Audit of Landfill Operations - August 2019

Background and Objectives The Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller’s Internal Audit Department and Office of the Inspector General has completed an audit of landfill operations. The audit was planned and conducted in conformance with the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (Standards) . Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. The purpose of the audit was to review compliance with applicable Florida Statutes, Florida Administrative Codes, county ordinances, agreements, and policies and procedures related to the operations of the landfill. Background Sarasota County owns and operates the Central County Solid Waste Disposal Complex (CCSWDC), which is located in Nokomis, FL. The CCSWDC provides services for the collection of the following types of waste: • residential and commercial garbage • recyclable materials • hazardous waste The County has entered into a franchise agreement with Waste Management in order to provide residential and commercial garbage service to more than 150,000 residential units and 6,000 commercial customers. The CCSWDC accepts residential and commercial garbage from the unincorporated areas of Sarasota and from three municipalities (The City of North Port, City of Sarasota, and City of Venice). The franchise agreement is supported by non ad-valorem assessments on all real properties and it includes curbside collection of residential garbage, recyclable materials and yard waste. Items such as tires, motor oil, oil filters, bulk items, white goods and electronics can also be collected curbside. Household hazardous waste is typically not collected curbside due to safety concerns and the cost of handling these items. However, residents and business owners of Sarasota County can take accepted items to one of the County’s Chemical Collection Centers for safe disposal. Residents bringing items generated from non-business related activities are free of charge, while business related hazardous waste is charged a fee. 4 | A u d i t o f L a n d f i l l O p e r a t i o n s A u g u s t 2 0 1 9