I understand that the political hoopla over yesterday’s scathing King County performance audit report is inevitable, with executive candidates falling all over themselves calling for government reform, but honestly, I’m not really sure what to make of it.
I don’t doubt that there are problems in county government, that there are some bad managers and messed up or missing procedures that need to be replaced or fixed. That’s true of all large bureaucracies, public and private sector, and that’s why we do performance audits in the first place.
But quite frankly, I’ve lost faith in State Auditor Brian Sonntag’s office to conduct and report performance audits fairly, honestly, and most of all, efficaciously.
As I’ve explained before, a performance audit is not a financial audit, does not come close to adhering to the same sort of strict, unwavering standards, and is neither objective nor irrefutable, even when done well. The primary goal of a financial audit is to keep the books honest and accurate by providing an outside, independent verification of an organization’s financial records, and as such, it is mostly an objective exercise in math. The primary goal of a performance audit is to uncover inefficiencies in procedures and/or execution, and to make recommendations on how to improve an organization’s operations. Performance audits are, by their nature, more subjective and less definitive.
Indeed, for a performance audit to be maximally effective it requires the active cooperation and participation of those being audited; when conducted well, a performance audit is meant to be a collaborative process. Unfortunately, by repeatedly using performance audits as a punitive political weapon—an opportunity to very publicly attack and humiliate state and local government officials—Sonntag has transformed his audits into an adversarial process that puts targeted agencies on the defensive, and thus works against the stated goal of increasing government efficiency.
Oh, Sonntag’s office proudly trumpets the millions of dollars the auditors claim that taxpayers might save if their recommendations were implemented, but how much taxpayers have saved, well, we have no idea. No idea which recommendations officials grudgingly implement after Sonntag’s orchestrated media thrashing, and no idea how effective these recommendations actually are.
I’m not refuting all or even some of the findings in the KC performance audit report; auditors appear to have uncovered some egregious and/or stupid practices. But I put the emphasis on “appear” because honestly, I don’t know that the report can be taken at face value, especially coming from an Auditor with a history of targeting his resources at agencies and programs he dislikes, and who has already compromised his impartiality by endorsing Susan Hutchison, the only Republican in the executive race, and the candidate with the least experience at running anything… other than her mouth.
Like I said, I understand all the hoopla and headlines. Journalists are famously skeptical of government agencies and officials. As they should be. It’s their job, and they wouldn’t be doing it properly if they didn’t jump all over a report like this.
But what really bugs the hell out of me about the coverage of this and previous Sonntag orchestrated hatchet jobs, is the complete and utter unquestioning credulity in which our media approaches the least audited agency in the state… the Auditor’s office itself.
What’s wrong? Sonntag’s not “progressive” or Democrat enough for you? He’s one of your guys, not part of the Neo-con tribe or the Libertarians and other independents.
Sonntag pisses Goldy off because he’s a true Pierce County Democrat, which means, among other things, “ROADS, bitches!”
But forget that for a minute. My question to Goldy for today is: Are you coming down to the King County Democrats’ endorsement meeting tonight at the Carpenters Hall in Renton, with a cast of hundreds, and enough blogging material to last you for weeks?
Or will you retreat to your safe little Drinking Liberally cocoon, where you can hold court and be the big fish in your little pond?
Me, I’ll be at the Carpenters, where the action is.
No, PI, if you could actually read and understand the English language, you’d know the problem that Goldy identifies.
Brian Sonntag is an experienced and highly skilled financial auditor. He has the accountancy chops and the familiarity with governmental fiscal operations to do a superb job of that.
The problem is that the only similarity between what he’s so good at and the report on King County is the word audit. In practice, and as described by Goldy, there is little similarity between financial and performance audits. Expertise at the former has little bearing on capability to do the latter.
