Federal audit seeks equipment bought for anti-terrorism

Adrienne Packer

Thursday, April 11, 2002 | 11:03 a.m.

Anti-terrorist equipment Clark County purchased with federal funds -- equipment a federal audit claimed was missing or unusuable -- has been accounted for, county officials said.

Poor record-keeping was to blame for Clark County being listed among 11 governments nationwide that the U.S. Justice Department claimed were missing anti-terrorist equipment purchased with federal funds.

An audit performed by the department's inspector general's office shows Clark County was given $400,000 through a federally funded anti-terrorism program implemented after the bombing of Oklahoma City's Alfred P. Murrah building.

Of that, $32,572 worth of equipment was missing or staff was unable to operate it, the report says.

Jim Spinello, assistant director for the county's administration, said Wednesday that auditors found two pricey hazardous material protective suits and filter canisters for breathing apparatus missing.

The equipment is shipped to the county's Office of Emergency Management and stored in Clark County Fire Department and Metro Police warehouses. It is eventually distributed to emergency crews in the county and its cities.

Spinello said members of the county's Office of Emergency Management have accounted for all equipment that auditors questioned.

Two hazardous materials suits designated for Las Vegas firefighters were the wrong size and shipped to Colorado where they were to be swapped for the right size.

"When the auditors came, the suits were not physically there in city fire's possession," Spinello said. "They were working with the manufacturer and exchanging for two others in Colorado. That wasn't sufficiently documented."

Failure to keep track of the filter canisters also landed the county in trouble.

"They came in boxes and we think in a case or two we were short-shipped; there were fewer in the boxes than there were supposed to be," Spinello said. "If that's the case, someone in receiving should be checking that stuff."

The audit report says the county's inventory list did not include a "date received" column and auditors found discrepancies in the amount of equipment delivered to the various emergency agencies.

Jim O'Brien, plans and operations office for the Clark County Emergency Management Office gave a different explanation for the audit's conclusion in a statement released Wednesday.

Clark County had the equipment, but because it was slated to be used in training three weeks later, it was listed as "unavailable for use."

"At first glance, one could draw the conclusion that the equipment was literally missing. However, a full reading of the report reveals that Clark County had accounted for and distributed all emergency equipment purchased using the grant funds," O'Brien said.

The audit noted that records needed to be complete.

"Property records should include the identification number and the location of the equipment," the report says. "A control system should be developed to ensure adequate safeguards to prevent loss, damage or theft of property."

Spinello said since the equipment has been tracked, the county does not expect to be penalized. In fact, Spinello said, county officials were unaware of the auditors' findings until the Associated Press Washington bureau published an article on the report Monday.

"I don't know what happens next," Spinello said. "We're reacting to the wire story."

Other governments on the Justice Department's list were Dallas County, Texas; Westchester County, NY; Memphis, Tenn.; Middlesex, Mass.; Wayne County, Mich.; Hillsborough Co., Fla.; Detroit, Mich.; Tarrant County, Texas; Fairfax County, Va.; and Cobb County, Ga..

Auditors found the highest misuse of equipment in Dallas County, which received $300,000 from the federal government and $299,728 worth of equipment had not been distributed to agencies needing it.