Protecting the County and the taxpayer

When I introduce myself as the Missoula County auditor, most people respond with:

"Are you like the IRS?"

"Do you go door to door and audit taxpayers?"

"Nice to meet you, am I in trouble?"

I am pleased to clarify that the county auditor's role is that of an internal auditor. My job is to ensure that county policy is followed and to design internal controls to safeguard against waste, fraud and abuse in county government. Yes, it's as glamorous as it sounds.

One of the most important ways my office guards against abuse is through the claims process. This is a process in which all accounts payable claims go through the auditor's office before payment is issued. We check to make sure each claim is a legitimate county expenditure, all vendors are genuine, the amounts we pay match agreed-upon prices and many other things to make sure the bills we pay are only for authorized expenses. We give special attention to employee reimbursements and purchases made with a county credit card. Not a single reimbursement or credit card payment is made until we look at the charges.

Another important function we perform is to make sure proper procurement procedures are followed. Procurement is the purchase of expensive goods or services, and whether you are talking about "no-bid contracts," nepotism or other forms of favoritism, procurement is where many governments start down the road toward corruption. Both county policy and state statute have quite a lot to say about procurement. The main goal is to make sure the process is competitive, fair and transparent. All documents associated with a large purchase are public, so anyone can see the quotes or proposals the county receives, as well as the scoring sheets county staff use to choose a vendor. This openness ensures the county will choose a vendor based only on the fact that they will provide the best solution to a problem or the best price for a product. There are no "blackholes" allowed in our procurement process.

Does all of this sound too negative? I prefer to emphasize the fact that we are protecting the county government and its staff, as well as the taxpayers. If we do things the right way, then we can all sleep well at night. Do I look over people's shoulder? Sure, but I also provide guidance and support. It's really just about designing the right processes and procedures.

From top to bottom, your county government is full of hard-working, dedicated, honest people. Having a robust system of controls in place gives both county staff and the public assurance that Missoula County government operates on an ethical plane far above what we often hear about at other levels of government. I work hard to play an important role in that assurance, and I'm proud to be your county auditor.