Pinellas internal audit chief out in layoff

CLEARWATER -- The county watchdog is out of a job.

Bob Melton, 54, will leave his internal auditing post in Pinellas Clerk Ken Burke's office, a victim of budget cuts. Melton's audit of spending practices recently took aim at county officials' travel spending and judges' acceptance of auditing.

"It is with a heavy heart that I announce that Chief Deputy Director Bob Melton has graciously decided to take the Internal Audit Division’s layoff in lieu of having to lay off additional staff. Bob has decided that he will embark upon his missionary work in Costa Rica full time," Burke said in an email. Read the full story here.

Read Burke's e-mail after the jump.

To:    "Clerks Department Distribution Group" <ClerksDepartmentDistributionGroup@co.pinellas.fl.us>
cc:    "LaSala, Robert" <rlasala@co.pinellas.fl.us>
Subject:    Internal Audit Division Changes
It is with a heavy heart that I announce that Chief Deputy Director Bob Melton has graciously decided to take the Internal Audit Division’s layoff in lieu of having to lay off additional staff. Bob has decided that he will embark upon his missionary work in Costa Rica full time. Bob’s decision and future plans are admirable.  We are very proud to have such excellent leadership at the top ranks of the office. Bob has served the office and the county extremely well. Without a doubt, Bob leaves a legacy of excellent audits and efficiencies that have substantially saved taxpayer dollars.
Bob will continue to serve on a limited basis as a consultant for the office, lending his expertise to the audit process.
The Chief Deputy position will not be filled, rather a Director of Internal Audit position will be created as a direct report to me. In that position, I am naming Hector Collazo. Hector has worked side by side with Bob on the Division’s audits and is well versed on the overall requirements of the job. Hector joined the Clerk’s Office several years ago coming to us from Texas with an impressive auditing background which has served us well.
Please join me in wishing Bob every blessing and success that his future will bring and in welcoming Hector as our new Director of Internal Audit.
Sincerely,
Ken

*

Comments

[erin]

OMG! And we are supposed to believe this? Looks like the whistle blower got the axe!!!

[erin's correct!]

Classic! We need to cut spending so let’s not cut wasteful spending, just cut the job of the guy who audits our spending. Typical Pinellas politics… the political equivalent of Deliverence!

Pinellas taxpayers have purdy mouths!

[Transparent]

So, how much free county gas was used to take the kids to Universal last year?
The books should be in GAAP form on the Internet, every week.

[Been there, got that!]

They don't think taxpayers are entitled to transparency, that's why they slammed this guy. Retaliation for honesty and integrity is the County way.

[Transparent]

So long as one party is counting the votes using computerized machines that members of that one party program with code written by the members of that one party, we can expect that party to stay in power no matter how heavily the voters vote against it.

Ergo, if an internal auditor is getting to the truth about how taxpayer's dollars are being wasted or stolen, you can expect him or her to be out on their ear. Costa Rica, indeed...

[Melton's golden parachute]

Now let's have the real story. How much paid time is Melton taking upon his departure? My guess-about six months of paid time without working for it. What are the county policies on taking time at the end of tenure? How much is Melton getting on the way out? Certainly enough to make a nice life as a missionary in Costa Rica.

[Concerned Taxpayer]

I am concerned. The only guy in County government that exposes the REAL Pinellas County is out. Watch them now try to justify their actions by demonizing this guy. Mr. Melton, I, as one County taxpayer, am very sorry to see you leave.

[Observer]

Erin, you are right! I found the Clerks website and saw some of the reports. No wonder the County is using the budget cuts to try to stop this. I did not know we had someone like this in County government. We should have 10 more like him.

[fthomas]

Concerned Taxpayer is right! What is wrong with you people? The man decided to follow a righteous path “delivering god’s message of hope and love” and sacrificed his job to save another county job and the heartache that goes with losing a job! Come on people he was not run out of the county for the great work he did as the Audit Director. Erin you have a point however, please note the clerks audit group has been around for 20 or 30 years and not all of the staff was laid-off! Oh whoever is “Melton's golden parachute” not everything is about money!

[Zen Master]

I'd like to see more reporting on this. Was he forced out for the probe of travel spending?

If so then heads should roll.

[Travel spending]

The travel spending "study" was a joke. Poor research, misguided conclusions and at the end of the day it amounted to nothing.

Auditors will continue to be employed. They will audit what Ken Burke tells them to audit. Ken Burke's choices will depend on his personal and political values. Ken Burke values his job and no matter what a waste of money the Clerk's office is, Ken's auditors will find his position valuable because, in turn, they find their own positions valuable.

And, yes. It's always about money.

The auditors will shoot at the fish in the bucket Burke's offices tells them to shoot at. No more, no less. No sweeping changes. No tax payer savings.

[Scarface]

Anybody notice you never read about the mob anymore? Drug dealing thugs, sure. But you never read about the stealing, graft, corruption and payolla typical of the goombahs. Wonder why that is.

[Tony]

That’s because the goombahs are no what we know as our government; particularly here in Pinellas. This is one backwoods, jerkwater, inbred and corrupt county my friend. The political Who’s Who reads like an Gambino family tree.