Oriental's new auditor will present the audit to the Town Board at Tuesday's public meeting.
This appears to be the only important or significant topic on Tuesday's agenda. It may seem like a boring subject, but represents an opportunity for the public to hear a fresh analysis of the town's financial management strengths and weaknesses. A previous post offers my own assessment of the twenty-three items to which our auditor called particular attention.
One thing to bear in mind is that the auditing contract is not just a bilateral agreement between the town and the auditor. The North Carolina Local Government Commission (LGC) is also a party, in that the contract must be submitted to the LGC Secretary for approval. The LGC must also approve the audit, including completion of required corrections, before they will approve final invoices for payment. LGC provides a form for the contract and prescribes procedures for the audit.
This year, the LGC sent the Town of Oriental at least three letters complaining about the audit by Seiler, Zachman & Associates, PA for fiscal year ended June 30, 2008. Two of those letters complained the report was late and asked for the town's plan to correct this. The third letter identified five deficiencies requiring correction, including two items that had to be corrected before LGC would approve the final invoice. Of the five items, two related to the Water Fund.
In addition, almost four months after the end of the fiscal year, the auditing firm forwarded to the Town of Oriental five pages of "Adjusting Journal Entries." The adjustments included a credit for $3,503.48 annotated "Adjust cash to reconciled balance." Apparently this was to account for an unexplained discrepancy in cash on hand as of the date of the audit.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Whitewash Defined
Definitions of whitewash on the Web: (see "Audit III")
- cover up a misdemeanor, fault, or error; "Let's not whitewash the crimes of Stalin"; "She tried to gloss over her mistakes"
- a defeat in which the losing person or team fails to score
- cover with whitewash; "whitewash walls"
- wash consisting of lime and size in water; used for whitening walls and other surfaces
- exonerate by means of a perfunctory investigation or through biased presentation of data
- a specious or deceptive clearing that attempts to gloss over failings and defects
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
Monday, December 28, 2009
Health Care
I was born in an Osteopathic hospital in 1937. At the time, it was the least expensive option available; an important consideration for working class parents during the Great Depression.
During more than seven decades since then, I have received medical care through most of the possible program structures:
a: No insurance - just pay the doctor;
b: Provided directly by the government - in my case, at military treatment facilities;
c: Provided by employer through private health insurance;
d: Single payer government paid health insurance - CHAMPUS, TRICARE, MEDICARE.
The only possible program I have never participated in is private purchase of private health insurance. One of our sons has done that.
It is great that both houses of Congress have passed health care reform bills. May they be quickly reconciled. We owe it to ourselves and our posterity to provide universal health care benefits. We are the only advanced country that doesn't.
Universal health care systems in other countries all result in better health outcomes at lower cost to society. I would have preferred either a straight system of government health care like that in Great Britain and the United States Veteran's Administration or a single-payer system like Medicare. But something is better than nothing. Once we get a system in place, we can make it better.
Next we need a real public option.
During more than seven decades since then, I have received medical care through most of the possible program structures:
a: No insurance - just pay the doctor;
b: Provided directly by the government - in my case, at military treatment facilities;
c: Provided by employer through private health insurance;
d: Single payer government paid health insurance - CHAMPUS, TRICARE, MEDICARE.
The only possible program I have never participated in is private purchase of private health insurance. One of our sons has done that.
It is great that both houses of Congress have passed health care reform bills. May they be quickly reconciled. We owe it to ourselves and our posterity to provide universal health care benefits. We are the only advanced country that doesn't.
Universal health care systems in other countries all result in better health outcomes at lower cost to society. I would have preferred either a straight system of government health care like that in Great Britain and the United States Veteran's Administration or a single-payer system like Medicare. But something is better than nothing. Once we get a system in place, we can make it better.
Next we need a real public option.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
New Year's Eve and Tourism
Over the past year or so we have heard a lot in Oriental about tourism and how we have to promote it. Tourism, it is said, either will be or has been the economic salvation of the town.
When we arrived here, Oriental had for a number of years been a tourist destination on New Year's Eve. Families would come from all over Eastern North Carolina to see the running of the dragon about 8:00 p.m. Many adults of all ages would come for the first running of the dragon, have dinner at a local restaurant, reappear for the second running about 11:00 and stay for the lowering of the Croaker from the mast of a local sailboat at Town Dock.
