Santa Clara Valley Water District

SANTA CLARA VALLEY WATER DISTRICT Audit Report FLOOD CONTROL SUBVENTIONS PROGRAM Upper Guadalupe River, Guadalupe River, Upper Llagas Creek Watershed, and Lower Silver Creek Watershed Flood Control Projects December 6, 2012, through October 29, 2014 BETTY T. YEE California State Controller February 2016 BETTY T. YEE California State Controller February 10, 2016 Mark Cowin, Director Department of Water Resources 1416 Ninth Street, Room 1115-1 Sacramento, CA 95814 Dear Mr. Cowin: The State Controller’s Office audited claims submitted by Santa Clara Valley Water District under the Flood Control Subventions Program. The district claimed costs of $12,352,670 for the Upper Guadalupe River, Guadalupe River, Upper Llagas Creek Watershed, and Lower Silver Creek Watershed Flood Control Projects for the period of December 6, 2012, through October 29, 2014. Our audit found that $9,900,870 is allowable and $2,451,800 is unallowable. The state share of allowable costs is $8,784,578. The state share represents the percentage of state funding stipulated in California Water Code sections 12670.8, 12585.5, 12866.2, 12749.8 and 12865. The unallowable costs of $2,451,800 occurred because the district claimed costs identified as ineligible by the Department of Water Resources. If you have any questions, please contact Mike Spalj, Chief, Local Government Audits Bureau, at (916) 324-6984. Sincerely, Original signed by JEFFREY V. BROWNFIELD, CPA Chief, Division of Audits JVB/ls cc: Patrick Luzuriaga, Chief Flood Control Subventions Program Division of Flood Management Department of Water Resources Gary Kremen, Chair Santa Clara Valley Water District Joseph Atmore, Finance Officer Santa Clara Valley Water District Beau Goldie, Chief Executive Officer Santa Clara Valley Water District Santa Clara Valley Water District Flood Control Subventions Program Contents Audit Report Summary ............................................................................................................................ 1 Background ........................................................................................................................ 1 Objective, Scope, and Methodology ................................................................................. 1 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 2 Follow-up on Prior Audit Findings .................................................................................. 2 Views of Responsible Officials .......................................................................................... 3 Restricted Use .................................................................................................................... 3 Schedule 1—Summary of Project Costs .............................................................................. 4 Finding and Recommendation .............................................................................................. 6 Santa Clara Valley Water District Flood Control Subventions Program Audit Report Summary The State Controller’s Office (SCO) audited the reimbursement claims of Santa Clara Valley Water District under the Flood Control Subventions Program. Our audit included the Upper Guadalupe River, Guadalupe River, Upper Llagas Creek Watershed, and Lower Silver Creek Watershed Flood Control Projects for the period of December 6, 2012, through October 29, 2014. The district claimed $12,352,670 during the audit period. Our audit found that $9,900,870 is allowable and $2,451,800 is unallowable. The state share of allowable costs is $8,784,578. The state share represents the percentage of state funding stipulated in California Water Code section 12670.8, 12585.5, 12866.2, 12749.8 and 12865. The unallowable costs occurred because the district claimed costs identified as ineligible by the Department of Water Resources. Background The State of California provides financial assistance to local agencies participating in the construction of federal flood control projects. Under the Flood Control Subventions Program (State Water Code, Division 6, Part 6, Chapters 1 through 4), the California Department of Water Resources pays a portion of the local agency’s share of flood control project costs, including the costs of rights of way, relocation, and recreation and fish and wildlife enhancements. State Water Code section 12832 requires the State Controller to audit the books and records of local agencies to determine whether the state funds received were expended for the purposes and under the conditions authorized. Objective, Scope, Our audit objectives are to determine whether the costs claimed as presented in the Summary of Project Costs (Schedule 1) are: and Methodology  Allowable and in compliance with the Department of Water Resources’ Guidelines for State Reimbursement on Flood Control Projects;  Adequately supported and documented; and  Abated for applicable credits. To achieve our audit objectives, we performed the following audit procedures:  Reviewed the auditee’s prior SCO audit and single audit.  