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LETTERS AND EDITORIAL - OTHER
FINANCIAL REPORT AVAILABILITY FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2007
Update: Commissioners Tighe and Wissel respond to enquiry regarding county financial statements...
In response to the letter from the Bulletin to commissioner candidates (see below), both Tighe and Wissel offered their explanation and comments regarding the delays in preparation of 2007 financial statements.
District 1 Commissioner and candidate John Tighe says that the formal presentation of the financial reports has been scheduled for Thursday, July 31, 2008. This date is after the beginning of voting for the current primary election and only 12 days before the official election day. The current online agenda, however, lists the following for that day:
Consideration and/or Decision On The Following Items
Presentation of the 2007 Financial Report (Kathy Boyce) Postponed
Commissioner Tighe also commented as follows on the dates from last year's reporting schedules noted in the Bulletin's letter.
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"Although the 2006 auditor’s opinion letter was signed on April 13, 2007, the 2006 financial statements were not completed until late June 2007. The April 13, 2007 date marks completion of the auditor’s physical visit to the County offices in Fairplay."
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Financial professionals point out, however, that the signing of the auditor's opinion letter (April 13 in the above case) is the very last step in the audit process indicating that the audit of the books is finished. It has nothing to do with the date that the auditor was on a "physical visit" to the offices. Auditors issue their opinions when all on-site and off-site audit work on the county's books is completed. Tighe also states that the previous year's financials weren't completed until "late June" but the county signed the comprehensive report documents on June 8, 2007. (See list of release dates below.)
On the 2007 financial reports published online on Monday, July 28, 2008, the Finance Director's letter presenting the comprehensive financial reports matches, coincidentally, the date of the auditor's signature on the opinion letter. Both the opinion letter and the Director's signed comprehensive report carry a date of July 16, 2008 - a first-time coincidence. Does that indicate that it takes no time at all between the completion of the audit and the release of the county's financial statements, and delays in the past were unnecessary? Or does it indicate that there is something unusual about the arrangement of the release of financial reports in this election year?
The issue remains that the release of the 2007 financial reports is unnecessarily late this year and the explanations of why it should have been delayed until after the beginning of mail voting fall flat. Tighe also seems to misunderstand the county's financial reporting processes and timing.
In past years, the date references in completed county financial reports read as follows:
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Auditor
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Calendar Year
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Auditor
Completion/Opinion
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Finance Director
Signed/Released
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McMahan & Assoc
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2004
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May 18, 2005
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unknown/unsigned
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John Cutler & Assoc
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2005
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April 14, 2006
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June 15, 2006
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John Cutler & Assoc
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2006
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April 13, 2007
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June 8, 2007
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John Cutler & Assoc
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2007
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July 16, 2008
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July 16, 2008
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District 3 Commissioner and candidate Lillian Wissel responded to our enquiry even though she was not serving as commissioner either in 2007 or in the early Spring of 2008 when this work would normally have begun. Wissel did not take office until May 2008. She responds, in part, as follows:
"In a conversation July 28, 2008 with the Director of Finance she informed me that due to health issues within her department and other County emergencies she was unable to complete the statutory guidelines required of her."
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Wissel goes on to say,
"The Board of County Commissioners, sitting as the Chief Budget Officers for the County have to take full responsibility for what goes on with the budget each year. We are responsible to the citizens for what the budget contains. "
"[The auditor] does not report on whether or not we allocated those funds to be spent to the appropriate uses. This is something that I believe the citizens of this county should decide. Please take the time and review the budget, now that it is easily available. After all it is your tax dollars, how and where they are being spent, that you are reviewing.
I hope that you will take time to look at our Park County web site (http://www.parkco.us) and review the final 2007 budget, that you have waited patiently for."
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OPEN LETTER TO COMMISSIONER CANDIDATES TIGHE AND WISSEL
County's Failure to Provide 2007 Audit
(July 26, 2008)
In past years, the audit of the county books (actual revenues and expenditures) has been completed in the spring following the close of the year. For instance, last year, the auditor's opinion letter regarding 2006 financial reporting was signed on April 13, 2007. The supplemental financial reports written by the finance director were dated shortly after the completion of the audit and those reports were then published on the county's website.
Finance Director Kathy Boyce told the Bulletin in a 2006 interview that county financial reports for the previous year were generally completed and available on the county website around May of the following year.
In this election year, however, the audit and financial reports have not been published on the website in Documents for public review for the year ended December 31, 2007, even though we are now in late July. There should be little or no cost involved in uploading these documents onto the county website, so budget is not likely the reason. If space on your server and/or bandwidth are issues, you might consider curtailing the personal and family use of our county's servers and bandwidth by so many county employees and elected officials.
In light of the free availability of county web and server space, can you please explain why the auditor's report and financials for 2007 have not been published this year on the Park County website as in past years?
Due to primary election timetables, your prompt response would be appreciated so that the voters can make informed choices.
Thank you.
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