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Clerk of courts office takes over fuel consumption audit

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Margaret Krym has spent 120 hours working on her audit of the city’s fuel consumption since Jan. 20, though she said her efforts so far are “no where near” the final report due in April.
Done “in stages,” Krym, the city’s interim auditor, said the audit process begins with extensive planning before moving into the “background” phase — collecting the necessary data and resources — that will eventually lay the groundwork for the audit itself.
She said this was the “audit program,” which is developed for all audits and provides the road map of “what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it”.
The information gathered so far by Krym and her office has been turned over to Clerk of Courts Charlie Green’s auditors, she said, in order to “jump start” the direction they plan on heading as they take their own look at fuel consumption.
Now that the county has essentially taken the reins of the audit, Krym will work with the county staffers, facilitating and managing the process.
She said they are now moving into “field work,” which includes interviewing and talking with staff.
An “estimated” time table for the remaining pieces of the audit include an “exit conference” between the audit parties in late March, a “management response” on April 11, then a report issuance on April 15.
A “planning memo” was released detailing the process of forthcoming work Nov. 18 of last year.
That memo said the purpose of the audit is “to provide assurance to the Council and Management that the data asserted in Mr. Towler’s report was based on sufficient and reliable evidence and to evaluate the control and governance process over the acquisition, management and disbursement of fuel within the City.”
She said Tuesday that if the report is delayed in April for whatever reason, she will issue a memorandum for City Council and the public.
“I have an expectation of hearing something back by April. To fulfill that expectation, they (county auditors) have agreed that if they haven’t reached a final report, we will craft a memorandum that we can release that will give some information,” Krym said.
A draft report will be presented to city management, during which officials can respond or comment on the findings. Following their comments, the report will then be made public and the final report will be issued by the county.
That report will be a reliable with a long paper trail that will verify the report’s findings.
“The public can be pretty assured its fully vetted and accurate when it comes out,” she said.