By Laura Nesbitt
Mountain View Telegraph
The incoming Torrance County treasurer may inherent a bookkeeping "disaster" because of mismanagement.
Dorothy Sandoval, who defeated incumbent James Hall in the Republican race for county treasurer in the primary, claimed at the last Torrance County Commission meeting that the treasurer's financial report had been "force balanced" by the treasurer's office.
The treasurer's financial report is generated monthly by the treasurer's office, and is distributed to all county department heads along with the state Department of Finance and Administration, Sandoval said. The report is a compilation of all revenues that come in to the county, she said.
In May the report records a receipt error in the amount of $5,263. In June, the receipt error is recorded as $5,386, Sandoval said.
Sandoval served as chief deputy treasurer until September 2007 after serving eight years as county treasurer until December 2004, when she stepped down because of term limits. When Sandoval takes over as treasurer from Hall in January, she is concerned that "I am going to have a disaster" trying to get the county's books to balance.
"It shows me that the treasurer is neglecting his office," Sandoval said regarding the error in a phone interview.
Sandoval says the receipt error is as a entry line item in the report that Hall has created to "force balance" the report.
The receipt error appears as an administrative error in entering revenue, Sandoval said.
"The treasurer made a mistake and blamed it on the employees. ... What I don't understand is why didn't somebody in the county catch it. Why didn't the manager catch it? Why didn't the county commissioners look at it and say this was wrong? This should have jumped out at them and they should have paid attention to this," Sandoval said.
County Manager Joy Ansley said the first she'd heard of any problems in the report was at the county commission meeting.
"I don't know of any errors in the report," Ansley said.
The confusion is in the language chosen to record the funds, according to Deputy Treasurer Vickie Dile
"The reason that we worded it a receipt error is because it's a receipt. It's a deposit," Dile said in a phone interview.
Unfortunately the term could be mistaken to mean administrative error, which is what Sandoval has done, Dile said.
During the month, the various departments in the county record revenue coming into the county's coffers as journal entries. Sometimes the departments enter those revenues into the wrong places in the books, Dile said.
"We don't always catch it and if they bring it to our attention, then we have to go in and reverse that journal entry. We go in and find the right fund and then make the proper entry. So we put it in as a receipt error," Dile said.
The treasurer's office recorded almost 100 receipt errors last month.
Choosing the phrase receipt error was a mistake, Dile admits.
"It's not an administrative error at all. This month we're definitely going to reword it. Anyone is welcome to come in and see what we do. James and I have nothing to hide," Dile said.
Perhaps adding to the confusion, the treasurer's office has a new computer system, Dile said.
"It's another conversion. It's throwing us off as far as balancing," Dile said.
Sandoval is also concerned that Hall is not spending enough time behind his desk looking at the books.
"He has not been there. He has left to Arizona," Sandoval said.
According to Dile, Hall is in Tucson visiting his children.
"He stays about a week or so and then comes back and we take care of business. We're constantly on the phone. No, he hasn't abandoned his post. And no, he hasn't moved to Tucson. The office is being run efficiently," Dile said.
Dennis Wallin, county attorney, said there is a county statute requiring county officials to come in to their office "at least once in 30 consecutive days."
"I understand that James has not been there as much as he once was. My understanding is that everything is functioning OK. He and his deputy have everything under control," Wallin said.
Wallin said the county has an annual audit that would reveal any mistakes made in the report.
Hall did not return phone calls seeking comment.
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