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City wants to audit efficiency

Leaders agree they want to hire a consultant, but they're unsure what they want to focus on.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published February 20, 2007

LARGO - After months of discussion, city leaders say they want to hire a consultant to study the efficiency of certain city programs. But they still don't know where they want to focus.

"There comes a time in a city, as we have grown, that perhaps we need another set of checks and balances," city Commissioner Gigi Arntzen said at a work session last week.

Commissioner Gay Gentry agreed, saying it would be wise for the city to set aside money each year to study the efficiency and effectiveness of some element of government.

The topic arose last summer, when resident Curtis Holmes, a fixture at city meetings, urged the commission to hire an auditor. He questioned the city's legal bills and said commissioners were "force-fed" information by city staff members.

Commissioners said they weren't ready to hire an independent auditor, but they were open to giving specific city programs more scrutiny.

Last week, commissioners were supplied with a staff memo that outlined ways to hire and direct a consultant. Some commissioners complained that the discussion had somehow gotten off topic. A few said they wanted to talk about what to review, rather than how.

"Somehow, we've taken this detour off this original subject that we were on," Arntzen said.

Commissioner Mary Gray Black also wasn't clear why they were talking about the process of auditing rather than the focus of an audit itself.

"This all came about because we were interested in learning what an internal auditor might have to offer us, or what we might expect of an internal auditor," Black said. "It seems like we're going far beyond and around about the original idea."

For months, city commissioners have been talking about hiring someone to study various city functions. In November, commissioners suggested a future work session to discuss hiring a consultant to look at whether the city's fleet management could be improved.

This month, City Manager Steve Stanton suggested hiring a consultant to look at the city's risk management program instead.

Most city commissioners agreed that fleet management didn't need to be analyzed now since Largo recently hired a new public works director and a new fleet manager.

Instead, Black suggested an audit of the city attorney's office.

Last week, commissioners asked Stanton to suggest five to 10 areas that might benefit from a study. They also said they want to have some input in hiring and supervising a consultant.

Stanton said he was open to evaluation and already had about 20 items on his list.

"Everything that we do could be improved upon," he said.

Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or lorri@sptimes.com.

[Last modified February 19, 2007, 22:55:45]