Madera County Government Center

The Madera County Administrative Officer: a. at times uses intimidation and threats to obtain compliance with his directions; b. demonstrates a need to improve leadership skills required by his position; c. has negatively affected the morale and motivation of some employees with whom he interfaces; d. shows favoritism in dealing with department heads and employees; e. provided inaccurate and incomplete information to the BoS regarding the delay of filing the 2011 Single Audit; f. needs to promote cooperation between finance and administrative departments; g. publicly demonstrated animosity and a lack of professionalism toward the Treasurer-Tax Collector and Clerk-Recorder; h. has not been following Board direction to keep Treasurer-Tax Collector informed of the Hemming Morse audit details (status, schedule and scope of work).

The Madera County appointed Auditor-Controller: a. is sufficiently staffed to accomplish the work of the department; b. made some improvements in the operation of the department; c. needs to become less autocratic and communicate more effectively with peers; d. made procedural changes without notice to affected departments; e. mislead the BoS by stating that the delay in filing the Single Audit was due to the Cash Account Balance issue in the Treasurer's Department, when in fact, there were other unrelated accounting issues in the Auditor’s office that delayed the audit; f. has taken no action to incorporate the cash accounting process with the County general ledger.

The Madera County Treasurer-Tax Collector: a. was inaccurately and unfairly blamed for delaying the Single Audit by the CAO and Auditor-Controller; b. maintains the County’s cash accounts using a standard system employed by many other counties; c. does not participate as a member of the County finance and administrative team due to the open hostility of the CAO; d. has not exercised best practices in the cash handling procedures, exposing the office to liability, criticism and suspicion.

The Madera County Board of Supervisors (BoS): a. was not adequately informed nor motivated to resolve the outside audits (Single Audit) issues which resulted in loss of revenue in excess of three million dollars; b. failed to oversee corrective action to outside audits (Single Audit) findings; c. does not recognize the potential liability resulting from the CAO's actions as well as the loss of productivity due to the contentious work environment fostered by the CAO; d. avoids responsibility by allowing the CAO to exceed his authority; e. provides minimal oversight of the financial and administrative County functions.

The Auditor-Controller expand personal knowledge of County Government organizational and fiscal practices.

As a best practice, the Treasurer-Tax Collector relinquish all check writing authority to the Auditor-Controller.

The Treasurer-Tax Collector actively participate in the finance and administrative management team.

The BoS direct the Auditor-Controller brief them on details of 2009 and 2010 outside audit findings and plans to take corrective action. Then, direct regular progress reports.

The BoS focus its attention on resolving the recurring accounting issues related to the timely completion of the Single Audit and provide all necessary resources to facilitate a resolution.

The BoS, the CAO, the Auditor-Controller and the Treasurer-Tax Collector strive to develop an effective working relationship to better serve the taxpayers of Madera County. Respondents: Madera County Board of Supervisors 200 West 4th Street Madera, CA 93637 Madera County Administrator Office 200 West 4th Street Madera, CA 93637 Madera County Auditor-Controller 200 West 4th Street Madera, CA 93637 Madera County Treasurer-Tax Collector 200 West 4th Street Madera, CA 93637