Gained a basic understanding of the internal controls and claim process by interviewing key personnel, completing the internal control questionnaire, and reviewing the auditee’s organization chart. -1- Santa Clara Valley Water District Flood Control Subventions Program  Traced selected claimed cost items to supporting documentation: o acquisition of land or rights-of-way o relocation, reconstruction, and replacement o advances  Verified the abatement of applicable credits by examining land purchase records for excess land and salvageable materials; reviewed expenditure records for condemnation deposits on land acquisition and related interest earned; and scanned the revenue ledger for receipts related to the flood control project. We conducted this performance audit under the general authority of Government Code section 12410 and the specific authority under State Water Code section 12832. We conducted the audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We did not audit the district’s financial statements. Our scope was limited to planning and performing audit procedures necessary to obtain reasonable assurance concerning the allowability of expenditures claimed for reimbursement. Conclusion Our audit found instances of noncompliance with the requirements outlined above. These instances are shown on the Summary of Project Costs (Schedule 1) and described in the Finding and Recommendation section. Santa Clara Valley Water District claimed $12,352,670 for the Upper Guadalupe River, Guadalupe River, Upper Llagas Creek Watershed, and Lower Silver Creek Watershed Flood Control Projects under the Flood Control Subventions Program for the period of December 6, 2012, through October 29, 2014. Our audit found that the claimed amounts for the audit period included allowable costs of $9,900,870 and unallowable costs of $2,451,800. The state share of allowable costs is $8,784,578. The state share represents the percentage of state funding stipulated in California Water Code section 12670.8, 12585.5, 12866.2, 12749.8 and 12865. Follow-up on Our prior audit report, issued on September 4, 2012, disclosed no findings. Prior Audit Findings -2- Santa Clara Valley Water District Flood Control Subventions Program Views of We discussed the audit results with the district’s representatives during an exit conference conducted on April 30, 2015. Joe Atmore, Revenue Responsible Manager, and Anne Cooper, Senior Management Analyst, agreed with the Officials audit results. Mr. Atmore declined a draft audit report and agreed that we could issue the audit report as final. Restricted Use This report is solely for the information and use of Santa Clara Valley Water District, the California Department of Water Resources, and the SCO; it is not intended to be and should not be used by anyone other than these specified parties. This restriction is not intended to limit distribution of this report, which is a matter of public record. Original signed by JEFFREY V. BROWNFIELD, CPA Chief, Division of Audits February 10, 2016 -3- Santa Clara Valley Water District Flood Control Subventions Program Schedule 1— Summary of Project Costs December 16, 2012, through October 29, 2014 District State Share of State Share Project/Claim Claim Costs Allowable Audit Eligibility of Allowable Number Number Claimed Per Audit Adjustments Reference 1 Percentage Costs 2 Upper Guadalupe River UGR 2012-10 40 85,000 85,000 - 70% 5 9,500 UGR 2012-11 41 553,350 5 53,350 - 70% 387,345 UGR 2012-12 42 455,000 4 55,000 - 70% 318,500 UGR 2012-13 43 645,000 6 45,000 - 70% 451,500 UGR 2012-14 44 87,000 87,000 - 70% 6 0,900 UGR 2014-01 48 44,095 44,095 - 70% 3 0,867 UGR 2014-01 49 132,500 1 32,500 - 70% 9 2,750 UGR 2014-01 51 276,333 2 76,333 - 70% 193,433 Totals 2 ,278,278 2,278,278 - 1 ,594,795 Guadalupe River GR 2011-1 162 216,848 2 16,848 - 70% 151,794 GR 2011-2 163 18,243 18,243 - 70% 1 2,770 GR 2011-3 164 144,721 90,601 (54,120) Finding 70% 6 3,421 GR 2011-4 165 1 ,885,700 - ( 1,885,700) Finding 70% - Totals 2 ,265,512 3 25,692 ( 1,939,820) 227,985 Lower Silver Creek Watershed LSCW 2012-3 82 1 ,947,097 1,945,295 ( 1,802) 90% 1 ,750,766 LSCW 2012-4 83 812,551 8 06,049 ( 6,502) 90% 725,444 LSCW 2012-5 84 599,679 5 99,679 - 90% 539,711 Totals 3 ,359,327 3,351,023 ( 8,304) 3 ,015,921 Upper Llagas Creek Watershed ULCW 2011-01 136 80,489 80,489 - 100% 8 0,489 ULCW 2011-02 137 151,238 1 51,238 - 100% 151,238 ULCW 2011-02 138 52,542 52,542 - 100% 5 2,542 ULCW 2011-02 139 63,445 63,445 - 100% 6 3,445 ULCW 2011-02 140 221,999 2 21,999 - 100% 221,999 ULCW 2011-02 141 6 ,694 6,694 - 100% 6 ,694 ULCW 2011-03 142 532,975 29,616 (503,359) Finding 100% 2 9,616 ULCW 2011-03 143 493,232 4 93,232 - 100% 493,232 ULCW 2011-03 144 329,609 3 29,609 - 100% 329,609 -4- Santa Clara Valley Water District Flood Control Subventions Program Schedule 1 (continued) District State Share of State Share Project/Claim Claim Costs Allowable Audit Eligibility of Allowable Number Number Claimed Per Audit Adjustments Reference 1 Percentage Costs 2 Upper Llagas Creek Watershed (continued) ULCW 2011-03 145 4 ,684 4,367 (317) Finding 100% 4 ,367 ULCW 2011-03 146 2 ,953 2,953 - 100% 2 ,953 ULCW 2011-03 147 95,508 95,508 - 100% 9 5,508 ULCW 2011-03 153 359,529 3 59,529 - 100% 359,529 ULCW 2013-01 150 227,129 2 27,129 - 100% 227,129 ULCW 2013-01 155 165,691 1 65,691 - 100% 165,691 ULCW 2013-01 156 310,341 3 10,341 - 100% 310,341 ULCW 2013-01 162 329,308 3 29,308 - 100% 329,308 ULCW 2013-02 152 26,541 26,541 - 100% 2 6,541 ULCW 2013-02 154 17,620 17,620 - 100% 1 7,620 ULCW 2013-02 157 219,000 2 19,000 - 100% 219,000 ULCW 2013-02 160 600,000 6 00,000 - 100% 600,000 ULCW 2013-03 148 17,204 17,204 - 100% 1 7,204 ULCW 2013-04 149 10,950 10,950 - 100% 1 0,950 ULCW 2013-05 151 5 ,551 5,551 - 100% 5 ,551 ULCW 2013-05 158 4 ,641 4,641 - 100% 4 ,641 ULCW 2013-05 161 5 ,630 5,630 - 100% 5 ,630 ULCW 2013-06 159 44,689 44,689 - 100% 4 4,689 ULCW 2013-06 163 70,361 70,361 - 100% 7 0,361 Totals 4 ,449,553 3,945,877 (503,676) 3 ,945,877 Grand Totals 12,352,670 9,900,870 ( 2,451,800) 8 ,784,578 _______________________ 1 See the Finding and Recommendation section. 2 The state share of allowable project costs represents the percentage of state funding, as stipulated in the California Water Code, for each project cost category. -5- Santa Clara Valley Water District Flood Control Subventions Program Finding and Recommendation FINDING— Santa Clara Valley Water District claims included $2,451,800 in costs for Department of the Guadalupe River, Lower Silver Creek Watershed, and Upper Llagas Water Resources’ Watershed Flood Control Projects that were specifically identified as adjustments ineligible and disallowed by the Department of Water Resources (DWR). We concur with the DWR’s determinations. The DWR’s Guidelines for State Reimbursement on Flood Control Projects (February 1974), Section VI, Part D, specifies that the DWR will reduce an agency’s reimbursement claims for any item that is determined to be ineligible. As a result, costs totaling $2,451,800 are unallowable, as summarized below: Audit Category Adjustments Guadalupe River Parking lot easment in excess of appraisal $ (54,120) District claimed flood control easement payments to the City of San Jose and the Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Jose (RDA). However the City and the RDA were required to reimburse the District for these payments $ (1,885,700) Audit adjustment $ (1,939,820) Lower Silver Creek Watershed Construction Contract Cost for ineligible non-relocation work $ (8,304) Audit adjustment $ (8,304) Upper Llagas Watershed Land and associated land costs previously claimed $ ( 503,359) Insufficient supporting documents $ ( 317) Audit adjustment $ ( 503,676) GRAND TOTAL $ (2,451,800) Recommendation The district should reduce its claims for reimbursement by $2,451,800 for the Guadalupe River, Lower Silver Creek Watershed, and Upper Llagas Watershed Flood Control Projects. In the future, the district should ensure that costs claimed are eligible for reimbursement under DWR guidelines. -6- State Controller’s Office Division of Audits Post Office Box 942850 Sacramento, CA 94250-5874 http://www.sco.ca.gov S15-FLC-0002