U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

OFFICE OF COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING SERVICES

GRANT TO THE OXFORD, MICHIGAN EMERGENCY SAFETY AUTHORITY

Grant Number 95-CF-WX-5229

Audit Report Number GR-50-98-027

September 10, 1998

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Office of the Inspector General, Audit Division, has completed an audit of funds awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), to the Oxford Emergency Safety Authority (OESA). OESA received a grant in the amount of $75,000 under the Funding Accelerated for Smaller Towns (FAST) program and two supplemental awards totaling $473,028 under the Universal Hiring program (UHP). The purpose of these grants is to enhance community policing by allowing OESA to hire an additional five full-time and six part-time sworn law enforcement officers. OESA was also awarded a grant under the Making Officer Redeployment Effective (MORE) Program in the amount of $46,875 to purchase a equipment. As of July 2, 1998, OESA had not requested funding under the COPS MORE grant. However, OESA intends to request funding once the purchased system has been implemented.

Our audit disclosed that OESA:

• Supplanted local funds with federal funds by not backfilling vacated part-time positions. Therefore, we are questioning $167,869 as unallowable costs.

• Charged $10,051 in unallowable salary and fringe benefit expenses to the grant.

• Failed to meet the grant objective by not maintaining the locally required staffing level resulting in $370,108 to be put to better use.

• Failed to provide a redeployment plan within the required timeframe resulting in $46,875 to be put to better use.

• Did not deploy a number of officers into community policing equal to the number of officers funded under the grant.

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