Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

COMMITTEE ON JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

Date:02/27/2006
ATTENDANCE
Time:12:42 PM to 01:33 PM
Benefield
X
Hagedorn
X
Place:SCR 354
Isgar
X
May M.
X
This Meeting was called to order by
McKinley
E
Senator Grossman
Spence
X
Stengel
X
This Report was prepared by
Teck
X
Jessika Shipley
Carroll T.
E
Grossman
X
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
State Auditor's Office Briefing-


12:44 PM

Cindi Stetson, State Auditor's Office, began her briefing by stating that she was instructed to address the October 2005 Homeland Security Grant Program Performance Audit specifically the third chapter.


12:45 PM

Sarah Oreck, State Auditor's Office, discussed general details of the audit. Ms. Oreck discussed the federal homeland security grants awarded to Colorado. She talked about the organization of homeland security services within Colorado. She focused on chapter three of the audit, which discusses grant money allotted to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA). In response to committee questions, Ms. Oreck explained the process and makeup of the grant review committee. The committee also asked questions regarding the federal laws that govern the state use of federal funds.


12:52 PM

Ms. Stetson responded to questions from the committee regarding a follow-up by DOLA regarding the issues of misuse of funds raised in the audit. The committee asked questions about which federal agency determined that the use of the grant money by DOLA was inappropriate. Ms. Stetson spoke about her understanding about the goals of the federal auditors who review state programs.









12:58 PM

Greg Fugate, State Auditor's Office, came to the table to discuss the audit in general terms and spoke specifically about the recommendations made in the audit. Mr. Fugate talked about the state's strategic plans for emergency preparedness and the 11 goals laid out in the most recent (2004) strategy. He discussed the shortcomings of the various strategies in terms of setting priorities for meeting goals and how his office studied those in the process of the audit. Mr. Fugate also talked about the criteria used to review grant funding requests and what levels are appropriate to meet needs. He discussed base funding and whether that would best address the needs of various regions.


01:06 PM

Mr. Fugate continued with a discussion of the grant advisory committee and the role of that committee in approving funding requests from various regions. The committee makes recommendations, but cannot approve or disapprove grant applications. He responded to questions from the committee regarding the establishment of the grant advisory committee. Mr. Fugate moved onto a discussion of expenditures of grant funding and access to information regarding those expenditures. He talked about data tracking and the plans made by DOLA. Mr. Fugate stated that the State Auditor looked at a sample of expenditures and studied them for compliance with regulations and guidelines. The committee asked extensive questions regarding expenditures that did not appear to be in compliance.


01:18 PM

Mr. Fugate went on to discuss the misclassification of expenditures. The committee asked if the instructions for the use of grant funds appeared to be unclear or if the misuse and misclassification appeared to be intentional. Mr. Fugate discussed the process by which state agencies are required to purchase items to meet homeland security needs and deviations from that process. He also talked about equipment readiness and cash management issues.


01:29 PM

Ms. Oreck responded to two letters distributed to the committee by Representative May (Attachments A and B).


01:33 PM

The meeting adjourned.