Commissioners address media report on audit
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Commissioners address media report on audit
Highland County Commissioners Shane Wilkin, Tom Horst and Gary Heaton responded today to a report in another media company regarding the county's financial audit for 2009.
Commissioner Heaton told The Highland County Press he felt the report was misleading in several areas.
"Due to the uncertainty over county revenues going into 2009, we started that year with a temporary budget," Heaton said. "When we saw revenues falling dramatically, we re-adjusted our annual budget to reflect the revenues. We ended 2009 with a balanced budget and a carryover for 2010. This was due to the management practices put in place by all three commissioners and county department heads."
The commissioners submitted the following letter to address the report.
The Highland County Board of Commissioners is compelled to respond to the article in the Times-Gazette on Oct. 4, 2010 regarding the 2009 Audit conducted by the Auditor of State's Office.
1. The finding that the county failed to prepare its financial report is deceiving. The County determined several years ago that it cost
much more to convert to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principle (GAAP) than to pay the fine for continuing on a cash basis of
accounting. In the past few years, there has been a movement by many counties to abandon the GAAP system and return to a cash basis of
accounting.
2. The County has made great strides to improve the number of purchase orders approved prior to making a purchase. Educating the departments
is the key to resolving this problem. In 2008, the audit found 31% of purchases made without prior certification (purchase order). In 2009,
the percentage dropped to 28%. We have every reason to believe this improvement will continue.
3. It is ironic that the Board of Commissioners reduced the budget by $1,273,212.76 and subsequently cited for the original appropriations
exceeding the estimated resources. The DHL pullout created an air of uncertainty that prompted the Board to adopt a temporary three-month
budget of $10,621,498.04. In April of 2009, the budget was reviewed, revised, and adopted as a permanent budget of $10,058,042.48. By the
end of the year, with cooperation from all departments, we made further cuts and reduced the budget to $9,348,285.28. Yes, our
original appropriation exceeded our estimated revenue. Yes, we reduced our budget drastically, cut expenses, and realized a modest carry-over in 2010.
4. The Board of Commissioners addressed this finding in the audit report.
Commissioners Answer to Probation Department Discipline
The 2009 Highland County audit, conducted by the Auditor of the State of Ohio, resulted in a finding against the Probation Department, concerning a discrepancy between receipts issued and deposits made to the county treasury. Even though the audit investigation could not trace missing funds to any specific employee, the audit named the Department Coordinator as the employee responsible for the deposits and made their finding against him.
The Board of Commissioners does not micro-manage the county departments. Elected officials and department heads are the departmental decision makers. It is the responsibility of the the Chief Probation Officer and the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee, the governing board of the Probation Department, to take action, if any, regarding this issue. Any questions regarding disciplinary action in this matter should be directed to the Chief Probation Officer.
The Board of Commissioners requested and received from the Chief Probation Officer an outline of the plan of action implemented to strengthen the accounting and record keeping procedures in the Probation Department. The Chief Probation Officer also presented to the Board of Commissioners his plan to reimburse the County for the cost of the special audit.
Highland County Commissioners Shane Wilkin, Tom Horst and Gary Heaton responded today to a report in another media company regarding the county's financial audit for 2009.
Commissioner Heaton told The Highland County Press he felt the report was misleading in several areas.
"Due to the uncertainty over county revenues going into 2009, we started that year with a temporary budget," Heaton said. "When we saw revenues falling dramatically, we re-adjusted our annual budget to reflect the revenues. We ended 2009 with a balanced budget and a carryover for 2010. This was due to the management practices put in place by all three commissioners and county department heads."
The commissioners submitted the following letter to address the report.
The Highland County Board of Commissioners is compelled to respond to the article in the Times-Gazette (owned by Ohio Community Media) on Oct. 4, 2010 regarding the 2009 Audit conducted by the Auditor of State's Office.
1. The finding that the county failed to prepare its financial report is deceiving. The County determined several years ago that it cost much more to convert to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principle (GAAP) than to pay the fine for continuing on a cash basis of accounting. In the past few years, there has been a movement by many counties to abandon the GAAP system and return to a cash basis of accounting.
2. The County has made great strides to improve the number of purchase orders approved prior to making a purchase. Educating the departments is the key to resolving this problem. In 2008, the audit found 31% of purchases made without prior certification (purchase order). In 2009, the percentage dropped to 28%. We have every reason to believe this improvement will continue.
3. It is ironic that the Board of Commissioners reduced the budget by $1,273,212.76 and subsequently cited for the original appropriations exceeding the estimated resources. The DHL pullout created an air of uncertainty that prompted the Board to adopt a temporary three-month budget of $10,621,498.04. In April of 2009, the budget was reviewed, revised, and adopted as a permanent budget of $10,058,042.48. By the end of the year, with cooperation from all departments, we made further cuts and reduced the budget to $9,348,285.28. Yes, our original appropriation exceeded our estimated revenue. Yes, we reduced our budget drastically, cut expenses, and realized a modest carry-over in 2010.
4. The Board of Commissioners addressed this finding in the audit report.
Commissioners Answer to Probation Department Discipline
The 2009 Highland County audit, conducted by the Auditor of the State of Ohio, resulted in a finding against the Probation Department, concerning a discrepancy between receipts issued and deposits made to the county treasury. Even though the audit investigation could not trace missing funds to any specific employee, the audit named the Department Coordinator as the employee responsible for the deposits and made their finding against him.
The Board of Commissioners does not micro-manage the county departments. Elected officials and department heads are the departmental decision makers. It is the responsibility of the the Chief Probation Officer and the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee, the governing board of the Probation Department, to take action, if any, regarding this issue. Any questions regarding disciplinary action in this matter should be directed to the Chief Probation Officer.
The Board of Commissioners requested and received from the Chief Probation Officer an outline of the plan of action implemented to strengthen the accounting and record keeping procedures in the Probation Department. The Chief Probation Officer also presented to the Board of Commissioners his plan to reimburse the County for the cost of the special audit.
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