Gov. Mike Pence and the Indiana General Assembly should be ashamed of themselves for letting this happen, but I suspect they aren't. The State Board of Accounts says it is no longer auditing certain local governmental entities where the theft of public assets by corrupt officials and employees has been rampant. That includes libraries, townships, small towns, conservancy districts and some school accounts. The State Board of Accounts' Paul Joyce told The Herald Bulletin that he didn't have enough staff or money to audit all local governments. "I only have so many people to do a job. It's not that I don't want to do them," Joyce said of the audits. "I have places that have not been reviewed in five years."
The State Board of Accounts presently only charges $45 a day for the accounts it audits. Joyce plans to ask the legislature for authority to bill governmental entities up to $45 an hour for those services. The Indiana Association of Cities and Towns supports increasing the charges in spite of the higher costs. "Deborah Driskell, executive director of the Indiana Township Association, said higher auditing costs might be a problem for small townships, but State Board of Account audits are important to maintaining public trust," according to the report.
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