Charlotte Observer----
Mecklenburg officials prepared this update for the 2:30 p.m. Audit Review Committe meeting.
The suggestions were released in response to reports of misspending at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Department of Social Services. Officials cannot fully account for tens of thousands of dollars meant to help Children and Poor Families.
Details emerged in June of missing and altered receipts from donations meant to buy Christmas gifts for needy kids. In one case, a $10,000 check was made out to a Charlotte-Meck. DSS employee. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are investigating.
The Audit Review committee is overseeing an internal county probe into the matter.
Among the recommendations:
* Additional audits of Target vouchers, to identify any Fraud or Theft, and to learn why there was an increase in vouchers for the store.
* Studying whether to make county-wide changes to its financial structure.
* Considering the need for adding three members to the county's internal audit staff.
Also on today's agenda: The makeup of the Audit Review Committee itself.
Two of the five committee members are county administrators – County Manager Harry Jones and General Manager John McGillicuddy.
Charlotte-Meck. Board of County commissioners Bill James and Harold Cogdell have said the arrangement undermines public confidence in the panel's work.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg DSS Audit Review Panel Survey Results: Remove County Administrators From the Panel
County administrators should not sit on a panel that oversees management's performance, officials say.
That was one recommendation today from the Audit Review Committee, which is is overseeing an internal county probe into reports of misspending at the Department of Social Services.
The final decision on whether to remove County Manager Harry Jones and General Manager John McGillicuddy from the committee rests with the full board of county commissioners.
The committee studied 9 other large governing bodies in North Carolina and found that none of them included staff members on their Audit Review Committees.
The committee's makeup came under scrutiny after some commissioners questioned whether having staff members conduct audits on the county's performance presents a conflict.
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Sources: Charlotte Observer, Charmeck.org, Flickr, Google Maps
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