New Jersey’s coffers are about to get a lot bigger.
It’s getting $10.2 billion from the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, with $6.4 billion going to directly to the state and the rest, directly to municipalities.
But who will be watching how the massive amount of money is spent?
The Office of the State Comptroller (OSC), an independent state agency tasked with monitoring state spending, is creating a new watchdog group to monitor the funds.
The COVID-19 Compliance and Oversight Project will “ensure proper oversight and accountability over the billions of dollars of COVID-19 recovery money being spent throughout New Jersey,” the agency said.
The group will formalize the OSC’s role in overseeing how COVID funds are spent, something instituted by executive order in July 2020.
“Our announcement today recognizes the office’s role making sure that state agencies and authorities are doing everything they can to protect federal COVID-19 recovery funds sent to New Jersey to recover from the pandemic,” said Kevin Walsh, acting state comptroller, in a statement.
“The substantial amount of funding at stake – and the importance of the funding to New Jerseyans – means state agencies and authorities must be especially vigilant and have policies and procedures in place that protect the money. By leveraging OSC’s expertise in procurement, audit, and investigations, we stand ready to ensure that fraud, waste or abuse does not disrupt New Jersey’s recovery,” he said.
The group will be initially staffed by two full-time employees, with more appointments to come, the agency said.
Jillian Holmes, who has been with OSC since 2012, was named director of the group, the agency said, and Ianna Khan, an auditor in the Medicaid fraud division since 2016, will be the group’s data and analytics coordinator.
The COVID-19 Compliance and Oversight Project’s oversight will include “monitoring recovery programs to make sure there are processes in place to prevent and detect fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement of COVID-19 recovery funds. This means encouraging agencies to assess risks in their programs and to take steps to address those risks. It also involves advising agencies to comply with state and federal guidelines, public contracting rules, and Executive Order 166.”
It will also train “accountability officers” within state agencies that receive COVID recovery funds to prevent fraud, waste and abuse. Plus, it will oversee “integrity oversight monitors” who will review the disbursement of funds to look for fraud, waste and abuse.
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Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com.
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