In Focus: Next step for safety tax: performance audits

The third time was the charm for the Benton County public safety sales tax increase. After voters rejected a 0.2 percent increase in 2007 and 2008 they approved Proposition 14-5 during the primary this year with a 53 percent yes vote. The ballot measure increases the local sales tax rate by 0.3 percent (from 8.3 percent to 8.6 percent) and is expected to collect approximately $9 million more per year for increased public safety spending. Unless extended, the sales tax increase will end on December 31, 2024.Now that the voters have given their trust to elected officials and approved this sales tax increase, it is time for these leaders to come through on their promise to enact performance audits to ensure the new resources are economically, efficiently and effectively spent to deliver on the important public safety goals.This is what the Independent Citizen Advisory Committee that proposed the 0.3 percent sales tax increase recommended. The Citizen Committee said the county should “implement performance audits so the public can be assured their tax dollars are spent on programs and services which truly have the desired impact on crime and the factors which contribute to crime.”Despite the Citizen Advisory Committee tying these recommendations together, enacting performance audits was not part of the sales tax increase voters were asked to approve. As reported by the Tri-City Herald on July 18 (“Benton County public safety officials say tax increase would pay for needed resources”), however, local officials are open to approving performance audits: “They also say officials will keep close tabs on the sales tax revenue, with each agency reporting to the public on how it’s spent. And there’s consensus among county officials to implement performance audits, with details of exactly how they would work to be fleshed out.”So what exactly is a performance audit?A performance audit is very different than the routine financial and accountability audits that governments are subject to each year.Those audits focus on compliance with laws and regulations and tracking of money to make sure taxpayer dollars can be accounted for.What those types of audits don’t do is ask and answer questions about the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of government programs. For example, are measurable results being demonstrated and are the programs structured to deliver the biggest return for taxpayer investments? This is what performance audits are used for and why it is critical that they be part of the tool kit for government accountability.As noted by State Auditor Troy Kelley: “Performance audits, when done right, can provide lessons of sound performance management to local governments across our state. They can help local leaders evaluate their programs and improve services using data-driven tools and techniques. Simply put, the rigorous evaluation provided by a sound performance audit can make government better.”Realizing the value added by performance audits, Franklin County Auditor Matt Beaton recently issued a Request For Proposal (RFP) for a performance audit of the Pasco TRAC facility. Auditor Beaton told me, “As auditor, I am the watchdog for taxpayers. Given the challenges that Franklin County has confronted, performance audits are the best tool to deliver the actionable results we can use.” One potential scope for a Benton County performance audit could be to identify the current structure of the criminal justice system and options for program reorganization to best take advantage of the new resources to achieve the stated goals (gang-prevention, mental health, etc). nother audit scope could focus on the performance benchmarks necessary to evaluate success at regular interviews during the 10 year period of the tax to show the value for the investments or identify opportunities to change strategies/ spending priorities within the new revenue stream.Whether pre-budget or post-implementation, either type of performance audit would provide added value and an independent assessment of the spending and impact of the increased revenue taxpayers will be providing.According to the state Municipal Research and Services Center, performance audits are currently part of the local governance accountability structure for Clark County, King County, Pierce County, Snohomish County and the cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver.Benton County and local cities should be the next to join the ranks of local governments taking advantage of the benefits of performance audits.The voters have done their part with approval of Proposition 14-5.Now it is time for elected officials to follow through on their promise for performance audits to help ensure this substantial taxpayer investment in public safety is spent in the most economic, efficient, and effective way.w Jason Mercier is the Government Reform director for Washington Policy Center, a non-profit, nonpartisan research organization with offices in Spokane, Tri-Cities, Seattle and Olympia. Online at www.washingtonpolicy.org

This story was originally published August 22, 2014 at 4:17 PM.