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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Here is the long-awaited report from the Office of
the Auditor General on the Business Enterprise Program, in PDF and TXT
formats. You may find the article shown below from mlive.com of
interest as well.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Joe Sontag</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>From mlive.com.<BR>Mark Rothenhauser, 55, operates
the snack bar at the state Capitol.<BR>He's been participating in the state's
Business Enterprise Program for<BR>people who are blind and visually impaired
for six years. Melissa<BR>Anders | MLive<BR>LANSING, MI - The state did not
properly manage a program that helps<BR>blind people run vending facilities in
government buildings, according<BR>to an audit report that estimates the program
improperly spent about a<BR>quarter million dollars.<BR>A report released
Tuesday by Michigan's Auditor General found that the<BR>Michigan Commission for
the Blind did not effectively monitor the<BR>finances, contracting and inventory
for its Business Enterprise<BR>Program. The program offers licenses to blind and
visually impaired<BR>people to operate vending machines, cafeterias, snack bars,
carts and<BR>other food services in state and federal buildings, highway rest
stops<BR>and visitor centers.<BR>The audit generally covered Oct. 2008 through
July 2011, when the<BR>program was still managed by the Michigan Commission for
the Blind.<BR>The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA)
realized<BR>there were several issues with the vending program and requested
the<BR>audit.<BR>Gov. Rick Snyder responded to broader issues surrounding
the<BR>Commission for the Blind with an executive order that replaced
the<BR>commission with the Bureau of Services for Blind Persons in
October.<BR>Ed Rodgers took over as director of the bureau last month with
the<BR>mandate to make improvements.<BR>"While there's issues and problems we
need to correct, the public<BR>needs to be reassured that this administration is
not wasting<BR>taxpayers' dollars and that we are running an effective and
efficient<BR>program," Rodgers said. "We're doing what we're supposed to be
doing."<BR>The Business Enterprise Program had eight staff members and more
than<BR>80 licensees who operated about 400 sites throughout the state as
of<BR>July 2011.<BR>Operators give 10 percent of their profits to the commission
to pay<BR>for expenses such as new equipment and retirement funds.<BR>"The
public needs to be reassured that this administration is not<BR>wasting
taxpayers' dollars." - Ed Rodgers<BR>The audit estimates that the commission
improperly spent $254,000 in<BR>operator fees from Oct. 2008 through July 2011
on miscellaneous<BR>program expenses that were not in accordance with state
code.<BR>The commission also did not effectively confirm operators'
monthly<BR>sales reports, meaning the state couldn't make sure that it
properly<BR>calculated and paid retirement contributions, pension payments
and<BR>operator fees, the audit found. Even though the vendors
are<BR>independent contractors, the program pays out such benefits.<BR>That
finding didn't surprise Mark Rothenhauser, who operates the snack<BR>bar at the
state Capitol. He sells pizza slices, popcorn, soda and<BR>other snacks from a
small shop located on the ground level of the<BR>building.<BR>"An operator can
basically pull a number out of the air and report<BR>that as sales," he said.
"There's not a mechanism in place to<BR>authenticate what the operator reports
as sales is actually their<BR>sales. So if you go with that, you don't know if
they're paying the<BR>correct set-aside fee."<BR>Rodgers said he set aside
$150,000 to create a new data program for<BR>the entire bureau that will keep
better track of vending sales and net<BR>income. It should be in place early
next year.<BR>Other audit findings dealt with deficiencies in monitoring
equipment<BR>inventory, contracts and operator assistance.<BR>The bureau is
completing an inventory of its equipment, such as<BR>coolers and microwaves, and
is setting up performance measures for<BR>staff members who assist
operators.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>