Lawmakers briefed on state contractor audit

Chief Inspector General Melinda Miguel updated lawmakers Wednesday on the progress of a sweeping financial audit targeting hundreds of state contractors.

Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered the audit in February 2020 after news reports revealed exorbitant payouts to leadership members of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

The audit called for a review of three categories: organizations with a public-private agreement with a state agency, organizations that receive 50% of funding from the state or federal government, and contracted organizations that exceed leadership compensation limits.

In all, state agencies are locked into a sole-source, public private agreement with 166 unique agencies.

Another 561 entities, meanwhile, receive 50% or more of their budget from the state or from a combination of state and federal funds.

The audit also revealed two entities contracted with the Department of Children of Families that exceeded the executive compensation limits.

“The details are not yet fully known across the agencies, but the data will be available once our final reviews are complete,” Miguel said.

Miguel’s briefing comes months after DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody announced a settlement with the former Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Florida expects to recover nearly $5 million in assets the state contends were stolen by the nonprofit organization. At least $1.1 million of the recovered money will go toward help for domestic violence survivors.

The settlement, arising from a lawsuit Florida filed in Leon County Circuit Court, ends a long run by the coalition as the go-to organization to administer state support for domestic violence programs throughout Florida.

Fueled by media reports, a House investigation determined that while shelters across the state suffered from funding shortages, Carr received a more than $7.5 million salary over the course of three years as CEO. Moreover, Carr raked in more than eight years’ worth of paid time off.

The state will launch a compliance audit every three years.