Council looks at auditing changes
By Michael Davis Staff Writer
Online: Hear City Attorney Randy Nelson talk about auditing issues. The Chattanooga City Charter states that the city’s internal auditor “shall be appointed by the council, independent of the mayor,” but auditor Stan Sewell reports to Mayor Ron Littlefield. After dissecting the issue for half an hour Tuesday afternoon, the City Council will look at changes to auditing procedures in two weeks. “If that’s the will of the council, we (will) wrestle with this for a couple of weeks and look for some options,” Councilman Jack Benson said during the Legal and Legislative Committee meeting Tuesday. Auditing tasks include “auditing expenditures of the executive and administrative departments and verifying that all revenues due the city are properly collected and accounted for,” according to the charter. Councilman Leamon Pierce has said the council has not chosen an auditor since the charter’s inception in 1990. Among the options discussed Tuesday are for the internal auditor to conduct “dual reporting,” where the department reports both to the City Council and the mayor’s office. Mr. Sewell told council members that this is considered the “gold standard” for auditing. “It would take both of those bodies to terminate their internal auditor,” he said. “It provides an independence at the highest level you really could hope to ” . City Attorney Randy Nelson said the council could achieve dual reporting if the charter is changed through a public referendum. He said a measure could go before voters in November. Mr. Sewell said it “doesn’t make sense” for the council and the mayor to have separate auditors. “You’re really duplicating service,” he said. Meanwhile, Mr. Sewell said that the mayor doesn’t dictate how his department works. “The mayor has never told us what to audit,” he said. Councilman Dan Page proposed that Council Chairwoman Linda Bennett and Council Vice Chairman Jack Benson talk to Randy Burns, the council’s management analyst, to see if he can do auditing “at least on an interim basis.” Doing so could allow the City Council some more time to investigate dual reporting, Mr. Page said. Mr. Burns now handles day-to-day business related to the council. E-mail Michael Davis at michaeld@timesfreepress.com NOTE: also ran in the SET edition. Jack Benson
