The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1920-01-15

citation OF Virginia: the Virginia
Manual Labor school at Hanover
operated by tho Negro Reformatory
association OF Virginia and the Indus
trial Home School for wayward coli
ored girls at Peake Ga corporation UNI
der Virginia laws) be turned over to
the state as a condition precedent to
receiving any further appropriations.
All of these institutions are almost
entirely supported by direct appfep--
riations from the state. but. in spite
of this, the state has no control
whatever over them Conditions.
especially at the Laurel Industrial
school, which were revealed by the
budget survey show that the state In
not Justified In placing public funds
and such extensive powers in what
! are in reality private enterprises be-
ing operated under the guise OF pub
lie institutions.
STATE AUDIT AND
CENTRALIZED ACCOUNTING
Recommendation are contained in
this budget for an annual appropria-
ton of $12.00o.00 to the state ac-
countant to enable his Office TO make
! more frequent inspections of the ac-
counts of all state departments and
Institutions than IL has been possible
for them to do under the limited
appropriations heretofore made for
his ONCE.
The commission on economy and
efficiency also called attention to this
need. and recommended that the
state accountants office. be provided
with sufficient funds and force to CO.
! operate with the governor in super
vfsing the fina nciai system OF the state
! and local governments, and more eff
ficiently TO do the work which has
been assigned to it, The general
. laxness with which the states funds
are handled and accounted for under
present conditions the commission
said, Should be corrected without
| further delay"
AS has already been explained. 1t
i has not been possible to ACCOMPANY
this budget with "an itemized and
complete financial balance sheet for
the state" at the close of the fiscal
year ending Sept 80, 1919. as re-
( CURED by the budget law because
under the states existing and obso-
I fete decentralixed accounting and
/ auditing system, the auditor of pub
| lie accounts has not been able to
comply with the law and furnish
such statement. Aside from the
! many difficulties which have been
experienced in the preparation of this
auditing and accounting system
means the loss of considerable sums
OF money to the state each year, and,
| what Is even more important. ir
| means the loss OF informant ton. neces-
sary TO enable intelligent corrective
| steps to be instituted in order to Sc
| cure the proper service returns from
the expenditure of the states
| funds.
| It has been fully developed through
the budget studies made during the
past year. that. under existing laws,
4 the office OF the auditor of public ac-
| counts functions merely as Il central
receiving and disbursing agency, with
| only limited auditing powers. Many
items of the states financial trans
actions ase-aat reflected at all in the
records OF the Office which means
that the state has not even a central
bookkeeping agency, much less a
| central accounting and auditing de-
partment
/ The commission on economy and
efficiency also pointed out this con-
dition when it said: Separate audit
of expenditures OF the public funds
| by the spending authorities them
selves is reprehensible, to say the
least Audit and approval of sub
vouchers OF all departments. insti-
| tutionS and agencies of the state
should be placed with the auditor
| OF public accounts.s'
/ 1t is Uncomfortable that any sue
cesful private business enterprise
| could be operated on the plan by
| which the states financial affairs are
now handled. and adequate returns
from the states expenditures will
| not be had until our obsolete methods
| are replaced with modern and CEN
tralized accounting and auditing sys-
| tenn as complement OF Virginia ex-
cellent budget system which was en-
acted By the 1918 general assembly 1t
| Is. therefore. earnestly urged that
legislation be enacted at this session
OF the general assembly vesting the
| auditor Of public accounts with cen
], trail accounting and auditing control
| over all revenues and expenditures
and assets and liabilities of every
state department, institution. board
| and other agency. as contemplated
by the budget law.
PURCHASING COMMISSION
As another complement OF the bud
get System, an annual appropriation
or ~, 500 II recommended Tor the
| establishment Of state purcha sing
commission to consist OF the governor.
as chairman OK oflicio, the state treas
urer ana the auditor OF public ac-
counts. who shall each serve with
| out additional compensation.
In the early part of last winter a
careful survey of the fuel require
ments OF our thirty state and state
aided institutions was made by the
| governors ONCE. II was learned that
between $4,000 and $4,000 tons of
bituminous coal are used annually by
these institutions, for which last year
prices were being paid T. o. b. mines
all the way from 31.35 per net ton
to $3.1S: and that the total cost of
the coal delivered tho institutions
bins ranged from $4.55 per net ton
to an high as $3.50, amounting in
the aggregate to more than q quarter
of a million dollars.
TO assist the Institutions In secur-
| ing coal at lower prices this year. the
governors ONCE early in March 1919,
with the assistance OF the governors
board OF mechanical survey. rormu-
lated . minimum standard for steam
coal and asked for bids for supply
| ing the institutions on collective
basis. The result Of this effort has
been that approximately 60 per cent
| OF the bitumtnous coal required our