Thursday, September 27, 2012 11:32 am

The Comptroller’s office released this week results of their recent audit of the Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency (UCHRA)’s past policies and procedures. 

"The UCHRA Board, Directors and Staff acknowledge there have been some unnecessary and, in some cases, unreasonable expenditures of public funds in the past. Thankfully, our Board of Directors showed great leadership and began taking necessary steps over a year and a half ago to resolve these issues.  As a result of their efforts, and those of the Directors and Staff of UCHRA, all findings in the report have been corrected," said Luke M. Collins, executive director.

Cannon County is served by UCHRA.

 The fleet of Agency vehicles has been dramatically reduced.  Only those persons whose job requires them to travel out of office the majority of their work day still have daily access to Agency vehicles.  All Agency vehicles are now identified as such with a UCHRA decal, Collins said.

 By making changes to our cell phone policy, we have reduced our monthly cell phone bill approximately 45%.  No staff member is allowed to have more than one phone provided by the Agency.  The issuance of “Smart” phones is limited to those persons who require continuous access to email and data service.  No staff member will be issued a smart phone without approval by the Executive Director or Deputy Director, he said.

 A new policy regarding the use of agency credit cards has been established which more closely scrutinizes credit card purchases.  The policy strictly prohibits the use of the cards to be utilized in purchasing unauthorized items, including alcoholic beverages.  Any employee who violates this policy will be subject to disciplinary action and will be required to reimburse the agency for any prohibited expenses, Collins said.

 Travel will be restricted to allow only those off-site meetings and training sessions deemed necessary by the Executive Director. Travel expense reimbursement will follow State travel regulations and rates, he said.