It was a fun evening, in keeping with Oriental's quirky character.
A year ago at midnight, a crowd gathered at Town Dock expecting the Croaker to appear. They were disappointed.
This year, it seems there will be no 11:00 running of the dragon. There will probably be more disappointed visitors to Oriental.
Preparing and organizing events like the Croaker drop and Dragon Run involve a lot of planning, recruiting and coordinating for something that lasts only a few minutes. Those who enjoy the fun should make sure to thank the organizers and volunteer to help.
The event organizers might give some thought to establishing a permanent entity to be in charge and make sure such attractions continue in the future.
When we arrived here, Oriental had for a number of years been a tourist destination on New Year's Eve. Families would come from all over Eastern North Carolina to see the running of the dragon about 8:00 p.m. Many adults of all ages would come for the first running of the dragon, have dinner at a local restaurant, reappear for the second running about 11:00 and stay for the lowering of the Croaker from the mast of a local sailboat at Town Dock.
It was a fun evening, in keeping with Oriental's quirky character.
A year ago at midnight, a crowd gathered at Town Dock expecting the Croaker to appear. They were disappointed.
This year, it seems there will be no 11:00 running of the dragon. There will probably be more disappointed visitors to Oriental.
Preparing and organizing events like the Croaker drop and Dragon Run involve a lot of planning, recruiting and coordinating for something that lasts only a few minutes. Those who enjoy the fun should make sure to thank the organizers and volunteer to help.
The event organizers might give some thought to establishing a permanent entity to be in charge and make sure such attractions continue in the future.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Stockings
The night before Christmas, we always searched through sock drawers for the biggest socks we could find. We nailed them to the mantle over the fireplace, while our grandfather made his annual prediction that this time Santa would fill the stockings with a bundle of switches, or perhaps a lump of coal.
We worried about the fire in the fireplace and made sure it was put out before we went to bed. After all, Santa had to come down that chimney.
The next morning, after we saw what Santa left under the tree, we would inspect the stockings. They would always be filled with oranges, bananas, various nuts still in their shells: walnuts, hazel nuts, Brazil nuts (though that isn't what we called them), almonds and ribbon candy. I don't ever remember eating ribbon candy except at Christmas.
By the time we emptied the stockings, we no longer worried about the fireplace.
We worried about the fire in the fireplace and made sure it was put out before we went to bed. After all, Santa had to come down that chimney.
The next morning, after we saw what Santa left under the tree, we would inspect the stockings. They would always be filled with oranges, bananas, various nuts still in their shells: walnuts, hazel nuts, Brazil nuts (though that isn't what we called them), almonds and ribbon candy. I don't ever remember eating ribbon candy except at Christmas.
By the time we emptied the stockings, we no longer worried about the fireplace.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Ambrosia
Childhood memories, even of important events like Christmas are remarkably selective. Sometimes the clearest memories are of the smallest events.
We always visited my grandparents in rural Holmes County, Mississippi. They lived in a rambling house made of rough-sawn, unpainted cypress. I thought of it as the house that jack built, because of the add-ons it had accumulated over the years.
The house was nestled among enormous native trees, in the alluvial plain of the Yazoo River. Just a few miles east was the beginning of the hill country. We would take a truck to the hills, where my grandfather picked out a suitable cedar tree (they grew like weeds on the hillsides) and had it cut down. Back at the house, we would saw the bottom of the trunk square, nail on a couple of supporting boards, stand it up and start decorating.
We made varicolored chains out of construction paper, strung popcorn and cranberries together with needle and thread, and hung Christmas tree lights, foil icicles and a few antique glass ball ornaments.
The real work of Christmas took place in the kitchen. On Christmas day, my grandmother and a servant cooked turkey, ham (slaughtered and smoked in October), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, cornbread dressing (for the turkey), and a passel of other vegetables on an enormous wood-fired cook stove.
The piece de resistance was prepared by my great aunts, who had come up from Yazoo City. Late in the morning, they disappeared into a room and closed the door. When I asked what they were doing, Aunt Mary informed me they were making Ambrosia.
My grandmother and my great aunts grew up on a plantation along the Yazoo River. It had a suitably grandiose name, which I don't remember. But the young ladies of the family were sent off to finishing school. Aunt Mary and Aunt 'Stelle, in particular, had an elegant, soft pronunciation that has largely disappeared from the South, along with the graceful cursive writing they used.
