Corporation Commissioners Formally Acknowledge Compliance of Agency Purchasing Practices and Affirm Support of State Auditor and Attorney General
OKLAHOMA CITY – For the second meeting in a row, discussion of the State Auditor and Inspector’s (SAI) FY22 Single Audit that was critical of no-bid contracts by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) provided the backdrop for discussion by the Oklahoma Corporation Commissioners.
At issue during the Tuesday, May 14, 2024, meeting was a news release and motion by Commissioner Anthony alleging prior agency purchasing practices may have been out of compliance with competitive bidding requirements. The Commissioner referenced State Auditor Cindy Byrd’s concern that “Oklahoma is rapidly becoming a no-bid state.”
Anthony stated, “I think that’s a very, potentially, disastrous situation for this agency, and we could suffer the consequences. I just want you to be able to say that I tried to set things straight.”
OCC Director of Administration Brandy Wreath, publicly recognized the dedicated efforts of agency personnel, including those in finance, purchasing and legal counsel.
“I agree with Ms. Byrd, because many areas of the state are becoming no bid,” Wreath said. “OCC is not that. We are bid. That is my requirement and has been since I was in PUD in 2012. To say that we need to straighten out OCC is not correct. We are not crooked. These folks are straight like an arrow. We’re proud of what we do.”
Commission Chair Todd Hiett presented a different motion for consideration stating that the Commission “acknowledge the efforts of the agency, the finance division, general counsel and division leadership in demonstrating the highest integrity by adhering to the letter of the law governing the expenditure of public funds, both federal and state, as provided in the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act, statewide purchasing guidelines and federal grant guidelines.”
Wreath pressed that OMES was the single focus of this specific FY22 Single Audit finding regarding creation of the Rolling Solicitation Pilot Project in the expenditure of federal funds. The only federal dollars OCC expended with any connection to the audit finding were related to Galt, a State Use vendor which is considered a mandatory contract under the Central Purchasing Act. The expense was also approved by the US Department of the Interior, and totaled $24,317.20 during FY22.
It is critical to restate this audit finding did not implicate any OCC personnel, nor did it suggest any noncompliance by OCC. To suggest otherwise only serves to mischaracterize the content of the state audit finding.
Referring again to his own motion, Commissioner Anthony said, “We don’t need to vote on this. It applies anyway. State government is supposed to pay attention to the State Auditor but we made a mistake in the last meeting with people saying let’s not do anything until OMES corrects their position. That’s crazy, in my opinion. We need to be in communication with the State Auditor.”
Wreath maintained his position that the agency’s purchasing procedures go above the minimum standards required by state law and recounted, again, the conversation with the auditors.
“We have met with the State Auditor’s Office and no recommendations of change were made for us,” Wreath said. “I want to be clear that we didn’t say ‘nothing needs to change.’ I support the State Auditor. I support their findings. I support OMES making modifications. I support my team keeping doing what they’re doing until something’s been identified specifically that needs to change.”
When Anthony again referenced the Rolling Solicitation issue, Wreath said, “We are compliant. The fact that they need to change how they got people on there does not put us at risk. We could have been at risk for claw back had we not had the great standards in place that we do.”
Commissioner Hiett’s motion was supported by Commissioner Kim David and passed 2 to 1 with Commissioner Anthony declining to participate saying he still has questions about the pilot program at the heart of the State Auditor’s finding.
The alleged noncompliance was solely on the part of OMES and its failure to competitively bid projects to determine qualified statewide contract vendors. OCC did not make the decision and has no authority to transfer or object to a transfer of its statewide vendors to the Rolling Solicitation Pilot Project.
OCC invites review and input from the State Auditor to ensure compliance with financial reporting and improve agency programs. For more than a decade, OCC has contracted with SAI to regularly review all agency program areas, not just its procurement practices. SAI’s presence and recommendations are taken very seriously and are of great value in reducing waste and improving efficiencies. At OCC, transparency is a value from which accountability sets the standard for intentional scrutiny of its policies and procedures.