As commenter “KC” (who appears to be in a position to know whereof he/she speaks) stated in response to a post yesterday on Publicola:
and also:
In other words, the person from Sonntag’s office wasn’t really trying to do a performance audit. Looking for fraud is a piece of financial auditing. To the hammer that is the State Auditor’s office, everything looks like a
nailfinancial impropriety.How can you do a “performance audit” without have the information from a “financial audit”? Git your heads out of your arse. think about it. You have to be able to read and understand the money flow to even began to start seeing if the taxpayers are getting what they paid for. The accounting practices for millions of dollars are atrocious! No wonder their is such waste! When there is that much smoke, he should be looking for fire (fraud)!
Goldy got dat right:
Yep, and we know how Dummocrapts act around money don’t we…? Put in the freezer… Send it overseas… Ponzi schemes…
“I’m not refuting all or even some of the findings in the KC performance audit report;”
Translation – I can’t refute some, or any of the findings…..Damn!
“Auditors appear to have uncovered some egregious and/or stupid practices.”
Uhhh yeah? appear to have? More like HAVE uncovered…..
“But I put the emphasis on “appear” because honestly, I don’t know that the report can be taken at face value, especially coming from an Auditor with a history of targeting his resources at agencies and programs he dislikes”
You mean ones like Port of Seattle? King County? DOT Ferries? Do you have proof of this “targeting”? Or, more likely, is it just that many of the candidates for KC executive are Democrats and are responsible for this mess….and that really hurts Democrats…
Ouch!!
Is the report stating that the contractors are cheating the government, that the government is cheating the contractors, or that both are cheating the government to enrich themselves?
Are we doubting their capacity to perform or witnessing their superb performance at obfuscating theft of public funds?
@3
Thanks!
When you have the facts on your side, argue the facts…
When you have the law on your side, argue the law…
When you have nothing but an empty hat, pound on the table and smear your opponent.
How empty is Goldy’s hat?
As a near-uncrticial governmental sycophant, Goldy is apoplectic over anyone or anything that questions the benefits and blessings of big government.
Engaging in comparative morality (” don’t doubt that there are problems in county government, that there are some bad managers and messed up or missing procedures that need to be replaced or fixed. That’s true of all large bureaucracies, public and private sector…”) he effectively excuses the mess that is King County government by making a wild-ass and quite unsubstantiated claim that ALL large entities are like that.
Hat’s getting emptier by the minute…
To anyone who’s ever dealt with either King County (I have) or who’s pealed back the veneer of an agency subject to a Sonntag-led performance audit (I have), the sheer lunacy and bald affrontery of Goldy’s post is breathtaking.
Sadly, Goldy equates telling the truth about what goes on in government to be a “political attack.” In other words, sit down, shut up, and take your overweaning-government medicine like the mouse you are.
Without question, Brian Sonntag is the most popular Democrat office holder in the state. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if but what he ever decided to go for the governor’s office that he’d have huge grassroots support in his own party, and massive crossover support from Republicans who trust and respect him.
Maybe that’s another reason Goldy disses him so much?
In any event, his support can be gauged at the ballot box – and it’s overwhelming. When was the last time Goldy ran for anything?
No…not run from anything…
The Piper
“Indeed, for a performance audit to be maximally effective it requires the active cooperation and participation of those being audited; when conducted well, a performance audit is meant to be a collaborative process. Unfortunately, by repeatedly using performance audits as a punitive political weapon—an opportunity to very publicly attack and humiliate state and local government officials—Sonntag has transformed his audits into an adversarial process that puts targeted agencies on the defensive, and thus works against the stated goal of increasing government efficiency.”
This could just as easily be a description of the job performance review process in many public agencies. Which is why public employees need unions, seniority rights, and merit pay. In their absence, hiring and retention, performance reviews, pay raises, and promotions degenerate into cronyism and favoritism in many public agencies.
@9
Um… Your post is full of opinions, not facts. Maybe you could provide some facts to back up your opinions?
Of course, it was Tim Eyman who created this mess by floating an initiative that gave Sonntag a job his office isn’t qualified to do.