When Aunt Mary said "ambrosia," the syllables flowed like honey. It sounded like the most delicious, heavenly food that one could imagine. It was easy to understand why, when making such a marvelous food, it was necessary to do so in secret, with the doors closed. Otherwise the magical recipe might escape.
After the rest of the food was on the table, a weight sufficient that the table's legs creaked and groaned, my great aunts emerged from their secret workshop and placed a dish of ambrosia at each place.
Imagine my surprise that such an elegant name referred to fruit salad sprinkled with coconut.
We always visited my grandparents in rural Holmes County, Mississippi. They lived in a rambling house made of rough-sawn, unpainted cypress. I thought of it as the house that jack built, because of the add-ons it had accumulated over the years.
The house was nestled among enormous native trees, in the alluvial plain of the Yazoo River. Just a few miles east was the beginning of the hill country. We would take a truck to the hills, where my grandfather picked out a suitable cedar tree (they grew like weeds on the hillsides) and had it cut down. Back at the house, we would saw the bottom of the trunk square, nail on a couple of supporting boards, stand it up and start decorating.
We made varicolored chains out of construction paper, strung popcorn and cranberries together with needle and thread, and hung Christmas tree lights, foil icicles and a few antique glass ball ornaments.
The real work of Christmas took place in the kitchen. On Christmas day, my grandmother and a servant cooked turkey, ham (slaughtered and smoked in October), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, cornbread dressing (for the turkey), and a passel of other vegetables on an enormous wood-fired cook stove.
The piece de resistance was prepared by my great aunts, who had come up from Yazoo City. Late in the morning, they disappeared into a room and closed the door. When I asked what they were doing, Aunt Mary informed me they were making Ambrosia.
My grandmother and my great aunts grew up on a plantation along the Yazoo River. It had a suitably grandiose name, which I don't remember. But the young ladies of the family were sent off to finishing school. Aunt Mary and Aunt 'Stelle, in particular, had an elegant, soft pronunciation that has largely disappeared from the South, along with the graceful cursive writing they used.
When Aunt Mary said "ambrosia," the syllables flowed like honey. It sounded like the most delicious, heavenly food that one could imagine. It was easy to understand why, when making such a marvelous food, it was necessary to do so in secret, with the doors closed. Otherwise the magical recipe might escape.
After the rest of the food was on the table, a weight sufficient that the table's legs creaked and groaned, my great aunts emerged from their secret workshop and placed a dish of ambrosia at each place.
Imagine my surprise that such an elegant name referred to fruit salad sprinkled with coconut.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Service during Christmas
Sometimes there is no explanation for good fortune.
I served in the US Navy twenty-five years, including service on five ships deployed for as long as nine months at a time. In all that time, it always worked out that I was at home or in my home port for Christmas. I didn't plan it that way - it just happened. I know how fortunate this was for me and my family.
Others in our military service aren't so fortunate.
Please remember our deployed military servicemen and women and the families from whom they are separated this holiday season.
I served in the US Navy twenty-five years, including service on five ships deployed for as long as nine months at a time. In all that time, it always worked out that I was at home or in my home port for Christmas. I didn't plan it that way - it just happened. I know how fortunate this was for me and my family.
Others in our military service aren't so fortunate.
Please remember our deployed military servicemen and women and the families from whom they are separated this holiday season.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Texting, e-mail, Government Employees
Anyone interested in issues surrounding electronic communication by government employees might want to follow a new Supreme Court case.
The United States Supreme Court agreed last Monday to decide whether the Ontario, California police department violated the constitutional privacy rights of a police sergeant on the town's SWAT team when it inspected personal text messages sent and received on a town-owned pager. This is a Fourth Amendment case expected to hinge on whether the sergeant should have had a "reasonable expectation" of privacy.
There is a long and somewhat confusing history of Supreme court decisions on Fourth Amendment issues relating to government workplaces and expectation of privacy. This appears to be the first time the Court has addressed privacy of government employees in the context of data networks.
North Carolina law and regulations are clear on this point. Government employees using government owned equipment for private communications have no expectation of privacy. This principle is similar to that of any other employee using equipment owned by the employer. It means that supervisors get to read your e-mail.
