Columbia mayor considers moving auditor position away from city manager

Mayor Brian Treece is considering moving the city’s internal auditor position away from the city manager.

The move would bring the position under the purview of the Columbia City Council, under Treece’s plan, and report directly to them on issues concerning the state of the city’s finances and operations. That would involve moving the $90,000 currently budgeted for the position in the city manager’s office and moving it to the city council budget.

The position has come under scrutiny for the last several months as council members debate a potential audit by the State Auditor’s Office. Treece has supported inviting the auditor’s office to take a look the city’s finances at the cost of about $750,000 in hopes of finding ways the city could pay for its growing costs.

Columbia has not had an internal auditor since January, which is tasked with conducting “internal protective and constructive audits of the controls, financial records, administrative procedures and operations of City departments in accordance with guidelines established by the City Manager,” according to a version of the job posting obtained by ABC 17 News. The position is also not posted on the city’s website.

Treece said bringing the auditor position under the authority of the council allows members to get financial information faster, and imposes better checks and balances in government. The lack of an auditor, Treece said, along with the two-year vacancy of the city treasurer and the departure of finance department director Michele Nix in September, leaves the city vulnerable to mismanagement of money.

“We can’t ignore those warning signs,” Treece said. “We have to take responsible steps as decision-makers to make sure we restore those checks and balances to city government to make sure taxpayers are getting what they paid for.”

The city charter only allows the council to hire or appoint three employees – the city manager, city clerk and municipal judge. Treece cites a section of the charter that gives the council authority to conduct annual audits of the government for his plan.

City manager Mike Matthes said some of the job functions of the auditor have been given to other employees in the finance department. Treece said those duties, however, should be independent of the department to ensure enough people are reviewing city finances.

Maria Oropallo, chairwoman of the Finance and Audit Advisory Commission, said any contract for an auditor would need to clearly spell out the position’s authority, including accountability and supervision. She said the commission has not had a chance to discuss the mayor’s plan.

Speaking on her own, Oropallo said the council may need to consider paying the auditor more than $90,000 allotted. The salary should be closer to a director-level position, which has a midpoint salary mark of $121,000 a year.

“One person would take a very long time to do a thorough audit so they could never approach the levels the proposed performance audit could, and a clear succession plan for the position would need to be in place,” Oropallo said.