President’s House additions could become findings in Mangum’s first full-year state audit

Back in March, FAMU received a state financial audit with no findings for the fiscal year of July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014. Larry Robinson was in the FAMU president’s office for most of that time. Elmira Mangum started her first day of work on April 1, 2014, which was about three months before the end of that fiscal year.

Mangum will soon be notified of the results of the preliminary state financial audit for her first full fiscal year as the FAMU president.

FAMU Vice-President for Audit and Compliance Rick Givens submitted a report to the Board of Trustees in December that said the Florida Office of the Auditor General is still reviewing documents about a set of controversial capital improvements at the on-campus President’s House. His report added that any findings would probably be included in the upcoming state financial audit.

“The Board authorized an outside review of the issues involved in the renovation to the house and construction of a garage…The process for the addition is also under review by the Auditor General,” the Dec. 10 report by Givens' office said. “The documents requested by the auditors have been provided. It is expected that any findings related to the review will be included as an Other Matter in the audit report for the financial statements to be release[d] in February or March 2016.”

The “Compliance and Other Matters” section of each state financial audit is usually located at the end of the report. Last year, that section in state financial audit for FAMU had no findings.

On Oct. 1, the Florida auditor general’s office asked Givens to look into whether two purchase orders for renovations at the President’s House had received BOT approval. The first was issued February 13, 2014 and was for $300,209. The second, which was for the garage project, was issued on June 19, 2014 and was for $71,529.

The employment agreement between Mangum and the BOT states that: “Dr. Mangum shall obtain prior approval from the Board (or its designee) for any capital improvements or repairs to the home or its grounds which have a project cost over $10,000.”

“I was not able to find approval for the purchase orders by the Board (or Board designee) in the Board minutes or that the Board approved in separate written correspondence,” Givens told Cheryl Buchanan, an audit coordinator for the Florida auditor general. “Also, as requested in your e-mail dated October 8, I cannot find documentation that the Board was officially notified of the renovation or garage construction.”

Mangum sent a memorandum to the BOT on Oct. 21 that said that: “I did not have any knowledge nor did I authorize or sign off on the construction of the garage. Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that the Board of Trustees authorized the garage project.”

The memorandum from Mangum did not reference any specific documents concerning that claim.

FAMU trustees discussed the renovations at the President’s House during an emergency conference call on Oct. 22.  Givens described how the state auditors’ request for information reached him.

“The Auditor General is looking at it as part of the audit that they have in process now,” Givens said during the meeting. “To date, they have requested that information. They've reviewed it and at that point, that's when the memo was generated that was addressed to me to just confirm or provide information or documentation that the Board had approved the renovation in excess of $10,000.”

Mangum later narrowly survived two unsuccessful motions to terminate her employment during that conference call.

Note: Earlier stories on Rattler Nation incorrectly described the Oct. 1, 2014 memo from the Office of the Florida Auditor General to the FAMU Division of Audit and Compliance. Corrections have been made throughout this site.