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Controller seeks consistent cost‑allocation method; some commissioners worry it could limit access to legal services
Summary
County staff proposed expanding cost allocations to include HR, accounting and legal services and to base charges on measurable metrics (FTEs, devices) with a five‑year rolling average. At least one commissioner warned the approach could create a disincentive to seek required legal services and urged further internal discussion.
The county controller presented a plan to standardize internal cost allocations for services such as HR, accounting and legal support. Staff said the change would align with state auditor guidance and national accounting standards and would make departmental allocations more transparent by using consistent bases (for example, FTE counts for HR or device counts for IT). "We're trying to figure out how to do this for the budget," the controller said, describing a path to show each department what it is charged and why.
Several commissioners and department representatives voiced concerns about unintended consequences. One commissioner warned that if departments felt there were strict caps on legal or HR services, "people are just going to say, I'll just look on my eye. I'll just go do it myself," and argued that statutory obligations require legal services. Staff responded that allocations are accounting mechanisms and would be implemented with smoothing methods (a five‑year rolling average) to avoid sudden year‑to‑year spikes and that they would return to commissioners with comparative analyses showing department-level impacts.
