Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1916-01-07
AUDITING COMMITTEE
FOR THE COUNTY
Suggested at Meeting of County
Taxpayers Tuesday.
BY Mr.. GEORGE T. MELVIN.
The Educational Worth of the Auditing
Committee System Cannot be
Overestimated.

~ AhS uSeliuS OF the county Tax
payers Committee at the Court House
on Tuesday, a brief report of which ap-
peared in The Capital of Wednesday.
one of the suggestions made looking
TO the taking of more interest in
county affairs and providing the people
with accurate knowledge of receipts
ana expenditures of taa taxpayers
money. was the establishment of an
auditing committee
This was brought forward by Mr.
George T. Melvin. who said the plan
as worked out in Caroline. Frederick
and other counties, had proven of the
greatest value and satisfaction to the
people He declared that as matter
OF money cost, the expense of an audit
ing committee would not be greater
than the present cost of employing a
certified public accountant to audit
books OF the County Commissioners
and the School Board The proposed
committee, in addition to examining
the vouchers of these two boards.
would have jurisdiction over those OF
all other officers handling county
money It's printed report would
have an informing and permanent ma
ture vastly superior to the present
audits
In general, the plan followed is to
have the court yearly name an aGditine
committee of three representative citi
zens from different parts of the county
In Frederick they are paid $500 day
for each day actually employed. Mr.
Melvin suggests a per diem of $500
here, limiting the annual service to
ten days, which would. undoubtedly, be
ample time for earnest. intelligent
competent men to go through the ac
counts of the public offices, check them
up. and prepare a report. Their work
would be greatly facilitated by the
method and order i'll which the books
of the County Commissioners, School
Board and County Treasurer are now
kept by the efficient officials
Mr.. Melvin said today:
What / think is a most commend
able feature OK this system is the fact
that it disperses among the body of
the substantial citizenship of the eoun
ty receipts and expenditures of the
county representative taxpayers who
have an intimate knowledge of county
receints and expenditures and who nat
urally become q valuable and reliable
source of information aud counsel in
localities These committees would
yearly check up the accounts of all
the officials having to do with county
fnances, and publish in pamphlet form
for distribution among the taxpayers
a detailed report of all items, thus
placing in the hands of every taxpayer
an accurate and authoritative state
ment of the whole fiscal work of the
county for that year Then, too. these
county auditing acts require the com
mittee to make comparisons, suggest
ions. deductions and criticisms such as
to give the ycitiZens of the county an
intelligent understanding of all re-
ceipts and expenditures of public
moneys.
AT the cost of few days per diem
expenses while the committee is al
the county seat going over the books
and of printing the report. the widest
possible publicity is given the financial
workings of the county in signed
statement by three of its best-known
taxpayers appointed by the judges OF
the court and selected for reasons OF
private worth and public confidence
with power to make the most search
ing probe into the accounts of the de-
paltments with which it deals, the
auditing committee is undoubtedly the
hest agency. vet devised for placing in
formation on all matters of fiscal con
cern before the taxpayers, Their re
ports enable the people TO Sc az once
whether there are any leaks or ill-ad-
vised expenditures. and form anabso-
Iutely solid basis for planning econ
omy and efficiency
"The educational worth of the aud
ing committee system cannot be over
estimated Not only does it point out
with unerring accuracy any waste
fulness or extravaganza or ineffcien.
CIV but it just unerringly affords
public official fun protection againts
ilI-founded or malicious criticism fol
any public acts that he has performed
in good faith and with reasonable judg
ment. It presents at one and the same
time 10 the inquiring and fair-mindeo
taxpaver the acts OF the men whC
handle his money for the purposes O
| county government and an adeqGats
exclamation of those acts, If they are
| nerformed for the public welfare. i
surely brings together on footing O
| u,tual understanding the man whS
navs and the official who spends
There is no aimless beating in the All
bv anyone who wishes 70 thoroughly
acauaint himself with county finances
ard who wishes to be Just to the tax
ravers and to the officials. A study o
the reports viii widen his views anC
teach him facts of the machinery o