By: Libi Uremovic , September 27, 2013 | Original Article at Patch.com
I’ve relocated to Sacramento to work with our State Prosecutors and Regulatory Agencies to lock down the local agencies. I’ll continue to monitor the General Ledger and Bank Statements of the City of Beaumont until indictments are served, but for the most part Beaumont is done. The audits have provided Prosecution with more than enough evidence and the State has taken control of the City’s finances.
The State has already done a lot to stop the pillaging; they’ve close down RDA and AB1248 will force every Local Government Agency to sit down with the State Auditor/Controller. GASB 68 will force local agencies to report their unfunded pensions as liabilities next year, but we need additional state controls in place for the individuals controlling the money.
The State Controller’s Office is doing a good job, but we need all government agencies to use the same set of accounting codes and to close their books every month. If the State of California and Microsoft can close their books at the end of each month then so can everyone else.
The Board of Accountancy investigates the Auditors, but we also need a investigate branch on the State level for the Finance Directors. Currently the Board of Accountancy has to wait for actions by the District Attorney or State Attorney General.
There is no state regulatory agency monitoring the City Manager. Currently the duty to monitor and control the City Manager rests solely with Council, but Councils have lost their control and power. We also need additional regulatory and prosecution over the City Attorneys at the State level.
It is the duty of the State to regulate and control the local agencies when the local agencies can not or will not control themselves. Sadly, we live in a culture where our elected and appointed officials have no honor for themselves or commitment to their communities so they will have to be regulated and controlled by the State.