State of Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources
Madison
May 1, 2007
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
A167
In fulfillment of the requirements under s.
299.85(9m), Wisconsin State Statutes, I am submitting to you a copy of Wisconsin's Environmental Compliance Audit Program 2007 Annual Report. It covers the period April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007. Please distribute as appropriate. I am also providing a copy of the report to the Governor and to the Chief Clerk of the Senate.
For more information on Wisconsin's Environmental Compliance Audit Program or additional copies of this report, please contact Mark McDermid at (608) 267‐3125. DNR staff will send you an electronic copy of this letter and Annual Report to facilitate distribution.
Sincerely,
Scott Hassett
Secretary
Referred to committee on Natural Resources.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources
Madison
May 1, 2007
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
In fulfillment of the requirements under s.
299.83(8)(h), Wisconsin State Statutes, I am transmitting the 2007 Green Tier Biennial Progress Report. Please distribute as appropriate. I am also providing a copy of the Report to the Governor and to the Chief Clerk of the Senate.
The Green Tier law is scheduled to sunset July 1, 2009. This report outlines the progress already made toward the goal of helping businesses achieve superior environmental performance. I believe, however, that the law is capable of long‐term benefits that will not have time to develop before the sunset and the presence of the sunset may be impeding our implementation of the provisions within the law. The reauthorization of Green Tier will allow us to explore more of what Green Tier can accomplish. I look forward to working with the legislature to secure program reauthorization, furthering our commitment to our participants, the environment, and the state of Wisconsin.
For more information on the Green Tier program or additional copies of this report, please contact Mark McDermid at (608) 267‐3125, or visit our web site at
http://greentier.wi.gov.
Sincerely,
Scott Hassett
Secretary
Referred to committee on Natural Resources.
__________________
Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
May 3, 2007
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
During the course of a September 2005 financial review of internal controls at the Green Bay Correctional Institution, we became aware of a credit union on its grounds and employing state workers. In 2006, we conducted additional fieldwork to learn more about the operations of this credit union and identified another credit union operating at Waupun Correctional Institution. We assessed whether state resources, including state employee staff time, were being used to conduct credit union business. We did not review the financial condition of each credit union; however, we note that as required by s.
186.235(16), Wis. Stats., each credit union has been subject to regular inspections by the Office of Credit Unions within the Department of Financial Institutions.
The credit unions were incorporated and chartered in 1932, and they continue to serve several hundred members. However, both their location and prison officials' limited knowledge about their operations raise some concern that state resources have been used inappropriately. For example, until we raised the issue, and contrary to Department of Corrections policy, conflict‐of‐interest forms were not on file for any of the five state employees who are also paid employees of the credit unions. Further, the Waupun credit union is located in the business office, and staff have reported that information on credit union services is sometimes provided during state office hours.
We believe steps should be taken to ensure compliance with the Department's policies concerning outside employment and to establish a clear separation between credit union and state business. It may also be appropriate to consider whether the credit unions should continue to operate under the existing arrangements.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by staff at the Department of Corrections and at the Office of Credit Unions within the Department of Financial Institutions as we conducted this review.
Sincerely,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor