Kentucky Auditor Adam Edelen

Board Members Consider Asking for State Audit of Jefferson County Public Schools

Devin Katayama and Kenny Colston — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:28:08 +0000

Jefferson County school board members are considering asking Kentucky State Auditor Adam Edelen to perform a special audit of Jefferson County Public Schools.

"I think it’s something that’s going to be happening here fairly soon,” school board member Chris Brady told WFPL.

Brady couldn’t give specifics on what the state audit would look at. But Brady and board member David Jones Jr. have said it would be healthy for any organization to have an outsider look at the system for improvement.

Compromise Reached, Special Taxing District Reform to Become Law

Kenny Colston — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 19:12:44 +0000

Kentucky lawmakers reached a deal Monday in a conference committee on legislation addressing issues with special taxing districts.

The committee adopted a new proposal that would require special districts to present their annual budgets or any new fee increases to their local fiscal court. But the compromise on House Bill 1 does not allow the fiscal court veto or approval powers of the special district's actions, as Senate Republicans had recently suggested.

Kentucky Senate Changes Special Taxing District Reform; House Objects

Kenny Colston — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 22:22:44 +0000

Changes to a bill reforming how special taxing districts operate in Kentucky could kill the legislation in the final days of the General Assembly session.

State Sen. Damon Thayer, a Georgetown Republican and the majority floor leader, introduced the changes in committee on Wednesday which give local governments veto powers over possible rate increases by special districts. Those changes later passed off the Senate floor.

Auditor Adam Edelen to State Senators: Don't Amend Special Taxing Districts Bill

Kenny Colston — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 20:05:40 +0000

State Auditor Adam Edelen is encouraging Senate lawmakers not to tweak the special district taxing district reform bill, which is largely based on his proposals from a report last year.

Senate Considering Changes to Special Taxing District Reform Bill

Kenny Colston — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 17:00:00 +0000

A bill aimed at reforming the way special districts are treated in Kentucky is likely to undergo some changes in hands of the state Senate.

House Bill 1 is a partnership between Auditor Adam Edelen and House Speaker Greg Stumbo, based off recommendations Edelen made during his investigation of special taxing districts across Kentucky.

Audit: Mental Health Agency Execs Misspent, Mismanaged

Associated Press — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 20:19:20 +0000

A state audit has found spending and management problems at a Lexington nonprofit agency that provides mental health care, including the management of two state-owned facilities.

Auditor Adam Edelen says in the report that executives at Bluegrass Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board awarded themselves benefits worth millions of dollars without scrutiny from the agency's board of directors.

Jefferson County Clerk's spokesman: Audit a 'Bit Mean-Spirited, and Possibly Politically Motivated'

Phillip M. Bailey — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 20:48:50 +0000

Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw is citing a letter from the county attorney that found no wrongdoing by her office in the wake of a scolding state audit two months ago.

Earlier this year, State Auditor Adam Edelen's office released a report that found poor record-keeping of charitable funds for groups such as the WHAS Crusade for Children and Metro United Way. It also cited other questionable practices that were against state law, such as Holsclaw paying out $99,200 in Christmas bonuses to employees last year and as well as shortchanging the Crusade by $1,300.

But an Oct. 31 letter from the Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell says his office found no need for action and defended the clerk’s activities.

(Read O'Connell's letter and Edelen's response.)

Holsclaw has personally hired public relations professional Larry Bisig as her spokesman. He says the clerk has been a model of good government and was cleared of any wrongdoing and suggested that Edelen’s report is motivated by politics.

"In some ways I have to indicate the audit seems a bit mean-spirited, and possibly politically motivated in some areas," Bisig said.

"This is not political warfare. The governor’s race doesn’t start for 36 months. And I certainly hope that’s not the intention of the auditor."

Reforming Special Taxing Districts to be Kentucky House's No. 1 Priority

Kenny Colston — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 17:24:57 +0000

The No. 1 priority for the Kentucky House in 2013 is set: Tackling recommendations from a recent report that found that special taxing districts have big budgets and little oversight.

Auditor Adam Edelen recently finished a report on the districts, detailing billions of dollars in spending with little to no oversight in most areas. Special taxing districts include the Metropolitan Sewer District and library boards.

Mobile App to Take Aim at Government Fraud, Abuse

Kenny Colston — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 12:00:00 +0000

As part of his efforts to increase citizen involvement in government, Auditor Adam Edelen's office will soon release a smart phone app to let residents make anonymous requests for investigations.

Tips have always been taken in person or over the phone, but now, the office is on the verge of allowing tips to come in via smartphone or tablet.

Edelen says moving to smartphone applications will give taxpayers another tool to fight fraud and abuse.

Holsclaw Defends Clerk’s Office Against State Audit

Phillip M. Bailey — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 17:15:00 +0000

Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw is criticizing Kentucky State Auditor Adam Edelen over a critical report and alleging the findings are motivated by his political ambitions.

Edelen’s audit of the clerk was released Wednesday and found Holsclaw’s office paid employees illegal Christmas bonuses and failed to fully document funds collected for local charities.

Among the audit’s findings was a check written by Holsclaw’s office to the Crusade for Children last year that was approximately $1,300 less than the amount collected. Besides poor documentation of the charitable fundings the audit showed that checks from the Crusade account went to breakfasts and lunches, fundraising awards and retirement party expenses.

It also found that around $99,000 in Christmas bonuses had been paid to employees last December, but the Kentucky Constitution prohibits that practice.

Holsclaw says previous state audits have not shown any accounting issues or wrongdoing, and she questions whether Edelen’s report is politically motivated.

"I can’t speak for this auditor. I don’t even know the man. I do know this; he has a reputation of being very ambitious," she says. "I will certainly say that I admire people who are ambitious. But I will not sit by and allow that to happen at the expense of the reputation of this office."