contract used in the county, which is when constables are used to post tax claim properties for sale.
Zimmerlink issued a memorandum issued to all county department heads Friday notifying them of her decision to no longer sign any 2007 requisitions. In the memo, Zimmerlink said that herself and Vicites sign 90 percent of the requisitions. She said she will be doing a thorough review of each requisition/agreement/contract pending commissioner signature and will be meeting with the county manager next week. In her correspondence, Zimmerlink said she is suggesting to her fellow commissioners that they consider the contents of the memo and join her in holding off their approvals subject to next week.
“This is what I have found in the last two to four weeks,” Zimmerlink said. She added that for three years she has relied on the county department heads, Felice Associates (the county’s human resource firm that will be paid $121,000 this year) and commissioner’s staff to properly execute documents, contracts and requisitions. “Now my review of these items has caused me great concern and my level of confidence has dropped dramatically. The ultimate responsibility lies with the three county commissioners,” Zimmerlink said.
“Because of the type of reviews that I do and have done, the likelihood this has happened prior is probably slim but it is unacceptable practices of the county staff and the human resource firm,” Zimmerlink said.