Updated: 3/20/2008 9:18:32 AM
In a 3 p.m. press conference Wednesday, Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale and top staff responded to the draft audit of the procurement card system.
Click here to read the written response
Mayor Mike Ragsdale said he had been troubled by what has happens and apologized to the citizens of Knox County. He acknowledged that problems occurred under his watch.
Ragsdale emphasized that safeguards for the future have been established. Where once he "assumed good judgment was being used" and that the ends justified the means, Ragsdale emphasized his two remaining years in office. He said he wanted Knox County citizens to look back on his administration as one that acknowledged its mistakes when made and made sure it wouldn't happen again.
"We've taken our lumps," Ragsdale said. "And, quite candidly, sometimes we've hit ourselves in the head with our own hammer."
Ragsdale concluded by noting how the audit has made county government stronger.
Finance Director John Troyer emphasized how policy and enforcement has improved. He noted that the number of active purchasing cards has been reduced from 160 to 36 general purpose cards.
In the mayor's office, only one card remains active under the control of the office administrator. Additionally, Troyer said the county commission now receives a consolidated statement of procurement card use each month.
Troyer did seek to clear up one element in the audit, noting that local food purchases are not covered in the travel policy.
Instead, Troyer noted that food falls under a line item in the budget for food.
Purchasing Director Hugh Holt spoke of the program's merits and how the procurement card is designed for repetitive, small-dollar transactions the county engages in. Holt acknowledged the program requires a component of "human trust and integrity" to function properly.
Holt quoted a study showing that procurement cards can save up to $54 per transaction.
The final speaker was Dwight Van de Vate, who pointed out that the $40,000 in questioned and insufficiently documented expenses noted in the draft had been brought down significantly.
"Reduced is not good enough," Van de Vate said. "This mayor and this administration will not be satisfied until that number is zero, this year and every year. That is our commitment to this commission, that is our commitment to this community."
Auditor Richard Walls will likely take 7-10 working days to prepare a response to the mayor's response to the draft. At that point, the audit will be presented to the Knox County Commission.
Commissioner Mike Hammond believes a called meeting is likely, rather than waiting until the scheduled meeting.
The spoken presentation will accompany a written response, which is expected to run about 80 pages with all the attachments, according to Deputy Communications Director Susanne Dupes.
That audit draft, while incomplete until the mayor's office has fully responded, has made plenty of waves in Knox County government:
--A copy shop worker at a competing business was later implicated.
--Knox County Commission decided to take the issue up at its March meeting
Mayor Ragsdale's response has been long awaited since that audit draft was released to the public.
Initially, that draft was not going to be released. Ten News fought for its release based on public records law.
The release of both the draft and the final audit will allow the public to see the process and how Knox County government's understanding of its own spending is evolving.
If you would like to search expenses questioned in the audit draft, Ten News has a searchable database here.
If you would like to search expense categories and spending in the audit draft, Ten News has a searchable database here.
Click here for the original report on the audit draft, loaded with interesting highlights.
