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County finance staff offer the commission fiscal analyses and audit support
Summary
Clark County finance and audit staff told the Charter Review Commission they can provide financial reports and analysis for proposed charter amendments and recommended committees submit draft language to get accurate fiscal feedback.
At the start of the March 31 meeting county finance staff told the Charter Review Commission they can assist with fiscal analyses and reporting as the commission drafts charter amendments.
Mark Gassaway, identified himself to commissioners as Clark County’s finance director and noted he has served the county for more than two decades. He said finance staff would be available to help the commission understand the budgetary impact of proposed amendments and offered the county’s resources to study fiscal effects.
Mitchell Kelly, the county’s reporting and analysis manager, described the county’s financial reports, including the full annual comprehensive financial report and a condensed "popular annual financial report" intended to make data more accessible. Kelly said Clark County’s general fund is the primary source of revenue and that roughly 75% of that fund pays for law-and-justice activities including the sheriff’s office, courts, corrections and public defense. He also noted the county received the Government Finance Officers Association’s certificate of achievement for 45 consecutive years.
Audit services manager Larry Stafford summarized the county’s internal-audit program and said audit services conducts regular analytical reviews and performance audits consistent with government auditing standards; he offered the audit team’s support to the commission and said internal-audit summaries are publicly posted.
The commission welcomed the offer and the chair asked committees to submit detailed policy forms and any draft charter language to county finance and audit staff to obtain more precise fiscal feedback as amendments move through second readings and study-committee review.
Why it matters: Several amendments under consideration propose changes with direct budget impacts (staffing mandates, tax thresholds, or new services). Commissioners and the invited council chair explicitly requested fiscal and legal analyses to inform whether proposals are feasible and to estimate costs for potential ballot measures.
