When reporters start investigating and when auditors come in and look for fraud, waste, and abuse in government at the local level, it's not a pretty sight. The News-Sentinel has the Knox County government story.
The initial draft of the special audit of Knox County purchasing card (P-card) use is available online.
Follow-up stories are already coming out as a Mayor's aide says receipts may have been turned in and then lost OR maybe newspaper reporters lost them!
If Knox County Commission had been acting as a check and balance on the Knox County Mayor's Office, a lot of the fraud and waste of taxpayer dollars would not have occurred.
If the citizens of Knox County had realized that regular annual audits are little more than a cursory review of the figures that are provided and that there is only an examination of a few sample charges, then they would have demanded real accountability long ago from both the Mayor's Office and the Commission.
Regular audits do NOT look for fraud, waste, and abuse.
Our State Comptroller, who directs all county audits, has stated this.
"Trust, but verify" is the key to true government accountability.
Newspapers--when they choose to investigate and report--are vital in ensuring government accountability.
Local officials and citizens---not a state auditor who just peeks at a few transactions--are important in seeing that fraud, waste, and abuse does not continue and escalate to the level seen in Knox County.
Knox County's cleansing started with a newspaper that began to report and investigate what was going on in government offices and that challenged a power structure that openly violated the open meetings law.
Knox County's cleansing has been pushed along by talk-radio that allows the public to listen and actively participate in discussions about government actions as well as other local concerns.
Knox County's cleansing has been spurred by several citizens--former accountant Lewis Cosby is among the most prominent--who were so incensed by the waste of THEIR tax dollars that they took action. Lewis Cosby went to the Mayor's office, reviewed and copied documents, and started a detailed examination of invoices, payments, slush funds, and the like.
As Mr. Cosby began to detail the outrageous lack of fiscal control in the Mayor's office, Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale called Mr. Cosby a showboat at a public meeting! Name-calling instead of addressing the issue--a typical response from a politician.
Mr. Cosby was not a showboat. Mr. Cosby was a citizen who was indignant about waste of taxpayer dollars--his own and those of others.
Now, it looks like Mr. Cosby was right all along about fraud, waste, and abuse in Knox County government.
The question is, 'what happens next?'
A lot of commenters at the end of the News-Sentinel article are asking for restitution, firings, criminal charges, and/or ouster suits for elected officials.
Tthe officials and employees will submit their responses to the audit, and only then will it be crunch time.
Who enforces the law against the lawmakers? Who watches and prosecutes government corruption?
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