@11…Michael…
I give you the performance audit of Washington State Ferries, the big-dollar results of which WSF buried deeper than they bury waste at Hanford. WSF couldn’t dispute the veracity of the findings or recommendations (more that they were afraid to irritate certain legislators by trying to implement them), so they drowned them in a shower of bureaucratic doubletalk all the while letting the opportunities for cost savings and reform slip through their fingers.
Heck, I’ve even had union officials privately come to me to tell me that we don’t know half of the garbage that goes on in that agency.
It amazes me the level of uncritical worship of high taxes and big government that exists among the HA Happy Hooligans.
The Piper
Piper.
The above are statements of opinion, not fact. Which is too bad as we have a rare occurrence opinions that agree with each other when it comes to the WSF.
Numbers, good. Bombast, bad.
N in Seattle said:
“Brian Sonntag is an experienced and highly skilled financial auditor. He has the accountancy chops and the familiarity with governmental fiscal operations to do a superb job of that.”
Is he a CPA with years of experience prior to getting into government? Does he at least have a degree in accounting or a related field?
Hey, he’s one of your guys. Do you know what you’ve bought?
(I used little words to make sure you could understand.)
Pelletizer, whodathunk you’d be presenting an argument over an unqualified Dummocrapt because you and other unworthy progressives here think Sonntag is not doing his job.
Somehow Puddy remembers Ron Tax To The Max Sims inserting his campaign aide Laura Lockard as Assistant Superintendent for Voter Services
@14…Michael…
When it comes to WSF and the performance audit, it’s a statement of fact especially since I watched it happen – I can bear first-had eye-witness testimony.
And it’s a statement of fact that I am amazed at the level of uncritical worship, etc. That’s a true fact.
Why don’t you ask Goldy for numbers too? Most of what he writes is mere opinion. Hold him accountable as well.
The Piper
Maybe Pelletizer can remember this
from the P-I on Ron Tax To The Max Sims:
“When King County Executive Ron Sims gave a job to former County Council Chairwoman Cynthia Sullivan a few months after she was voted out of office in 2003, he did so despite an executive order issued by Sims’ predecessor. Triplett admitted that he and Sims were unaware of the order until after a P-I reporter phoned a county attorney, John Gerberding, to inquire about its legal status last week. Gerberding immediately tipped off Triplett.” – Hey mac, that looks like cronyism and favoritism to Puddy.
BTW who was Sims predecessor Pelletizer?
So Pelletizer it seems the King County unions have to worry about the leading King County Dummocrapts in powerful positions using their power for
@17 Why don’t you ask Goldy for numbers too? Most of what he writes is mere opinion. Hold him accountable as well.
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I wouldn’t hold my breath . . . I think dear Michael simply assumes everything Goldy says must be true. Let’s find out if he can ask Goldy some hard questions . . .
Why does it take a state government report to unearth problems in county government? You put this story in an interesting context, David, but you miss the larger point.
Our politicians should be held accountable for ensuring government’s effective, efficient, and economical use of taxpayer dollars. That’s why when potential for large-scale abuse of the public coffers is unearthed, it’s time to take a hard look at who’s in-charge. At a time of massive budget shortfalls, there’s a need for a closer look at how King County does business.
You attack the messenger here (Sonntag), imputing motives which may or may not exist. In doing so, you make a “who’s watching the watcher” argument. But with recent trends in local media, it would seem a better argument could be made that nobody is really keeping an eye on local government anymore.
It appears Mr. Sonntag has an appropriate set of credentials. He attended UPS and a graduate program in public administration at the UW, and is a Certified Government Financial Manager. Correct me somebody if I’m wrong, but presumably this corresponds to a CPA more or less in the same way that a Master’s in Public Administration does an MBA.
Speaking of the WSF…after holding out for the last two years trying to find a better deal, the state just sold all four “Steel Electrics” to a shipbreaker in Mexico for a paltry 200 grand.
“When you have nothing but an empty hat, pound on the table and smear your opponent.”
