Good afternoon,
Even hard-core fiscal hawks should applaud Delaware State Auditor Kathy McGuiness for seeking more resources for the office.
The auditor’s office plays a key role in ensuring that proper procedures are in place when it comes to state money going to agencies and other entities.
The job of auditing agencies, fire companies, schools etc. has grown tougher over the years. For example, charter schools, which have seen financial controls issues are a relatively recent phenomenon.
Meanwhile, staffing has been on the lean side, due to unfilled positions and legislators eager to pinch pennies.
McGuiness’ predecessor Tom Wagner was sometimes criticized for not being more aggressive in seeking additional staff. Wagner, a Republican in an increasingly one-party state, did not have a lot of clout when it came to be pleading his case.
While Delaware is no Chicago, the First State sees its share of questionable spending and procedures. The auditor’s office has reportedly been coping with a backlog of audits, along with agencies that should be subject to more frequent and detailed scrutiny.
Too often, it appeared that the auditor’s office resembled a fire company that showed up after the building had burned down.
One would guess that allocating more funds to the office will pay for itself over the long term. Agencies and organizations would immediately be put on notice that audits will become more thorough and perhaps more frequent.
On a related note, the state’s efforts at offering open data should continue. In other states, such scrutiny has led to citizens detecting problems and inefficiencies.
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