Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Committee Goals Audit Workplan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DeKalb County FAB Committee identifies financial reviews, court system and audit work plan as priorities
Summary
Committee members asked for regular financial reviews, primers on county funds, standardized budget presentations from constitutional officers and scheduled a briefing from the internal audit office on its annual work plan and follow-up reporting.
The Finance, Audit and Budget Committee spent the latter portion of its meeting discussing goals for the year, focusing on regular financial reviews, better briefings from constitutional officers and a planned presentation of the audit office's annual work plan.
Commissioner Michelle Long Spears suggested quarterly or every-other-month reviews of financial statements so commissioners could track revenues and expenditures more regularly. Commissioners also asked for primers on the county's funds (for example, fire, police and designated services funds) so newer commissioners could understand fund structures, millage distinctions and where requests originate.
Several commissioners asked that constitutional officers and the court system provide standardized, comparable budget briefing materials so committee members can "compare apples to apples" during budget deliberations. Committee members proposed asking departments and constitutionals to use a consistent format when requesting enhancements or presenting budget data to the committee.
Director Campbell described the internal audit office's risk-based process for developing the annual work plan: the office maintains an inventory of auditable areas, solicits input from commissioners and the public, and evaluates emerging risks and similar-jurisdiction practices. Campbell agreed to return to a future FAB meeting with the audit office's proposed work plan and a summary of recently issued audit findings and management action plans. He also said the audit office follows up on prior audit recommendations and can report implementation status to the committee.
The committee discussed court system performance and backlog as a high-priority area. Commissioners asked staff to invite constitutional officers and representatives of the court system to brief FAB on operational needs, staffing and CIP projects that could affect case processing times. Commissioners said reducing court backlog has potential budgetary impacts, including jail costs and related public-safety expenditures.
Other procedural improvements the committee endorsed included standardizing budget request templates for constitutional officers and planning a sequence of fund-focused briefings to deepen commissioner familiarity with county finances.
Next steps: Director Campbell will present the internal audit office's annual work plan and a summary of recent audits and follow-ups at a future FAB meeting; staff will coordinate primers on county funds and standardized budget templates for constitutionals.
