[ back ]
Chardon considers offer for performance audit
Chardon considers offer for performance audit
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Chardon City Council is to consider an offer to spend approximately $92,000 with the hope that the city will see a return of $2.4 million.
That offer comes from the Ohio Auditor's Office, which is proposing a performance audit for the city that could generate savings in various areas.
Council met with two representatives from the state office last week to discuss the special audit which seeks a more efficient use of dollars or finds cuts in spending.
Mayor Philip King said council will decide on whether to go forward at its September meeting.
James Penning, chief auditor for the performance audit section of the Ohio Auditor's Office, said his office has handled more than 300 such audits across the state, including for the cities of Cleveland, Cincinnati and Youngstown. In addition, Mr. Penning said, the audits have been performed for about 150 school districts.
Of those 300 audits, he said, the governmental entities have seen an average of $26 in savings for every dollar spent for the study.
Councilwoman Nancy McArthur had requested the city look into a performance audit in hope of finding more cost-effective ways of doing business. She said the time was right given that the city is making administrative changes at this time.
She said she and other city officials met earlier with state auditors to discuss the possible parameters of the study.
The study will include six main areas: staffing levels, salary and benefits, cost for services, support services, facilities and equipment and revenues.
"The whole purpose of our work is to partner with you to identify opportunities to improve operations," Mr. Penning said.
While communities similar to Chardon will be used for comparison of operations, he said, there is no other community like Chardon. He said that certain peer groups may be used for certain comparisons, while a different set may be needed to compare such operations as snow removal.
Mr. Penning said the audit provides an independent outside look at the city.
"It's often difficult from inside an organization to see things the same way and with the same independence that we can see them with, not having a stake in the game," Mr. Penning said.
He said the city has already qualified for a short-term loan fund that helps the city with the initial $92,000 cost. Mr. Penning said Ohio Auditor David Yost has repeatedly said that, if a community does not realize enough savings to offset the cost, the audit is provided free.
Mr. Penning said the city's initial discussions with auditors revolved around looking at city operations as well as those of the Chardon Fire Department and Chardon Municipal Court.
However, Mr. Penning said, the Ohio Supreme Court has expressed concerns about the separation of powers and has sent a letter asking that local courts be excluded from such audits for now. He said removing the courts from the study will reduce the cost to the city, although the exact savings are yet to be determined.
He said the city will have the opportunity to revise the scope of work covered in the audit during further discussions.
"We're ready to get started when you're ready to get started," he said.
Chardon School Superintendent Joseph Bergant II credited a performance audit for the schools with helping to eliminate $7 million in expenses for the district.
He said many believed it would point out areas where money is being misspent, but that was not the case. Instead, Mr. Bergant said, the audit showed officials creative ways to contain costs. He said the $7 million in savings was considerable given that the district has a $35 million to $40 million annual budget.
He said the district used about 80 percent of the recommendations from the audit, although some recommendations were not appropriate for the district.
[ back ]
