Tracking county’s fixed assets continues

A discussion about tracking the county’s fixed assets continued during the June 25 meeting of the Audit Committee.
The lack of a fixed-asset management policy was a finding in the 2009-2010 audit, and Melissa Steagall-Jones, a partner in the county’s outside audit firm Blackburn, Childers and Steagall, was present to discuss progress toward improvement and the timeline for the audit currently under way.
“Protecting and safeguarding the assets at the end of the day is the purpose,” she said, adding that this item has been a finding on the county’s audit since 1995. “It’s not an easy fix, but we can do it.”
Mayor Dan Eldridge said developing a process to identify and tag assets with a value of more than $10,000 and those that are considered high-risk for theft has been delegated to two staff members.
Purchasing Agent Willie Shrewsbury will determine a system, and Communications Director Jeff Keeling will handle the implementation.
Sheriff Ed Graybeal said his office keeps a list of assets he would be happy to provide a copy of, but he does not need Keeling’s assistance.
Steagall-Jones said while the offices do need to be involved in tracking the assets, a central point of contact for the county is also needed.
“There is a disconnect on disposals,” she said, which could lead to an inflated number of assets.
Auditors will begin meeting with the clerks of court the first week of July, followed by the spending agencies and the school system.
The Audit Committee will meet again in September before the final audit report is released in December.