State auditors fault power agency's practices
Big bills for alcohol, generous employee benefits and staggering business losses are some of the findings in a state audit of a little-known agency formed by Florida cities decades ago to provide them with electricity.
The state Auditor General this week called on the Florida Municipal Power Agency in Orlando to correct practices that resulted in writing off hundreds of millions of dollars during the past decade. The organization buys or generates electricity and sells it at wholesale rates to 20 smaller cities, including Leesburg and Kissimmee.
Spotlighted in the audit were worker benefits such as 12 days of sick leave, no requirement to take vacation for absences of fewer than four hours, a pair of Magic season tickets used by employees "and guest," no limits on meal costs, and hotel stays for employee family members paid for by the agency.
Other expenses highlighted were $12,030 for flowers, $1,517 for rental of a Christmas tree and $12,688 for holiday parties. Dinners for FMPA members in Washington in 2013 and 2014 each cost more than $3,000, with a large portion of the expense for alcohol.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os-critical-audit-power-agency-20150130-story.html