It's time to move county forward

“If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” -Woodrow Wilson

This past year, the county has seen many changes, but they have been very positive changes. As your commissioner, my responsibility is to be the taxpayers’ watchdog. In that role, I am a change agent — questioning and challenging the status quo. This keeps us moving and improving in the right direction.

Some of our positive changes included:

n Reducing health insurance costs by more than $100,000/year as a direct result of changing our broker and provider. The health insurance provider had not changed in 64 years.

n Implementing an Employee Wellness Program, which saved money and more importantly, saved two lives.

n Increasing the starting salary for deputies making wages competitive so BCSO is no longer North Idaho’s training grounds, which saves yearly retraining costs. This also resulted in BCSO finally becoming fully staffed.

n Invoking coordination for the first time in Bonner County in order to protect our economic and recreational interests.

However, for some the seismic event was the hiring of a new CPA firm to conduct the county’s 2011 financial audit. The commissioners selected the firm who conducted the audit in accordance with Idaho Codes (31-1701 and 67-450B0.) The new external auditor now reports to the commissioners, rather than the clerk, as had been the past practice. Ostensibly, this upset some long-time elected officials, who have had difficulty with the changes set in motion by the “new kid on the block.”

On April 13, the new firm presented their findings, disclosing more than $2.5 million in accounting errors, made by both the county and the previous auditing firm. For example, county records still showed the Schlosky building as a $358,229 asset, yet it had been sold years ago; and the previous auditing firm had overstated unearned revenue by $1,824,531 in the prior year’s audit.

The 2011 financial audit raised concerns, which the commissioners must address in their corrective action plan. This may include the hiring of a financial director who would report to the commissioners and oversee implementation of the CAP, prepare a comprehensive annual financial report, and serve as the internal controls officer.

Idaho Code (31-802) designates the board of commissioners as the supervisors for all elected officials.

Commissioners have the ultimate responsibility to ensure that all functions of county government are conducted properly, and that taxpayers’ money is managed, safeguarded, and reported properly.

Sometimes people become so entrenched in their old ways that they defend dysfunctions rather than change them. Change creates movement, movement creates friction, and friction creates conflict. However, proper communications is the key to any successful operation, including municipal management.

The current upheaval was caused by miscommunication. On Nov. 18, 2011, Clerk Marie Scott and Commissioner Lewie Rich tried to prevent a meeting between the new auditor and me, even though the board had appointed me as liaison. (Marie Scott had served as liaison in previous years.)

Failing to block this meeting, the clerk then attempted to cut off all communications by issuing her letter dated Nov. 21, 2011. In her letter, the clerk insinuated I had learned about “inappropriate activity” taking place in county offices from the external auditor. Even though that was not the case, she and the treasurer wrote they would only attend the meeting requested by the new auditor, if a private attorney was appointed to represent them at the county’s expense. Subsequently, they requested more than 600 pages of my emails under the Public Records Act trying to figure out what I had learned. I explained the baselessness of her conclusion, but the clerk refused to meet exclaiming, “We cannot talk without our attorneys present.” Clearly, this is a “concocted conflict” fabricated from her false assumptions. In fact, I did not learn about the $2.5 million accounting errors until we reviewed the draft audit on March 23, 2012. I am still unaware of anything that was “inappropriate” as alluded to by the clerk.

It is time for us to move forward and reopen the communication channels. We must strive to work together, without letting drama distract us from what we were elected to do. At least two commissioners are fully engaged, well informed, and actively involved in making the county’s actions more accountable, legal, transparent, and dynamic. “Successful leaders are those who hold onto the old just as long as it is good, and grasp the new just as soon as it is better.”

Mike A. Nielsen is a Bonner County commissioner.