Secretary Doerflinger responds to State Auditor's testimony
OKLAHOMA CITY, Dec. 14, 2017 — My goal since the beginning of the discovery of fiscal
mismanagement at the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) mirrors that of
the legislative investigative committee. That goal is to find out exactly what happened, how it happened and how to prevent
it going forward. My testimony indicated that the minute the severity of this
problem became apparent, my team and the governor took swift action to help
rectify the situation.
The testimony given today was about assigning blame and political
theater. If Auditor Jones did not feel my response to his initial conversation on
Sept. 1 was adequate, then why did he not go directly to the OSDH Board – the
governing body of the agency? Or to the governor, or to the legislative
leadership who had the authority to appropriate money to help the agency make payroll?
There was also a lot of discussion about budget-to-actuals
and how it factored into the problem. Both OMES and the Legislature have the
ability to pull budget-to-actuals at any time. Additionally, I would say that,
as appropriators, it’s the responsibility of the Legislature to look at not
only what the agency was appropriated the prior year, but also at what was spent
to see if it continues to need the same amount of money.
What happened at OSDH is not something a review of budget-to-actuals
would have exposed. It is NOT possible for an agency to spend money it doesn’t
have. What IS possible is for an agency to inappropriately spend money from one
internal fund that is dedicated to a particular use, and not reimburse or expenditure correct that transaction.
My colleagues at OMES are currently working on an assessment
of every agency and the records they keep outside of the Core or PeopleSoft
systems so that we can ensure adequate visibility and accountability of all
systems moving forward. It is also of equal importance that all players understand
their roles and responsibilities in this process.
My primary goal as Interim Commissioner of Health is not
only to create a culture at OSDH where mismanagement of funds cannot happen
again, but to also put the procedures in place to prevent this from happening
anywhere in state government going forward.
Media Contact
Shelley Zumwalt
Director of Public Affairs
405-535-5198 | shelley.zumwalt@omes.ok.gov
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