Making good on a promise made three months ago, the Adams County Board of Commissioners today adopted a seven-point reform plan. The plan restructures how the county does business and puts new ethics reforms in place."We recognize that as our county grows, actions once considered acceptable are no longer acceptable in a growing, metropolitan county," said Chairman W. R. "Skip" Fischer. "We've come to the realization that we once lived in a county where a handshake was as good as a contract and a person's word was their bond. That stops today."
"We've spent countless hours examining the sins of the past and developing new policies to prevent them from happening again," said Commissioner Erik Hansen. "Our new seven-point reform plan is our promise to citizens that real change is coming."
After revisiting, reviewing and revising many county policies and procedures, the Board of County Commissioners adopted the following resolutions:
Reform 1: Revision of purchasing processes. In the past, purchasing was decentralized. Department directors, elected officials and appointed officials were able to authorize purchases without sufficient oversight, accountability or legal review.
The Quality Paving scandal may have been avoided if contracts were more competitively bid, contract administrators were in place with proper oversight authority, change orders were clearly based on engineering specifications and if construction projects were reviewed by qualified inspectors.
Reform 2: Establishment of an independent internal auditor. Some of the current scandals the county faces resulted from payments being issued at the discretion of a department director. They were done without oversight or appropriate change orders in place. Those change orders needed to be tied to a properly bid contract.
Adams County Enacts Sweeping Ethics Reforms
Making good on a promise made three months ago, the Adams County Board of Commissioners today adopted a seven-point reform plan. The plan restructures how the county does business and puts new ethics reforms in place.
"We recognize that as our county grows, actions once considered acceptable are no longer acceptable in a growing, metropolitan county," said Chairman W. R. "Skip" Fischer. "We've come to the realization that we once lived in a county where a handshake was as good as a contract and a person's word was their bond. That stops today."
"We've spent countless hours examining the sins of the past and developing new policies to prevent them from happening again," said Commissioner Erik Hansen. "Our new seven-point reform plan is our promise to citizens that real change is coming."
After revisiting, reviewing and revising many county policies and procedures, the Board of County Commissioners adopted the following resolutions:
Reform 1: Revision of purchasing processes. In the past, purchasing was decentralized. Department directors, elected officials and appointed officials were able to authorize purchases without sufficient oversight, accountability or legal review.
The Quality Paving scandal may have been avoided if contracts were more competitively bid, contract administrators were in place with proper oversight authority, change orders were clearly based on engineering specifications and if construction projects were reviewed by qualified inspectors.
Reform 2: Establishment of an independent internal auditor. Some of the current scandals the county faces resulted from payments being issued at the discretion of a department director. They were done without oversight or appropriate change orders in place. Those change orders needed to be tied to a properly bid contract.
To rectify this, Adams County will hire an internal auditor who will be given independent and unrestricted access to county records, buildings and personnel. This will provide an additional layer of scrutiny and integrity to ensure county payments follow a proper bid process.
Reform 3: Legal action regarding Quality Paving. The county's most prominent scandal involves Quality Paving and our former Public Works Department Director. Based on the Adams County's own forensic investigations and various criminal investigations, county officials believe a group of individuals has cheated Adams County taxpayers out of at least $1.8 million. These individuals include Jerry Rhea, Leland Asay, Samuel Gomez, Dennis Coen, Heath Russo, Louie Schimpf and Stacey Parkin.
The Adams County Attorney's Office will file a civil lawsuit against these alleged perpetrators to recover the money that they believe belongs to the people of Adams County.
Reform 4: Elected officials and land purchases. Another issue that has drawn much scrutiny is how the county handled the purchase of land from the family of Alice J. Nichol, after her election but before she took office. At the time, county officials believed that their course of action was prudent and would ultimately save the county money by preventing the transaction from going to court. Officials now acknowledge that seeking the assistance of outside agencies might have prevented any real or perceived conflicts.
While Adams County officials cannot undo what has already been done, they are setting new guidelines to specify the steps employees must take in the future. These provisions will apply to all elected officials and county employees, as well as their relatives.
Reform 5: Exploring where Adams County needs to go in the future. Suggestions have been made to establish a Home Rule Charter Commission to restructure county government and consider what offices should be elected and which should be appointed. Others have suggested that the Board of County Commissioners should expand from three members to five, allowing more checks and balances and increased accountability.
Each of these possibilities requires a vote of the people and consideration of the costs associated with holding an election. Therefore, county officials have decided to conduct a public opinion poll first, to see how residents feel about putting these items on the ballot.
Reform 6: Expanded Code of Ethics. In the recent past, county contractors have performed work for some county officials and employees. Whether or not the work was done legitimately, such real or perceived conflicts must be avoided.
To address this, language has been added to the Adams County Code of Ethics that prohibits officials and employees from doing private business with contractors. Officials will also establish a process that allows complaints to be filed by any employee or citizen for review by an independent third party official.
Reform 7: Establishing Rules of Engagement. This resolution may represent the biggest reform Adams County has undertaken in many years. These rules include many important mandates, such as a commitment by the Board of County Commissioners to abide by the Code of Ethics and to have open communication amongst its members that set the structure for county leadership.
The Board of County Commissioners has made a commitment to employees and citizens to abide by the framework of operations and values put in place for county organizational operation. This includes organizational re-structuring mandating all directors to report directly to the county administrator for supervision, rather than reporting to the Board of County Commissioners.
These resolutions support Adams County's new policies designed to eliminate waste, prevent corruption and, in some cases, serve as guidelines to keep well-intentioned individuals from having a well-meaning act turn into an act that raises questions about their integrity as a public servent.
County officials are aware that many people may be skeptical of this reform. The Board of County Commissioners is dedicated to ensuring that their actions, and those of all Adams County leaders and employees, match the promises made in these reform initiatives. As they work to regain public trust, the commissioners invite citizens to hold them accountable to put their promises to action.
