Internal auditor – some additional information

On Monday, December 21st, Andy Peterson at WMT Radio interviewed me and I recorded the interview as we were doing it.  Supposedly Andy replayed the interview  on Tuesday, December 22nd, but I missed it.  I have no idea how many listeners heard the interview, but to avoid any mischaracterization of the interview I am posting it here. 

If you’re interested in the topic, please listen to the interview.  If you have questions or concerns, please send them to mailto:auditor@linncounty.org

If you want to contact Andy, he can be reached at http://www.wmtradio.com

Sometimes we don’t ask the right questions

What’s the cost to remodel Linn County West?  Answer:  $15M according to a December 2nd news story in the Gazette.  What if that’s the wrong question? 

What if we only had $5M to spend on a remodel of Linn County West?  What could we remodel for $5M?  What are the risks that would remain after spending $5M on the remodel?  What would we NOT remodel if we only had $5M to spend? 

What if we only had $5M to spend on the Econofoods building (assuming it was still on the market)?  What could we have remodeled for $5M? 

What if we only had $5M to spend on the Administrative Office Building?  What could we remodel for $5M? 

When we asked Howard R Green for a feasibility study on Linn County West, why didn’t we ask them for What If scenarios for spending only $5M, $10M, or some other amount? 

I think a better way to compare options would have been this:  Assume we only have $X million to spend.  Show me what Options A, B, C, and D would look like if we spend $Xmillion on each one.  List the pros/cons.  Ask for public input. 

When you have $18,000 to spend on a Honda Civic because that’s all you can afford, do you come home with a $45,000 Hummer? 

We can’t afford to spend $15M to remodel Linn County West.  But maybe we can afford to spend $5M to remodel it.  Did anyone ask?

A request to Santa

We emptied out the Auditor’s Suggestion Box today and found a Dear Santa….

Auditor’s suggestion box

In early June, the staff in the Elections Office came up with the idea to place an old aluminum ballot box outside the door of their office.  They taped signs on each side indicating “Questions, Comments, or Concerns”.  They left pens and blank, scrap paper on the counter top.  About once a week, they open the box and scan the contents to me.  I review them and forward them to the other nine County elected officials and others. 

You can view the comments by opening the pdf containing the scanned comments.  The comments are in chronological order from June 11th through November 24, 2009, with June 11^th on page 2 and November 24^th on page 40.  Some of the comments are signed, but the majority are anonymous.  If you left a comment and do not see it, please send an email to mailto:auditor@linncounty.org

You can probably guess what the majority of comments are about.

How much overtime is too much?

No one has answered the original question.

How much overtime per week is too much? Is it 10 hours, 20, 30, or 40 hours? Nine county employees have worked more than 250 hours of overtime in the first 13 weeks of the fiscal year. On average that’s 19.23 hours per week. The “winner” worked 568 regular hours and 546.5 overtime hours, which is an average of 85.73 hours per week.

Which is best practice: Use existing employees and consistently work overtime to fill staffing needs OR have enough employees on-hand and occasionally have them work overtime?

Based upon the data collected by Adam Belz of The Gazette (see above link), it appears using existing employees and working consistent overtime is the best financial solution. If that’s the case, should it be adopted county-wide? If not, why not?

The forty-hour work week was adopted many decades ago for a variety of reasons. Are we ready to say that the 40 hour work week should apply to everyone except those in public safety? What is our responsibility as an employer?

Work the plan and communicate, communicate, communicate

A few weeks ago, Greg Eyerly, the Cedar Rapids Flood Recovery Director, gave a speech to the Downtown Rotary.  My take away from his speech was “work the plan”.  

My intent is to follow the County’s published policies, procedures, and plans.  And why wouldn’t I follow them?  I know I’m an autonomous elected official and I have some latitude to do what I want when I want.  

But does being autonomous give me the right to disregard what’s in the best interests of Linn County – to disregard “the plan”?  Does it give me the right to ignore the policies that have been in effect before I was elected?  

Wasn’t I elected to do what’s in the best interests of the County?  And shouldn’t that override my desire to be autonomous – or to get re-elected – or to win favor with my political party – or to be popular – or to maintain the status quo? 

From time to time, I receive feedback that I’m posting too much information on www.linncountyauditor.org , on this blog, in my tweets, and in emails. Why post information that I’m not required to post?  Is it a part of “the plan”? 

Take a look at Linn County’s Mission Statement.  It says, “It is the mission of the Linn County Government to provide all residents the most efficient and responsive public services, while maintaining sound fiscal management in order to enhance the quality of life in Linn County”.  Isn’t it efficient to anticipate what residents might want to see and post it on the web before they ask?  How do residents know we are practicing sound fiscal management if they cannot see how we are spending taxpayer dollars? 

Along the same lines, the Board of Supervisors has adopted Strategic Goals and Initiatives.  I’ve actually read them and I try to incorporate them into the day-to-day operations of the Auditor’s Office.  

The County’s first strategy is:  Excel in customer satisfaction.  Three of the goals included in this strategy are (B) maintain regular communications with the public, (C) solicit feedback from customers, and (D) establish accountability for customer satisfaction.  

The County’s second strategy is:  Achieve effective communications.  One of the goals included in this strategy is to (D) educate the public by providing information about who we are and what we do. 

The County has plans that have withstood the test of time.  I am going to continue to “work the plans”.  I am going to continue to be autonomous.  I am going to continue to do what’s in the best interests of Linn County – first.  And I am going to continue to communicate, communicate, communicate who we are and what we do until the Vision of the Office of Auditor is realized (Every person engaged in local government) or the public can tell me the difference between the City and the County.

