Commissioner and auditor say final county budget documents are not accessible to commissioners

Commissioner Munson and the county auditor raised concerns that detailed, approved budget files are not available to committee members and to the auditor, leaving portfolio holders without the line-item information they said is necessary to manage department budgets.

"I've requested it five times. I've not received it yet," Commissioner Munson said when asked about access to the final approved budget. He told the committee he had only a preliminary budget and a three-page synopsis posted online; he said county staff had not delivered the complete line-item document he requested and that he had submitted multiple requests through the commissioner who holds the portfolio.

The committee27s auditor told the group they had been denied access to the TV drive since a changeover and had only preliminary numbers: "The fact that that's not out there is very troublesome to me," the auditor said, adding that commissioners should have ready access to financial records. Committee members noted the county had not yet appointed a permanent finance director and was using an outside accounting firm under a recently signed contract; those changes, they said, complicate routine staff access to final documents.

What the committee will do next: members flagged the problem as a governance issue and the chair said she would pursue different routes for obtaining necessary information. No formal vote on budget transparency was taken at the meeting; the concern was recorded for follow-up and for discussion in upcoming budget-related meetings and in the April committee agenda.