From the desk of
Jeffrey T. Hare, CPA CISA CIA March 15, 2017 In October 2016, I filed a complaint with the IRS pursuant to the whistleblower regulations related to the policy of Weld County to allow elected officials, including County Commissioners, to be reimbursed for their commuting mileage to/from work. In November 2016, I received acknowledgement of my claim. I have reason to believe the IRS has started their investigation of the County. As a reminder, the amounts paid to employees of the County for commuting to/from home, including various County Commissioners, could have totaled as much at $500,000 over the past 25 years. As a citizen of Weld County and a former County Council member I could not stand by and watch the County provide reimbursement for commuting miles for County Commissioners that should have been classified as compensation and charged to them as wages. Further, as a former County Council member, I could not stand by and allow County Commissioners to receive benefits that have not been approved by the County Council and that are not available to the rest of the County employees. My concern now is that those that have implemented this policy and defended will waste additional County resources by filing unwarranted appeals on any findings by the IRS. Those that have a conflict of interest in this respect include at least one current County Commissioner – Barb Kirkmeyer, Bruce Barker - acting County Attorney, and Don Warden - acting County Finance Director. I call on all these three and any other Commissioner who has received reimbursement for commuting miles to recuse themselves from the process. If all the County Commissioners have a conflict of interest or would rather not take the lead on this issue, then the issue should be remanded to the County Council to pursue. The result of the audit and the resulting appeals may take years. The County has every right to file an appeal to make sure the taxes and fines are fair. I am not suggesting the County not file an appeal. However, those that have violated the tax code and the trust of the citizens of Weld County should not be allowed to lead the appeal due to the obvious conflict of interest. I am 100% confident in my understanding of the IRS regulations in this situation, which is why I filed the appeal with the IRS. I have consulted with other CPAs in public practice as well as those manage these issues for large multi-national organizations. If the appeal with the IRS is successful, it will have meant that the County overpaid hundreds of thousands of dollars to various County Commissioners over the past 25+ years. It will also mean that the County has unreported tens of thousands of dollars in payroll taxes and potentially are subject to tens of thousands of dollars in interest and penalties. If the IRS sides with me in finding the County was errant or negligent on this issue, I will be calling for the resignation of Bruce Barker and Don Warden. When on the County Council, both came before us and adamantly argued their position. Their implementation and oversight of this policy would be to blame from a legal sense. They should NOT have allowed County Commissioners to be reimbursed for these commuting miles.
From the desk of
Jeffrey T. Hare, CPA CISA CIA I will also remind past and current County Commissioners that the public is sick and tired of elected officials receiving benefits that are not available to the staff they oversee. This public outrage is universal – from those in Weld County to the citizens across the County – from Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and those unaffiliated. You should have known that any benefit you receive that is not available to the rest of the staff is going to be met with outrage. In addition to the reimbursement of commuting miles, Commissioners also receive health benefits that are not available to the rest of the County employees. As I argued in 2014, any compensation, including benefits and salary, received by elected officials should be under the authority of the County Council. That is clearly the intent of the County Charter even if the County Attorney uses word games to differentiate between salary and compensation. I call on the Commissioners to remove any benefit related to the health insurance plan that is not available to the rest of the County employees and to submit to the authority of the County Council on all matters of compensation, whether direct or indirect. Further, I call on the Commissioners to propose an amendment to the Weld County Charter to clarify that the County Council has authority on all matters of compensation for the elected officials – to include salary and any deviation from the benefits plan offered to the rest of the County employees. I would be happy to lead a group of citizens to develop and present the language needed for such an amendment. Any questions or clarifications can be submitted to me via email at jeffreythare@gmail.com. Holding Government Accountable, Protecting Weld County Taxpayers. Respectfully Jeffrey T. Hare, CPA CISA CIA
To the Press… I have filed a claim per the IRS whistleblower guidelines. As per the guidelines the whistleblower submitting the claim is entitled to compensation if the audit is successful. I intend to donate the net proceeds to a charity even though the claim is legitimate and I am entitled to it. This will avoid the ‘he is doing it for the money’ argument.