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Local governments improve financial reporting systems

Better, more accountable systems can boost public confidence in how tax dollars are spent.
Published Saturday, December 26, 2009
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Even a small municipality is large enough to produce complicated budgets, complex accounting and confused constituents trying to make sense of it all.

The rash of money-management problems in Beaufort County government -- some of them serious enough to warrant criminal investigation -- has demonstrated how disruptive and costly accounting problems can be and the extent to which they can undermine public confidence.

Granted, the county's accounting chores are exponentially more complicated than a municipality's because of its role as tax collector for the municipalities and school district and because its system includes a mix of county staff and elected officials. Nonetheless, any government that handles the people's money should strive to provide accountability and transparency. So the city of Beaufort is to be commended for steps it has taken to improve and organize its financial reporting.

The list of those who deserve credit includes city manager Scott Dadson, Mayor Billy Keyserling and comptroller Mack Cook, but doesn't end there.

Among the strides is adopting Certified Annual Financial Report auditing standards and submitting those standards for review and possible certification by a panel of peers at the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.

The financial data generated by this process includes management explanations, statistics about expenses and income, and analyses and projections, Keyserling wrote in a recent column in The Beaufort Gazette. Such information is important in every season, but it is particularly vital in lean times such as these, when the ability to track and predict financial position on a daily basis can have a real and immediate impact on public services.

The city also has adopted a "Management Assurance Program," in which a third party conducts ongoing reviews of the city's financial records, hunting for irregularities, mistakes or misuse of public dollars.

Perhaps as important as tools to measure the city's financial health in real time is the city's ability to "show its work" to the public. An online financial dashboard provides monthly updates on a variety of financial and public-service measures at www.cityofbeaufort.org.

Beaufort is not the only Beaufort County government entity -- or even the first -- to adopt many of these practices. The Beaufort County School District has long used the standards, and the Town of Hilton Head Island's books have been certified by the Government Finance Officers Association for 18 consecutive years, says town manager Steve Riley.

The woman largely credited as the architect of Hilton Head's financial system, Shirley Freeman, was hired as the town of Bluffton's assistant town manager of finance and administration in late 2006, after complaints about sloppy accounting and lax financial oversight there. Earlier this month, the town received the association's certificate for excellence in financial reporting.

Here is more good news: Beaufort County began submitting its annual reports to the association last year. Though the organization did not certify its books, the county has implemented its recommendations and will try again for certification this year, says David Starkey, the county's chief financial officer.

Of course, participation in the Government Finance Officers Association program cannot entirely indemnify governments against mistakes or fraud, but it at least marks an honest and proactive effort to make such problems less likely. So even if some in Beaufort, Bluffton and Hilton Head don't like the way every nickel of their tax dollars are spent by municipal government, at least they can rest assured those governments are keeping close tabs on those nickels.

That makes for greater efficiency, better bond ratings and higher public confidence in government institutions.

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  • Senator Tom Davis(R-District 46)
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    151 Gascoigne Bluff, Bluffton, S.C. 29910
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    434B Blatt Bldg., Columbia, 29201
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Beaufort County
  • Rick Caporale (R-District 1)
    17 Salt Wind Way, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29926
    Office: 680-9999; fax: 681-6700
  • Steven Baer (R-District 2)
    10 Heather Lane, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29926
    Office: 689-3570; fax: 689-3569
  • Stu Rodman (R-District 3)
    27 Baynard Park, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29928
    Office: 363-470; fax: 363-6472
  • Weston J. Newton chairman (R-District 4)
    P.O. Drawer 7049, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29938
    Office: 842-6111; fax: 706-9981
  • William McBride (D-District 5)
    P.O. Box 77, St. Helena Island, SC 29920
    Fax:(843)838-8303
    Home:(843)838-2264
  • Gerald Dawson (D-District 6)
    64-A Horace Dawsone Drive, Seabrook, SC 29940
    Fax:(843)846-4738
    Office:(843)846-4830
  • Paul Sommerville vice chairman (R-District 7)
    1509 Pigeon Point Road, Beaufort, SC 29902
    Fax:(843)379-7115
    Office:(843)379-7114
  • Herbert N. Glaze (D-District 8)
    P.O. Box 4053, Burton, SC 29903
    Fax:(843)846-3601
    Home:(843)846-2845
  • Brian Flewelling (R- District 9)
    25 Petigru Drive, Beaufort, SC 29902
    Fax:(843)379-9806
    Office:(843)379-9805
  • Jerry Stewart (R-District 10)
    11 Teaberry Lane, Bluffton, S.C. 29909
    Office: 705-4753; fax: 705-4723
  • Laura Von Harten (D-District 11)
    166 Fuller Parkway, Beaufort, SC 29902
    Fax:(843)379-1380
    Office:(843)379-1367
Beaufort County School District
  • District Office: 1300 King St., P.O. Drawer 309, Beaufort, SC 29902
    Office: 322-2300; fax: 322-2371
    Hilton Head Island office, 689-4635; fax: 689-4617
    • Beaufort County Board of Education members:
    • Fred S. Washington chairman (District 11)
      PO 325, 804 West Street, Beaufort, SC 29901
      (C) 843-524-8404
    • Bob Arundell vice chairman (District 2)
      198 Woodlake Villas, Hilton Head, S.C. 29926
      Home: 681-8502; work: 7855-8040; fax: 785-3056;
    • Joan Deery (District 1)
      5 old Fort Drive, Hilton Head, S.C. 29926
      Home: 681-8968
    • Wayne Carbiener (District 3)
      Home: 843-363-2113
    • Laura Bush (District 4)
      P.O. Box 172, Bluffton, S.C. 29910
      Home: 757-2638; fax: 757-2638
    • Michael F. Rivers, Sr. (District 5)
      734 Seaside Road, St. Helena, SC 29920
      (H) 843-838-2277
      FAX 843-838-1192
    • Earl Campbell (District 6)
      93 Bruce Smalls, Grays Hill, P.O. Box 768, Lobeco, SC 29931
      (H) 843-846-4531
      (C) 843-476-7512
      FAX 843-846-1373
    • Jim Bequette (District 7)
      4 Broomfield Lane 2532, Beaufort, SC 29907
      (H/C) 843-263-8327
    • Herbert Burnes (District 8)
      95 Pine Grove Road, Beaufort, SC 29906
      (H) 843-846-445
      (C) 843-263-2776
    • Ronald Speaks (District 9)
      3121 Palomino Dr., Burton, SC 29906
      (H) 843-525-1163
      (W) 843-525-8277
      FAX 843-525-1163
    • George Wilson (District 10)
      20 Osprey Circle, Callawassie Island, S.C. 29909
      Home: 987-1234; cell: 812-9870
City of Beaufort
Town of Hilton Head Island
  • Town Hall: One Town Center Court, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928; 341-4600
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      4 Hartford Place, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928-3922
      Home: 686-4138; office: 681-2600; fax: 689-3229
    • Bill Ferguson (Ward 1)
      634 William Hilton Parkway, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
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    • William Harkins (Ward 2)
      3 Old Fort Lane Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
      263-3261 - cell
    • Drew A. Laughlin (Ward 3)
      5 McIntosh Road, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
      Home: 689-5723; work 689-5700; fax 689-9300
    • John Safay (Ward 4)
      19 Starboard Tack, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
      Home: 785-4489; work: 785-4696; fax: 785-4696
    • George Williams (Ward 5)
      8 Braddock Cove, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
      Home: 363-6601; fax: 363-6604
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      3 Audubon Place, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
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Town of Bluffton
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