NORWICH – Chenango County has accumulated more than $800,000 in outstanding debt within its fraud unit, Department of Social Services Commissioner Bette Osborne told two committees this week. The amount has accumulated over a 6 to 8-year period and is primarily the result of errors within the department and recipient fraud.

Approximately $35,000 per year is currently collected, Osborne said, but a recent New York State audit has advised DSS to do a better job. Chenango County is one of 48 counties in the state that were cited for accumulating too much fraud debt.

The amount outstanding includes $265,000 in Medicaid; $260,000 in Temporary Assistance; $157,000 in Food Stamps; $118,000 in Family Emergency Services; $2,000 in Day Care; and $1,000 in HEAP.

“This has not been my intent, nor my predecessor’s. This has been a case of the smaller alligator biting me. I thought this was the standard. It is hard to collect these. Some counties actually have hired collection agencies,” Osborne told the Health and Human Services Committee Tuesday.

The county accumulated $241,000 in debt in 2006.

Osborne received permission from Health and Human Services and the Personnel Committee to promote an existing account clerk/typist who would be able to call, write letters, and do repayment schedules with clients.

“The fraud unit gets court-ordered claims in and establishes liens, but then collections seems to fall short. There is nobody now to do this,” she said.