There’s nothing quite like Jefferson County government.
In recent years, $1 million worth of computer parts could not be tracked down, and public records have disappeared. And let’s not forget the spectacularly improper series of sexually explicit “Pinky T” faxes that led to big legal bills and a commissioner’s resignation.
Of all governments in the metro area, this is one that needs oversight. That’s why we find the abrupt dissolution of Jeffco’s internal audit department so troubling.
Last month, Jefferson County commissioners voted 2-1 to eliminate the office, with commissioners Kathy Hartman and Faye Griffin supporting the move, and Commissioner Kevin McCasky voting against it.
The two commissioners said the move would save more than $200,000, and an external auditor would have a “higher level of objectivity.”
However, Hartman told Denver Post reporter Karen Crummy that no cost-benefit analysis had been done in advance of the decision to ensure it was a money-saver.
She called that an error. We agree.
Furthermore, a member of the county’s volunteer audit committee — himself an auditor — said it would be more expensive to get outside help to backfill the tasks the internal auditor had done. And the Colorado auditor’s office said an internal auditor is superior to external auditing.
So, why did Jeffco commissioners get rid of their internal auditor? We’re left to wonder.
Jeffco government has a recent history of the kind of shenanigans that scream out for oversight.
An audit in recent years, which the now-unemployed internal auditor took part in, revealed more than $1 million in computer parts from county inventory were unaccountable. The county’s technology chief was terminated as a result of the audit.
And then there were the infamous “Pinky T” faxes. In 2005, commissioner Rick Sheehan resigned after it became public that his relatives sent some raunchy faxes, signed Pinky T., that accused some prominent Jeffco residents of improprieties.
The episode cost Jeffco more than $60,000 in disputed legal bills — incurred before the county had an internal auditor. The position was created around that time.
Now, it’s one thing if the commission decided they were unhappy with the performance of this auditor and decided to hire another, but that’s not what they’re doing.
Instead, commissioners have justified the action by saying auditor Susan Johnson hadn’t found any “significant savings.” We might remind them of the $1 million in computer parts she found had gone missing and the multitude of other audits she did, finding problems, large and small, in many county departments.
The county’s justification for doing away with the internal audit office is thin, to say the least.
Jeffco says no other counties have an internal auditor. But given its history, it would be smart to keep the oversight of an internal auditor.
The county’s elected commission should rethink this decision.
