SCSD Did Not Submit Required Inmate Total Cost Analysis Reports.

The audit recommends that the SCSD obtains the information needed to ensure these annual reports, which inform legislative decision making, are completed in a timely manner.

Overview

SCSD did not prepare, and submit to the appropriate government agencies and legislative committees, inmate total cost analysis reports⁷ for fiscal years 2016 and 2017. As a result, these governmental entities may not have had all the information they needed to properly inform their consideration of any policy, operational, or financial issues regarding SCSD’s operations.

Authoritative Guidance

According to Line Item 8910-7110 in the Commonwealth’s fiscal year 2018⁸ budget summary,

Each sheriff's office shall . . . report, in a format designated by the [Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association], in consultation with the executive office for administration and finance, fiscal year 2017 total costs per inmate by facility and by department not later than December 1, 2017; provided further, that each sheriff’s office shall submit the report directly to the executive office for administration and finance, the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on public safety and homeland security, the executive office of public safety and security, the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association and the department of correction.

Reasons for Issue

According to SCSD management, the Executive Office for Administration and Finance (EOAF) was delayed in providing the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association (MSA) with the applicable cost reports and its changes to the cost report template so that MSA could forward this information to Massachusetts sheriffs’ departments in a timely manner.

Recommendation

SCSD should work with MSA and EOAF to obtain the information it needs to make sure it files its annual cost reports within the prescribed timelines.

Auditee’s Response

It should be noted that the SCSD made many efforts to complete and submit the inmate cost reports on time, however due to the circumstance of reliance upon another state agency to complete critical tasks as stated in the legislation, SCSD was unfortunately not able to meet the deadlines.

The 8910-7110 Massachusetts Sheriff’s Association (“MSA”) Budget Language for both FY2016 and FY2017 specifically required that the inmate total cost reports be submitted “. . . in a format designated by the [Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association] in consultation with the executive office for administration and finance [ANF]. . . .”

Unfortunately, due to complexities involved in the process, ANF did not complete the format nor produce final numbers for nearly two years. ANF was not able to provide the final expenditure numbers until after the December 1, 2017 deadline. Consequently, on December 1, 2017, the MSA notified the appropriate members of the governmental agencies and legislative bodies by email, requesting additional time to prepare the reports. Several days later when the final expenditure numbers were received and agreed upon, the MSA immediately collaborated with all the individual sheriffs’ departments and the SCSD’s reports were completed and submitted shortly thereafter.

On December 15, 2017, the SCSD’s FY2016 inmate total cost analysis and the FY2017 inmate total cost analysis were provided by hand delivery to all the governmental agencies and legislative bodies stated in the 8910-7110 MSA Line Item language.

Going forward, the SCSD will continue to make every effort to comply with legislated reporting requirements, working with cooperating state agencies to achieve the goal of accurate and on-time compliance with legislative mandates.

7.    Inmate total cost analysis reports are compiled by each sheriff’s department in conjunction with the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association and detail the total costs for the care and custody of inmates for each facility and department.

8.    The fiscal year 2017 budget included the same requirement for the previous fiscal year.

Date published:	April 11, 2019