In a recently released report, the county auditor concluded funding for the Broward Sheriff’s Office Training Center project is short $9.2 million.
The 72-page final report, which was sent to all county commissioners last week, said BSO initially estimated the project’s construction cost at $34.0 million, but the final project is currently anticipated to cost more than double at $73.7 million. The sheriff’s office called it “a rushed audit report” that intentionally concealed several portions from viewing.
BSO change orders added to high costs
The Hurricane season is on. Our meteorologists are ready. Sign up for the NBC 6 Weather newsletter to get the latest forecast in your inbox.
The report found $22 million in eight "change orders" that added to the larger price tag. For example, change orders included $7.4 million for a wellness center; $6.1 million for drainage; $2.2 million for the firing range and half a million dollars for additional branding throughout the building.
When it comes to the wellness center, the report details the change order “added a complete build out of the fourth floor to accommodate a fitness center, locker rooms…exercise machines and weights.”
On the wellness center, the report finds the four change orders totaled $7.5 million. Three of the four change orders were not approved by the county to include $461,675 for a physical therapy room addition, which includes a sauna and cold plunge tub.
Local
Branding costs included BSO logos
The audit report goes into detail about the half million spent on signage and branding inside the new facility.
The report found most of the work was performed without county approval.
The audit goes on to list the cost of branding that includes the Sheriff’s name and image.
The list includes five different items that total $79,717, which includes the priciest item at $11,000, and is described as a logo on the walls of the fourth-floor training center that reads “SHERIFF GREGORY TONY, Ph.D.”
The report goes on to say: “These installations are not permanent and will require removal for future sheriffs and likely some form of associated cost. This list is not all-inclusive of displays of the Sheriff’s name and likeness throughout the facility… We question the public purpose and necessity of the expenditure.”
Audit partly blames county for overruns
The auditor found “delegation of authority” by the county was partly to blame for the overruns.
“We recommend management, in collaboration with BSO, identify options for funding the Project shortfall,” the report said.
“The County, as owner of the building, should have maintained control of the Project,” the audit concluded. “The Training Center Project lacked budgetary controls and budgetary oversight …The County should have established budgetary controls for this project which may have prevented overruns.”
BSO responds, auditor calls response misleading
In an eight-page letter dated Aug. 5, BSO Colonel Oscar Llerena responded to the final audit and addressed all the points in the document.
On the Wellness Center build out, Llerena points the finger at county administration, alleging staff never responded to their change order requests.
“This inaction by County Administration, by way of non-responsiveness and material delay to BSO’s forgoing requests for approval for this particular Change Order is tantamount to County Administration’s abandonment of its obligations under the MOU, and would have paralyzed the project,” Llerena wrote in his letter.
On the issue of branding, Llerena wrote: “To question the appropriateness of branding in a non-public area illustrates a lack of understanding of what drives public safety professionals and why non-elected bureaucrats should not be involved in any public safety decisions that impact the community.”
The county auditor called the Sheriff’s Office response “misleading, inflammatory,” adding it “does not accurately address the issues noted in our report.”
The auditor’s office says BSO required them to make public records requests related to the project funding, even though the monies were county funds in custody of the Sheriff.
The auditor’s office described the actions as an “attempted roadblock at providing information to the Office of the County Auditor.”
Project background
The report lays out how the project started in 2018 “to build a state-of-the-art regional training center at the existing Public Safety Building Complex. The Training Center includes two 50-yard tactical firing ranges, a 25-yard firing range, a shoot house to host a myriad of real-world training experiences, multiple classrooms, training labs, an auditorium, and a Wellness Center to enhance BSO’s training capabilities to actively address today’s public safety challenges.”
BSO has over 5,400 employees, including more than 2,700 certified deputies and over 700 fire rescue professionals, the report said.
Read the full audit below:
