Bedford County Got Financial Management Right Why Can't We?
County finance director honored for excellence
Thursday, July 22, 2010
By BRIAN MOSELY ~ bmosely@t-g.com
When Tennessee's Comptroller of the Treasury pays your county a visit, it's usually bad news.
But local officials were all smiles Tuesday as the county's director of finance, Robert Daniel, was honored with the highest award in the area of governmental accounting.
Comptroller Justin P. Wilson presented Daniel with the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, awarded by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for the county's comprehensive annual financial report.
According to a statement from GFOA, the award "is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting ..."
GFOA also said that the award "represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management."
A number of county commissioners and department officials were on hand for the presentation from Wilson, who said that the award "in the scope of things, is truly unbelievable."
Wilson pointed out that Daniel isn't being honored by the state of Tennessee, but "a leading national organization for excellence."
He added that Daniel has been giving county commissioners the information they need to make informed decisions "and doing it in a way so that the citizens of Bedford County can find out what the devil is going on."
"People are entitled to know what you government is doing," Wilson said. "And you've done it in Bedford County so well that you are now nationally recognized."
Wilson said that several years ago, the county was in a situation where suspicion and lack of disclosure existed.
"They had a first class mess and they cleaned it up," Wilson said, referring to the county's adoption in 2006 of the state's Financial Management Act of 1981, which centralized the county's budgeting, purchasing and accounting.
Doing so made sure that the public was well informed about the county's finances and Wilson said, "this is exactly what local government should be doing."
Daniel thanked members of the commission and County Mayor Eugene Ray for their support, County Technical Advisory Service and the Comptroller's office.
"I just want Bedford County to be cutting edge, and we will continue to strive to do just that."
"Hands in the kitty"
In comments to commissioners and other department heads, Ray compared county government to a football team, with Daniel taking the quarterback slot.
But he also described having to deal with people who were allegedly helping themselves to county funds in years past -- and about keeping it out of the Times-Gazette.
Ray said when he was elected, the one of the first things he wanted to do as county mayor was to get the Act of 1981 passed by the county commission.
"It was very difficult to get done, but we were fortunate with all the commissioners voting for it," Ray said, adding he wanted the best person picked for the director of finance job, which lead to Daniel being hired.
Following Daniel taking the job, Ray said the county "had a lot of difficult things to take place ... one man wound up in prison for improper handling of funds."
Ray was referring to the arrest of Eugene Nichols, former deputy director of the Bedford County Emergency Management Agency, who was sentenced to nine years in prison on embezzlement charges.
The 70-count indictment against Nichols accused him of diverting a total of $117,000 in funds from the county's EMA to a personal account over a period of several years.
"We had other people that had a hand in the kitty," Ray said. "We sat down and visited with them ... because we were going into very difficult situations ... and we went into many tough situations without the press being here and reporting people's names, but we were able to change things around."
Ray said that he heard some opinions that those with their hands in the kitty should be in prison, but the mayor said that "we were able to reverse a lot of those things."
Commissioner Bo Wilson said he "had no idea of the things that were taking place," referring to what Ray described and urged anyone involved with government to adopt the Act of 1981.
"If you want to find out what going on in your county, that's the way ... this puts the cookies on the low shelf ... and lets you know what's going on," Commissioner Wilson said.
The county mayor also said that this is the most difficult time he's had running the county government, due to sales taxes "being off" for the last 22 months, but the county still continues to build schools and have no layoffs in county government.
Ray also said that as long as he is county mayor, they will be "hard on waste."
State Sen. Jim Tracy was on hand for the ceremony, and said that "if we can govern through these tough times, businesses will look to move here and create jobs."
"It's unbelievable to have the comptroller come down here and give this national award," Tracy said.
State Rep. Pat Marsh got a laugh when he said, "I didn't know we were that good."
Comptroller Wilson added that he believed the award will help with economic development for the county, be a positive factor for bond ratings and "for the reputation and quality of life."
© Copyright 2010 Shelbyville Times-Gazette. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
By BRIAN MOSELY ~ bmosely@t-g.com
When Tennessee's Comptroller of the Treasury pays your county a visit, it's usually bad news.
But local officials were all smiles Tuesday as the county's director of finance, Robert Daniel, was honored with the highest award in the area of governmental accounting.
Comptroller Justin P. Wilson presented Daniel with the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, awarded by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for the county's comprehensive annual financial report.
According to a statement from GFOA, the award "is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting ..."
GFOA also said that the award "represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management."
