Dispute could shut Suffolk victims services group, officials say

An Islandia nonprofit that assists domestic violence and sexual assault victims for Suffolk County says it may have to shut its doors because of a dispute over hundreds of thousands of dollars that officials say the agency owes the county.

Suffolk officials are seeking about $370,000 from the Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk, known as VIBS, following a pair of audits that found the agency overbilled the county for its services.

County Comptroller John M. Kennedy said Tuesday there is "ongoing dialogue" between the office of County Attorney Dennis Brown and VIBS officials to resolve the dispute. 

VIBS officials said the nonprofit, which serves about 12,000 people annually, cannot afford to pay back the full amount but has offered to repay up to $200,000. They say the county has declined the offer.

Walter Stockton, chief executive of Manorville nonprofit Independent Group Home Living Program, which has managed VIBS since 2016, said the county has offered to accept 75% of the amount owed, or about $277,500, to settle the matter. He said an anonymous donor has offered to help repay the county, but VIBS is "teetering" financially and could close if the two sides cannot reach a settlement.

“The finances are getting tighter and tighter, obviously,” Stockton said. “... We have a plan to go forward, but not with that hanging over our head.”

The county pays VIBS a total of $747,549 annually to provide a variety of programs for the social services and probation departments, including counseling and legal assistance for rape victims and psychological testing of offenders with mental illnesses, Suffolk officials said. 

Stockton said the county funds represent about 25% of VIBS' $3 million annual budget.

The dispute stems from a pair of audits prepared last year by Kennedy's office. The first, covering the years 2015 and 2016, found VIBS overcharged the county $231,120 because of what Kennedy said then were poor internal controls by VIBS employees. About half that total included “numerous inconsistencies” in salaries claimed for the county program and the actual hours worked, the audit said.

Another audit covering 2014 found an additional $140,000 worth of overbilling, Kennedy said.

The audits were for years before Independent Group Home Living took over VIBS.

Kennedy said he supports VIBS and its mission, calling it "a paragon of service." But he said he is obligated to protect taxpayers and recover the missing funds, adding so far he has recovered less than $20,000 from VIBS.

“I don’t get to pick and choose which agencies I get to recover from,” Kennedy said. “We’re recovering, but we’re taking a kid glove treatment of them.”

Stockton said he does not dispute the figures, blaming the errors on well-intentioned but poorly trained staff who did not know how to properly comply with county record-keeping requirements.

“We’ve tried to negotiate with him [Kennedy] and tried to tell him that there is no money to pay that,” Stockton said. "The county has no problem sending out auditors to audit a place like VIBS, but they don’t send in anyone to tell them how to run it.”

Kennedy said the county could help train VIBS staff if asked to do so.

Legis. Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), a member of the Legislature's Veterans and Human Services Committee, said she hopes the dispute can be resolved amicably, adding that VIBS provides vital services.

“Have we allowed other agencies to not pay in full?" she said. "If they’ve never been allowed, then there’s no precedent for that. If it has been allowed, we have to consider the needs … and what’s in the public good.”

In a statement, Marykate Guilfoyle, a spokeswoman for County Executive Steve Bellone, said VIBS provides "a critical service," adding Bellone's office is "ready to assist in any way that we can.”

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.