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As officials continued to investigate misspending at the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services, County Manager Harry Jones said Tuesday he would hire more internal auditors.
The comments came in response to questions from the county board's Audit Review Committee, which said Mecklenburg has too few auditors to protect the $1 billion-plus it spends annually.
The lack of staffing has been cited as a major reason officials failed to spot DSS accounting lapses sooner. County leaders say they cannot fully account for tens of thousands of dollars meant to help needy children. The problems include a $10,000 check made out to a county employee.
Mecklenburg employs five auditors, enough to review spending in each county agency once every six years, officials say. Administrators say the agencies should be reviewed at least every three years.
DSS, the county's second largest agency with about 1,200 employees and a roughly $180 million budget, has not undergone a full audit since 1996.
Hiring more auditors “is a top priority,” Jones said. “I will exhaust every avenue.”
He spoke during an Audit Review Committee meeting where officials explained how they would respond to problems in DSS.
Committee members said they were alarmed to learn about short staffing and voted to recommend the full Board of Commissioners take up the matter. They said they supported a suggestion to hire at least three new auditors.
Commissioner Bill James said the county likely will need to add still more, since it has about 5,000 workers.
“I have worked with companies with 5,000 employees and the audit department was whale of a lot bigger than five or eight,” James said.
Jones said the county's internal audit office once deployed more workers, but lost positions through attrition that weren't filled because of cuts.
Details about missing or altered receipts from DSS surfaced this year when an audit showed the county could not show how it spent $162,000 in donations meant to buy holiday gifts for needy children. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are investigating.
On Tuesday, county officials said they would continue to investigate whether county employees misused money meant to buy emergency supplies for families. Auditors are reviewing 2008 invoices from Target stores to determine why there was a surge in purchases.
Officials said they would submit a report by Friday.
Committee members questioned how administrators dealt with a DSS administrator who was responsible for making sure workers followed spending rules. The administrator approved purchases by foster parents or employees that cost more money than the county had authorized, officials said.
While two other employees linked to the purchases have left their positions, the administrator continues to work in the DSS finance department, officials said. They did not name the administrator.
The Audit Review Committee itself has come under scrutiny since it concluded this year that top county managers took proper steps to address the problems in DSS.
Two of its members are county administrators: Jones and a top assistants, General Manager John McGillicuddy.
On Tuesday, the committee voted to recommend the full Board of Commissioners remove county staff from the committee.
Some commissioners have complained that the existing arrangement hinders public confidence in the DSS probe and gives the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Counties such as Guilford, Wake, Durham and Forsyth have audit review committees and none allows staff to sit on the panel. Jones and McGillicuddy voted for the recommendation to remove themselves.
McGillicuddy said he doesn't see a problem with administrators serving most times, but said the DSS investigation has put him and Jones in an “awkward” position.
Fred Clasen-Kelly: 704 358-5027
