County Auditor

The following text contains minutes of the 1/3/08 organizational meeting and the discussion held around the County Auditor position.

"On motion of Mr. Troy, second by Ms. Price Agenda No 4 was introduced. Mr. Williams made a motion that this be tabled for a month due to the confusion with the job description and what the Auditor does. Mr. Willcox seconded motion. Mr. Williams referred to County Law and the evaluation prepared by the County Administrator stating that Mr. Whitt has served as the key staff administrator to two previous Chairs. He said he is not looking at getting rid of anyone, just a definition of what this position does and if he is working out of title, review the position, create the proper title that embraces what he actually does.

He requested that the Personnel Officer review the position and report back to us in a month. Mr. Troy said that was addressed in caucus and these issues need to be addressed through the Personnel Committee to insure the job description comes in line with exactly what he does. He said that Mr. Whitt has done a fine job for the County and it is important to move forward with the appointment. Mr. Williams asked Mr. Suben in light of County Law 600, can we change that position after appointment is made under our term of the legislature. Mr. Suben said it depends on what you mean by change. I don’t think you can change the duties but believe you can limit what type audits are made rather than change it to a non-audit position. Mr. Williams said that he believes much of what he does now is non-audit and we need to look at what he does and align his job description with reality.

Mr. Tagliente said the reality is that somebody has been doing the audits and Mr. Whitt does the internal audits. Mr. Tagliente further said that we can procrastinate on this forever and if there is an axe to grind so be it. Mr. Waldbauer said that he is new to the legislature however has heard Mr. Whitt performs duties unrelated to his job description and may do it well, however believes what is being discussed is that it should be incorporated into his duties and responsibilities.

Mr. Schrader said that any office of the County is going to have duties and responsibilities assigned by the legislature. If you want the County Auditor to just focus on financial matters, that is your prerogative. Ms. Wilcox asked if we can also rein him in to do just the job of County Auditor. Mr. Schrader said absolutely, his duties and responsibilities are outlined in the law and you can restrict anything outside of that.

Mr. Willcox read from the evaluation that the Auditor’s job description under typical work activity “is to provide to the County Administrator and Legislature copies of all reports”. In the 4 years that I have been here I can remember 3 at the very most. Mr. Schrader said he was surprised because there were instances where Mr. Willcox met with Mr. Whitt to perform an audit of the Sheriff Department vehicle repair work. Mr. Willcox said that is one. Mr. Schrader said there are numerous instances of that type that have occurred. There have been departmental audits conducted by the state and reports have been generated to the legislature. The single audit is another instance where much work was done by Mr. Whitt to generate the report to the legislature.

Mr. Williams again referred to County Law 600 and asked Mr. Suben if he thinks that we have the ability to have this position do whatever we assign. Mr. Suben said he appreciated the opportunity to correct his prior advice. After rereading County Law and hearing Mr. Schrader’s view, the law’s wording states “in such other matter as may be deemed appropriate”. It seems that clause would give you the opportunity to define additional duties (in addition to audits) that you deem proper.

A roll call vote to table the appointment was taken with Ms. Arnold, Mr. Ross, Mr. Waldbauer, Ms. Wilcox, Mr. Willcox, Mr. Williams voting aye and Mr. Cornell, Mr. Dafoe, Mr. Daniels, Mr. Hartnett, Mr. Loomis, Mr. McKee, Mr. Piombo, Ms. Price, Mr. Spaulding, Mr. Steger, Mr. Tagliente, Mr. Troy, Ms. Tytler, voting nay. Motion defeated. The Chairman called for a roll call vote on the appointment of Mr. Whitt with all members voting aye."

THIS is the job description for the position:

COUNTY AUDITOR
Jurisdiction: Cortland County
Jurisdictional Class: Competitive
Adopted: 6/20/03
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS: The work involves responsibility for conducting internal auditing of county departments and agencies, monitoring vendor contracts and payments, and reconciliation of reimbursement claims. The position is responsible for insuring that all account keeping procedures and contractual services are carried out in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and policies governing local governments. The incumbent will provide technical oversight and coordination of account keeping activities for county departments. The work is performed under the general supervision of the County Administrator. Does related work as required.

TYPICAL WORK ACTIVITIES (illustrative only)

• Audits all such claims, accounts, and demands which would otherwise be audited by the Legislature in accordance with County Law;
• Interfaces with county department heads and senior personnel regarding improvements in departmental accounting practices and ascertains that existing practices are accurate and workable;
• Conducts audits of county departments, receiving or dispersing money;
• Conducts audits of non-profit agencies that receive county funding;
• Conducts audit of hotels and bed & breakfast establishments for compliance with hotel tax;
• Trains subordinate staff in office procedures;
• Audits financial records and accounts of all units of county government charged with duties relating to funds of the county;
• Specific audit and monitoring duties related to expenditures of federal/state financial assistance provided to sub-recipients by the county in accordance with applicable laws and regulations;
• Reviews financial claims against the county with emphasis on contracted service agreements;
• Reconciles county claims in all departments for state and federal aid reimbursement;
• Audits payroll records;
• Conducts internal audits of county departments for compliance with federal and state regulations and county policies and systems;
• Monitors delinquent and aged receivable accounts for collection;
• Assists with internal account reconciliation in the County Auditor's Office;
• Monitors corrective action procedures for department as needed;
• May prepare reports in all accounting areas of county departments under the directive of the County Auditor.
  

FULL PERFORMANCE, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITES:

• Thorough knowledge of modem account keeping practices and terminology;
• Thorough knowledge of the terminology, practices and procedures of data processing system;
• Thorough knowledge of office terminology, procedures and equipment; County Auditor
• Thorough knowledge of business English;
• Good knowledge of federal, state and local laws and regulations which affect the accounting practices of local governments;
• Ability to develop, effectively implement and maintain accounting systems and procedures in conformance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations;
• Ability to comprehend, analyze and develop procedures to deal with unusual or complex accounting problems;
• Ability to comprehend and analyze problems in the input and output of computer information;
• Ability to understand and carry out complex oral and written instructions;
• Ability to prepare accurate correspondence and reports;
• Ability to read and understand financial statements;
• Physical condition commensurate with the demands of the position.
  

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Graduation from a regionally accredited or NYS registered college or university with an associates degree in accounting or related field and four (4) years of full time paid (or the equivalent part-time and/or volunteer) accounting experience with general ledger, balance sheets and expenditure auditing; OR
• Graduation from high school or a high school equivalency diploma and six (6) years of full time paid (or the equivalent part-time and/or volunteer) accounting experience with general ledger, balance sheets and expenditure auditing; OR
• Any equivalent combination of training and experience as described in (A) and (B) above.

THE 2009 ADOPTED BUDGET FOR THIS POSITION - $62,300

FOR A HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE WITH 6 YEARS EXPERIENCE!!! That is $5,000 more than the County Treasurer and $10,000 more than the Deputy Treasurer.