Staff embracing Twitter too

I was minding my own business (actually your business) one day when John Q. Public called me up and asked me what I was doing for him today?  I told him, but he was still confused as to whether I worked for the City or the County.  I tried to explain, but he just couldn’t get it straight.

So I told John Q that I was going to post what I was doing every day on Twitter.  He knew about Twitter and he had a cell phone and he said he’d follow my updates every day because he really wanted to know what I was doing.  And he promised that someday, he’d figure out the difference between the City and the County. 

Look to the right –> and you will see my most recent tweet and the most recent tweets from members of my staff.  Maybe it will help you appreciate what we do.  Maybe it will help you understand that we take transparency in government very seriously in the Auditor’s Office.  Maybe it will help someone understand the difference between the City and the County.

Linn County convicts 10 of election misconduct

From time to time, especially just before an election, we receive inquiries on what happens to voters who might take advantage of Iowa’s election day registration laws. For example, the thought is that a voter might go to one precinct and vote and then go to another precinct and vote a second ballot. Or they request an absentee ballot be sent to their home in Texas – mark the ballot and mail it back to us – and then show up at another precinct on election day and via election day registration laws vote a second ballot. I’m unaware of anyone in Linn County voting two ballots for the same election.

After the November 2008 election, some voters were charged with election misconduct because they voted when they should not have voted, e.g., they lost their right to vote and it had not been restored at the time they voted.

I searched Iowa Courts Online and found ten convictions for election misconduct:

06571 FECR081426
06571 FECR081524
06571 FECR082300
06571 FECR082294
06571 FECR081306
06571 FECR081309
06571 FECR081310
06571 FECR081313
06571 FECR081312
06571 FECR081397

And three cases pending action:

06571 FECR081398
06571 FECR081305
06571 FECR081308

I’m hoping the publicity, if any, of the convictions will discourage people from voting when they should NOT be voting.

And I’m hoping those that have the right to vote will take the time to become educated on the candidates/issues and that they will then exercise their right to vote.

The next election is on Tuesday, September 8th. The polls in Linn County are open from Noon to 8pm. Please make voting a priority in your life.

Wages: Schools versus the County

Once a year, local governments are required to publish the names of their employees and the salaries paid those employees. Sometimes those salaries get some attention, e.g., the total compensation of former CR Schools Superintendent David Markward and other superintendents caught the attention of The Gazette.

But most of the time, schools salaries go unnoticed and I’m unsure why. I view it as a double standard, i.e., there’s one standard for local elected officials, another for city and county employees, and another for school employees. Yet, they all receive funding from property taxes. 

About a month ago, I started asking for and receiving wage and salary information from the major school districts located in Linn County.  I’ve been waiting for The Gazette to gather the data for two years and post it on their Area Governments Salaries Database, but they’ve had a few other priorities.  And gathering the data was not quite as easy as I envisioned as some school districts complained that they had to do extra work to create reports.

I plan to provide the data to the Linn County Compensation Board in January 2010.  And I plan to use the salary information to determine if my employees are being paid a competitive wage to perform the same work as their peers in the schools.

I realize that some people may look at this list and want to take cheap shots at some individuals and positions.  I’m looking at it from the perspective of should a custodian at the county be paid the same as a custodian in the schools and in the cities?  Should a supervisor who supervises 10-15 personnel in a school be paid the same as a supervisor who supervises 10-15 personnel in the county and city?  Is an elected official who manages 50 personnel in the county paid the same as a non-elected manager managing the same number of personnel in the schools or in the city?

For whatever reasons, there are huge variations in pay for similar positions within local governments.  I guess that’s what you get when you have “local control”.  But if the responsibilities are the same, what are the reasons for the variations in pay?  Should the variations be large or small?  And since property taxpayers provide most of the funding for local governments, should there be a universal pay scale for local government employees in Linn County?

The links below will take you to the wage information for schools and the County for FY2008/2009.  I would be interested in your feedback.

• Alburnett Community School District
• Cedar Rapids Community School District
• Center Point – Urbana Community School District
• Central City Community School District
• College Community School District
• Kirkwood Community College
• Linn-Mar Community School District
• Lisbon Community School District
• Marion Independent Community School District
•  Mount Vernon Community School District
• North-Linn Community School District
• Springville Community School District
• County of Linn

 

P.S.  School board elections are one week from today, i.e., Tuesday, September 8th.  The polls open at Noon in Linn County and close at 8pm.

Education is important to Iowans.  Who we hire as employees, how many employees we hire, and how much we pay them are important.  Who we elect to school boards should be equally important. 

Please take the time to become familiar with the candidates and vote.  And then urge your friends and family to do the same.

Request for Input on the AOB and me

I’m collecting input on the Administrative Office Building (AOB) and my performance.  If I tell you why I’m asking for input on the AOB, I may prejudice your answer. 

As for the input on me, I stole this question from former Mayor Ed Koch of New York City.  He was famous for asking the public:  How am I doing?  

When was the last time a public servant – let alone an elected official asked you:  How am I doing?

How am I doing as your County Auditor? (1 is the worst and 5 is the best)(answers) 

Do you believe Linn County’s Administrative Office Building will be damaged again by flood waters before flood protection is installed?(answers)

Is reoccupying Linn County’s Administrative Office Building important to revitalizing the Downtown?(online surveys)

P.S.  I would like to see at least 100 votes in each poll.  Please forward these polls to your friends.