|
Issues
- Controlling Expenditures
The first issue facing Will County is living with the tax cap and controlling
expenditures. To stay on top of this we pre-audit the entire $233 million
budget before the check goes out the door. I report budget to actual
exceptions to the County board Finance committee monthly instead of just
quarterly. Most County auditors don't interpret the statutory duty this
intensely. We maintain a continuous compliance audit on contracts to
assure that Will County pays what was contracted for, and no more.
Revenues are monitored monthly and any significant fluctuation is
investigated and documented.
- Who will be the Taxpayer's Watchdog?
The next issue is who will make the most of this office and truly be, the
Taxpayers Watchdog. Experience does count. I have eighteen years of it in
this office. I started as a staff accountant fresh out of Lewis University and
was rapidly promoted to Chief Deputy Auditor in the same year. I
passed the CPA exam and worked under three different Auditors both
republican and democrat. My record of fraud detection speaks for itself.
I started performance audits and ghost payroll audits at Will County. You
may recall the Michelle Plunge case at the Nursing Home. My audit
disclosed theft from the senior's trust account. A performance audit
uncovered the ghost payroll and official misconduct at the Juvenile jail.
It makes sense to have an auditor in this seat. I am also a member of the
certified Fraud Examiners and sworn in as a Special Investigator
to the States Attorney.
- Full Disclosure
The Auditor is also the Counties accountant. Can the taxpayers rely on
the numbers in the financials? My methodology is simple FULL DISCLOSURE!
Our financials not only get a clean opinion from the outside auditors' but
receive additional scrutiny from the GFOA and receive yearly awards.
Our inventory and my fixed asset accounting received national recognition
in an eight page case study. Now I will be presenting seminars on this topic.
- Efficiency and Technology
The county needs to continue to run more like a business, more efficient.
I am a member of the technology committee and chair the automation
committee. This committee is responsible for our direct deposit,
online budgeting, purchasing, receiving, financials, CAFR. integrated
payroll & HR, management reports. We now pay our bills in less than
five days. It used to be 15-30 days with late fees. We now have standard
accounting policies and procedures, payment due dates and electronic
procurement cards with fraud detection .This is the main reason I ran
for this office, because I can help here.
- Fraud Detection
Continue the procurement card implementation and increase the amount
of fraud detection audits. I am in the process of reviewing the information
technology weaknesses throughout the County; this is a new area for
infiltration and abuse.We have identified the high risk areas and now
must audit them. Disaster recovery is also on the agenda and is about
40% complete. I will continue to identify slow, cumbersome processes
and find new ways to make this County a great example to others.
- Steve Weber
|
|