If the Court decides that the sergeant had no "reasonable expectation" of privacy, does that mean his text messages become public records? No. That's a completely separate issue. In North Carolina, under Department of Cultural Resources E-mail Policy (Revised July 2009), if an e-mail message is not created or received as part of the business of government, it is considered non-record material. This includes personal messages, defined as those received from family, friends or work colleagues which have nothing to do with conducting daily government business.
A third issue with e-mails is whether exchanging e-mails between or among public elected or appointed officials violates open meetings law. Under NC law, it is a violation for a quorum of a governing body to discuss public business by electronic means if it is a simultaneous communication, such as a conference phone call. This would seem to apply to a chat room, for example, but not necessarily to sequential telephone conversations or sequential e-mails. Other states have far more restrictive laws. In at least one state, it is a violation to have a simultaneous communication among the majority of a quorum. If this principle were applied to Oriental, that would mean that no Town Commissioner could discuss town business with any other commissioner except in an open meeting. I can't imagine a scheme better calculated to bring government to a screaming halt.
I have always assumed that any e-mails I sent or received concerning town business qualified as public records. Accordingly, I established an e-mail account that I used for town business, separate from my private e-mail account that I had used for more than a decade. I recommended to the town manager more than three years ago that the town establish e-mail accounts for elected and appointed officials. I thought this would improve the management of e-mails that qualified as public records. Even doing this wouldn't prevent the accounts being used for personal messages, spam or unsolicited e-mails, but would allow coordinated administration and preservation of this category of public records. No action was taken on my suggestion until the new manager arrived.
I have now forwarded all of my e-mails concerning town business to my former account: davidcox@townoforiental.com. I no longer have access to the account. It is now the town's responsibility to determine which of the e-mails is a public record and to manage their retention and disposition.
The United States Supreme Court agreed last Monday to decide whether the Ontario, California police department violated the constitutional privacy rights of a police sergeant on the town's SWAT team when it inspected personal text messages sent and received on a town-owned pager. This is a Fourth Amendment case expected to hinge on whether the sergeant should have had a "reasonable expectation" of privacy.
There is a long and somewhat confusing history of Supreme court decisions on Fourth Amendment issues relating to government workplaces and expectation of privacy. This appears to be the first time the Court has addressed privacy of government employees in the context of data networks.
North Carolina law and regulations are clear on this point. Government employees using government owned equipment for private communications have no expectation of privacy. This principle is similar to that of any other employee using equipment owned by the employer. It means that supervisors get to read your e-mail.
If the Court decides that the sergeant had no "reasonable expectation" of privacy, does that mean his text messages become public records? No. That's a completely separate issue. In North Carolina, under Department of Cultural Resources E-mail Policy (Revised July 2009), if an e-mail message is not created or received as part of the business of government, it is considered non-record material. This includes personal messages, defined as those received from family, friends or work colleagues which have nothing to do with conducting daily government business.
A third issue with e-mails is whether exchanging e-mails between or among public elected or appointed officials violates open meetings law. Under NC law, it is a violation for a quorum of a governing body to discuss public business by electronic means if it is a simultaneous communication, such as a conference phone call. This would seem to apply to a chat room, for example, but not necessarily to sequential telephone conversations or sequential e-mails. Other states have far more restrictive laws. In at least one state, it is a violation to have a simultaneous communication among the majority of a quorum. If this principle were applied to Oriental, that would mean that no Town Commissioner could discuss town business with any other commissioner except in an open meeting. I can't imagine a scheme better calculated to bring government to a screaming halt.
I have always assumed that any e-mails I sent or received concerning town business qualified as public records. Accordingly, I established an e-mail account that I used for town business, separate from my private e-mail account that I had used for more than a decade. I recommended to the town manager more than three years ago that the town establish e-mail accounts for elected and appointed officials. I thought this would improve the management of e-mails that qualified as public records. Even doing this wouldn't prevent the accounts being used for personal messages, spam or unsolicited e-mails, but would allow coordinated administration and preservation of this category of public records. No action was taken on my suggestion until the new manager arrived.
I have now forwarded all of my e-mails concerning town business to my former account: davidcox@townoforiental.com. I no longer have access to the account. It is now the town's responsibility to determine which of the e-mails is a public record and to manage their retention and disposition.
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