Quote:
Originally Posted by tis
I think most towns have audits but that doesn't prevent a department from buying a lot of stuff ahead if they see their budget is below expectations. If you don't think it happens you are naive and your town (or school or state or fed )is indeed called Shangrai La. When I personally witnessed it, I never would have realized if they hadn't told me what they were doing.
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Yes, outside auditors review towns, schools, village district's books. This is mostly for accuracy of accounting, not for propriety of activity. So, yes, they would detect embezzlement, but if the school buys 200 pencil sharpeners when they only need 20, I'm not so sure. The same applies if, when there are salt funds left from a mild winter, and extra paving is done, I don't think it would raise an eyebrow as it is all within the purview of the department, and there is no personal gain by any individual. (In the old days, we paid an individual $3000/year to be the "road agent" but rented plows and graders , etc from the same individual, since Jim owned the only grader in town. Love our small towns.)
The irony is, a politician pledges to keep a sharp eye on the budget, but when s/he is up for re-election, the voters want to hear that s/he built them a new bridge and brought in 400 new jobs.