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Board hears proposal to realign auditor duties; asks administration for formal resolution
Summary
After a lengthy discussion about county audit responsibilities and whether accounts-payable functions should be centralized in administration, the board asked staff to prepare a resolution for the full board to consider clarifying statutory duties and operational arrangements for producing the annual audit.
Committee members discussed preliminary research and a proposed reorganization of some tasks currently performed in the elected county auditor’s office. Administration presented materials identifying statutory duties of the elected county auditor, the role of the external auditor (CliftonLarsonAllen), and options used in peer counties for handling accounts-payable and trial-balance assembly that inform the annual comprehensive audit.
Speakers noted the county’s consolidated audit for FY24 has been delayed and that some core accounting and trial-balance work traditionally provided by the auditor’s office is not being completed in a way that supports timely external audit completion. Administration said the proposal under consideration would retain the elected auditor’s statutory review powers while moving day-to-day accounts-payable and related accounting tasks into a centralized finance function within the executive branch — an approach some peer counties use — to ensure consistent monthly close and better support for an external auditor.
The meeting’s discussion did not produce board-level policy changes; members asked for a formal resolution that would place proposed changes on a future full-board agenda so the body can decide with appropriate legal review, labor analysis and statutory counsel input. Board members emphasized the need for clarity about which duties are statutory to the elected auditor and which are administrative functions other offices can perform.
Ending: Administration was asked to draft a resolution and supporting analysis for full-board consideration, including statutory citations, comparative county examples and budget implications to be discussed at a future meeting.