A number of county commissioners and department officials were on hand for the presentation from Wilson, who said that the award "in the scope of things, is truly unbelievable."
Wilson pointed out that Daniel isn't being honored by the state of Tennessee, but "a leading national organization for excellence."
He added that Daniel has been giving county commissioners the information they need to make informed decisions "and doing it in a way so that the citizens of Bedford County can find out what the devil is going on."
"People are entitled to know what you government is doing," Wilson said. "And you've done it in Bedford County so well that you are now nationally recognized."
Wilson said that several years ago, the county was in a situation where suspicion and lack of disclosure existed.
"They had a first class mess and they cleaned it up," Wilson said, referring to the county's adoption in 2006 of the state's Financial Management Act of 1981, which centralized the county's budgeting, purchasing and accounting.
Doing so made sure that the public was well informed about the county's finances and Wilson said, "this is exactly what local government should be doing."
Daniel thanked members of the commission and County Mayor Eugene Ray for their support, County Technical Advisory Service and the Comptroller's office.
"I just want Bedford County to be cutting edge, and we will continue to strive to do just that."
"Hands in the kitty"
In comments to commissioners and other department heads, Ray compared county government to a football team, with Daniel taking the quarterback slot.
But he also described having to deal with people who were allegedly helping themselves to county funds in years past -- and about keeping it out of the Times-Gazette.
Ray said when he was elected, the one of the first things he wanted to do as county mayor was to get the Act of 1981 passed by the county commission.
"It was very difficult to get done, but we were fortunate with all the commissioners voting for it," Ray said, adding he wanted the best person picked for the director of finance job, which lead to Daniel being hired.
Following Daniel taking the job, Ray said the county "had a lot of difficult things to take place ... one man wound up in prison for improper handling of funds."
Ray was referring to the arrest of Eugene Nichols, former deputy director of the Bedford County Emergency Management Agency, who was sentenced to nine years in prison on embezzlement charges.
The 70-count indictment against Nichols accused him of diverting a total of $117,000 in funds from the county's EMA to a personal account over a period of several years.
"We had other people that had a hand in the kitty," Ray said. "We sat down and visited with them ... because we were going into very difficult situations ... and we went into many tough situations without the press being here and reporting people's names, but we were able to change things around."
Ray said that he heard some opinions that those with their hands in the kitty should be in prison, but the mayor said that "we were able to reverse a lot of those things."
Commissioner Bo Wilson said he "had no idea of the things that were taking place," referring to what Ray described and urged anyone involved with government to adopt the Act of 1981.
"If you want to find out what going on in your county, that's the way ... this puts the cookies on the low shelf ... and lets you know what's going on," Commissioner Wilson said.
The county mayor also said that this is the most difficult time he's had running the county government, due to sales taxes "being off" for the last 22 months, but the county still continues to build schools and have no layoffs in county government.
Ray also said that as long as he is county mayor, they will be "hard on waste."
State Sen. Jim Tracy was on hand for the ceremony, and said that "if we can govern through these tough times, businesses will look to move here and create jobs."
"It's unbelievable to have the comptroller come down here and give this national award," Tracy said.
State Rep. Pat Marsh got a laugh when he said, "I didn't know we were that good."
Comptroller Wilson added that he believed the award will help with economic development for the county, be a positive factor for bond ratings and "for the reputation and quality of life."
© Copyright 2010 Shelbyville Times-Gazette. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
posted by Allen Barrett | 12:08 PM
10 Comments:
So why can't Giles County get it right the same way?
They could if only a few would let them.
They could if only a few troublemakers would cease and desist.
They could if it werent for the financial management committee which is comprised of commissioners and county executive who were all opposed to financial management being voted in by the citizens.
9:00
Just because they see financial management differently than you do doesn't make them wrong, ignorant, or dishonest.
You're right 4:58 PM.
It's their actions that make them wrong, ignorant and dishonest.
4:52
You really need to get in bed and try to get some sleep. Talk about sour grapes!
Aren't you none other than william allen barrett posting anonymously AGAIN?
6:13 I can't answer for William Allen Barrett but I wrote the 4:52 entry and have no reason to deny it. I use the same name as you do when you put something on here. Aren't you none other than vicki, whitt miller, harwell posting anonymously AGAIN?
7:52
Are you by any chance william allen barrett posting anonymously again? Yes or no?
Tell me something. Will you guys be trying to cause trouble for the enxt four years? You're off to a good start.
Yes or no? Yes or No. Learn something new.
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