City refutes claims it was overpaid

A Kenosha official is steadfastly denying the city committed fraud with regard to state payments it has received for providing police protection on the University of Wisconsin-Parkside campus.

City Administrator Frank Pacetti said he did not understand why the state is now trying to recoup more than $350,000 that it claims it overpaid the city for services that were not provided.

“It’s offensive for somebody from Madison to accuse us of fraud,” Pacetti said Friday.

Harald Jordahl, a deputy administrator in the state Department of Administration, said he believed the overpayment was the result of a state database error. Jordahl and Pacetti are set to meet Monday to discuss the issue, Pacetti said.

Reports surfaced Thursday that Kenosha and Janesville together received about $434,000 in Municipal Service Payment program funds for police services that were not actually provided to UW System campuses over the last two years.

The state received notice of the alleged overpayments by way of an anonymous tip left on a new fraud and waste hotline administered by the Legislative Audit Bureau. Sen. Kitty Rhoades, R-Hudson, co-chairwoman of the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee, temporarily stopped the next round of payments, scheduled for February.

Communities receive Municipal Service Payments for providing local police, fire and waste-hauling services to state-owned properties. Payment amounts are established by the state, using a formula that takes into account property values and levels of service.

Kenosha this year received $658,625 and is set to accept $472,574 in February 2009 — a reduced figure that takes the state’s concerns into account. These amounts also factor in services provided to the state-owned Division of Motor Vehicle Centers, the Kenosha Correctional Center, 6353 14th Ave., and the National Guard armory, though the vast majority corresponds to Parkside.

Jordahl said it appeared a reduction in the city’s payment should have been made earlier because of the presence of the UW-Parkside Police Department, which provides first-response to incidents on the campus.

“It was a database mistake,” Jordahl said.

But Pacetti pointed to agreements in place since 1990, stating the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department would provide second response, with the Kenosha Police Department providing third response, when necessary. A city-county pact states the city will collect the state reimbursements and pass $43,000 to the county annually, a figure that has not changed in 18 years.

The Kenosha Fire Department is the first responder to fire and rescue calls on the campus, with Somers receiving 10 percent of the state reimbursement each year to provide secondary service.

Pacetti also produced a 1990 letter from the state Department of Administration, certifying that the city meets all of the legal requirements to provide fire, rescue and police service to Parkside.

Parkside has had its own police department since the campus opened in 1968. It employs sworn officers who carry the same authority as municipal and county officers.

William Streeter, Parkside’s vice chancellor for administrative and fiscal affairs, said he believes the campus has received the services enumerated in the 1990 agreements.

“We’ve certainly been getting the fire protection, and we’ve gotten backup from the Kenosha Sheriff’s Department when we need it,” Streeter said.

Pacetti said nothing has changed since 1990, making him question why the payments are becoming an issue now. He said he is open to negotiating with the state, though he does not believe reimbursement of past over-payments is a matter for discussion.

State law dictates that the state could only seek reimbursement for the last two years of payments. Jordahl said he was unaware if, or how long, the city has been overpaid.

Pacetti reiterated that the state has set the amount each year.

“This is a program that was designed by the state, managed by the state, promulgated by the state, and we were simply following the rules,” Pacetti said.