DeKalb County's elected leaders again failed to act Tuesday on a proposal to hire a watchdog over taxpayer money, despite recommendations from citizen groups pushing for clean government.
The effort to bring oversight to county government finances stalled amid several commissioners’ concerns that the position wouldn’t be truly independent from the government officials it’s meant to police.
The internal auditor would be tasked with finding fraud and improving government efficiency. If the stalemate among DeKalb commissioners continues, the Georgia General Assembly could be forced to intervene.
The DeKalb Commission voted 4-1 to defer the creation of the internal auditor position, which has been debated for years without results.
Calls for action have been mounting since Commissioner Elaine Boyer pleaded guilty in September to bilking taxpayers of $93,000. Four remaining commissioners stand accused in complaints to the DeKalb Board of Ethics that they’ve misused their government charge cards for personal purposes. In some cases, commissioners spent public money on gift cards, printers, steak dinners and plane flights.
“We don’t know where the money is going. There’s no transparency,” said Gil Turman, a former DeKalb school principal and a member of Blueprint DeKalb, a citizen group pushing for reforms. “We need to know what’s going on. We need somebody from the outside to … control the situation and not be controlled by anyone.”
Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton said the internal auditor position shouldn’t have been delayed Tuesday.
Sutton said that even though a committee appointed by the commission would handle the hiring process, the auditor would then be independent and able to investigate both commissioners and the administration of Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May. A task force formed by May also has suggested hiring an auditor who can hold government accountable.
“I’m appalled that commissioners who always talk about the need for an internal auditor are refusing to take action,” Sutton said. “This is about real governance for DeKalb.”
But Commissioner Kathie Gannon said for the auditor position to be truly autonomous, it shouldn’t be chosen by a hand-picked committee.
“When we select and choose ourselves … it still is not arm’s length removed from us who have control of their budget and staff,” Gannon said.
She’d prefer that an outside group of professionals who are knowledgeable in the area of performance auditing recommend auditor candidates to the commission’s committee. Her proposed five-person Internal Audit Oversight Committee — appointed by the commission, the CEO and state lawmakers — would be responsible providing direction, review and budget recommendations for the auditor’s office.
Legislation intended to safeguard the auditor’s independence will be proposed soon, said Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur. She said the Georgia General Assembly needs to step in because the commission isn’t moving forward.
“I have lost confidence that the Board of Commissioners with define an internal auditor in a way that DeKalb citizens will have confidence in,” Oliver said. “The Legislature has to act.”
The DeKalb Commission first approved creating an Office of Internal Audit in 2010, but no one was ever hired. Then last year, commissioners approved a budget that called for three auditor positions, but those jobs weren’t filled.
May said he hopes commissioners can find a compromise, but it will be difficult to remove them entirely from the auditor’s hiring process.
“There should be independence that protects the auditor from being pressured by me or the commission,” May said.
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