Exhibit a – “How empty is Goldy’s hat?”
Exhibit b – “As a near-uncrticial (sic) governmental sycophant….”
Exhibit c – “…he effectively excuses the mess that is King County government by making a wild-ass and quite unsubstantiated claim that ALL large entities are like that.” (Remember, this is the Pooper – advocate of small government. Also, where is an example of a large ‘entity’??? (Brontosaurus, Halliburton) that is not ‘a mess” ?
Exhibit d – “…the sheer lunacy and bald affrontery (sic) of Goldy’s post is breathtaking.”
Exhibit – e “When was the last time Goldy ran for anything? No…not run from anything…”
Empty bravado, Pooper.
@20
Fuck you. I’ve chided Goldy on all sorts of stuff over the years.
For the record Goldy Et Al have yet to come up with a single person that they’d rather see in office than the incumbents they’re pissing and moaning about.
Why is the county government responsible for the poor performance of the private sector contractors?
26 Depends on whether they’ve hired the same ones before, and how they did.
24 “Also, where is an example of a large ‘entity’??? (Brontosaurus, Halliburton) that is not ‘a mess” ?”
What a horrible insult to brontosauri!
@24
Thanks!
Goldy is the absolute last person to appeal to objectivity. He’s the Perez Hilton of political blogs.
@25 What I am saying is that community in Seattle underdeveloped and lacking in leadership.
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Opinion, not fact . . .
Welcome to the Fold
Goldy,
I have posted on this before. here at the UDub we have and a number of such audits. They are bizarre.
The problem is that a performance audit can give you almost any answer you are willing to pay for. For example, if you decide that “teaching” is the performance, hoe does one measure that? Here, efforts have been made to quantify contact hours, student ratings, course popularity, even the “objective” evaluation of colleagues.
Each of these, of course leads to a different result. However, BEFORE the result, there will always be the needed adaptation to the intent of the audit. Contact hours? .. obviously that leads to very artifical efforts to coutn hours and to add fudge factors for the type of contact. Course popularity? If you have a faculty member who needs to show better performance have her offer “Sexual Practices at the Mustang ranch,” rather than “Population Genetics.”
All of this might not be so bad IF … the usual result was not to add more bureaucracy. We have layers and layers of folks whose job it s to assure that nthe results of the performance audits will be good.
It seems to me that the real issue here is the false notion that we need to elect the State Auditor. The state .. and the UW would certainly benefit from an ongoing efficiency analysis .. much like the ones used in the corporate world. Some hopw I do not see the kind of person this job needs RUNNING for public office!
wow what a rant.
it’s shocking that king county doesn’t have a nice little file on every road project showing the projected cost the final cost and a little discussion of “why did it go over?”
@33 GK
I assume the County DOES have what you want .. but that is NOT what these PSs accomplish.
RE: 32. SJ spews:
While I can see your example lets say we are “teaching” basketball, and every time the student gets a shot in the basket the “teacher” would retire the ball to the trash. When I worked for the Bethel School District in the ’80s this ball was $80.00 from the King County Directors Organization. Would this be a fair expense? This kind of thing happens and I have seen it!
@30,
I saw a piece on O’Reilly last night where Perez Hilton was whimpering on his blog. He gives new meaning tot he term “drama queen!”
Actually, what really bugs Goldy – and always has – is that these audits are the result of a Tim Eyman initiative. If anyone else had sponsored that initiative Goldy wouldn’t be nearly so worked up about it.
@31
@20 you said:
My reply at 25 showed that I do, in fact, question Goldy.
Here’s another fact for you. HA is a partisan blog and has NEVER pretended to be neutral.
@38…Michael…
Nor has it pretended to be either factual or honest.
The Piper
Goldy… This wasn’t a performance audit… it was an accountability audit, which IS a type of financial audit conducted by the SAO on all local jurisdictions. It’s all about the numbers, financial management, protection of assets, etc. It’s not “how well are the buses running” its “what is King County doing with the bus fares.”