CLAYTON — The ºüÀêÊÓƵ County’s auditor office is fully staffed and set to complete several projects, one year after it faced criticism for a lack of productivity and employee turnover.
Auditor Toni Jackson’s office only completed one audit within her first year on the job, and then at least two of the five-person staff quit last year, one claiming a hostile work environment.
The office became fully staffed again in June, and it finished several projects this year, Jackson told the County Council at a budget hearing Tuesday.
The auditor’s office has only completed one audit this year, an audit of the county’s revenue department. The council typically expects three audits.
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But Jackson said the office had other achievements. It managed the county’s external audit and recommended improvements to how the county finds discrepancies in its accounts.
The office also made progress on three special investigations and on an audit of the county’s process for awarding contracts and procuring services, particularly in its economic development arms.
Councilwoman Rita Heard Days pressed Jackson about her office’s productivity this year. Jackson said her office did the best it could without a full staff.
“I didn’t have a team up until six months ago,†Jackson said. “We’re doing the best we can.â€
Days said council members need to make sure audits are getting done.
“We as a council have been dinged because of the lack of auditing,†Days said.
The council hired Jackson, a certified public accountant from Florissant, in November 2021. She replaced Mark Tucker, ousted by the council after a state audit criticized him for failing to uncover corruption under former County Executive Steve Stenger. Stenger was later indicted on federal pay-to-play charges in which he asked for and received campaign contributions from people seeking to do business with the county.
The council asked Jackson to do a follow-up audit after the state report by looking at the county’s procurement process and how the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Economic Development Partnership and ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Port Authority issue contracts.
That audit is still underway, but it’s slow-going, as with other audits, Jackson told Councilman Mark Harder when he asked about her productivity.
“It’s a bottleneck everywhere we go,†Jackson said. “You know how the county operates. We work in silos. That’s how it’s designed. And if they have their processes, and their systems, and their procedures and their tools, that’s going to differ from department to department.â€
The auditor’s budget would increase by roughly 32% — from $765,000 to about $1 million — if the council approves it. Pay raises are increasing budgets across the county, and the auditor also wants to hire two interns.
Councilman Ernie Trakas accused the auditor of giving herself an unauthorized raise last year, but the allegations were never proven publicly.
The council hired Jackson at a salary of $120,000 annually, an increase from the position’s pay in 2021 of $85,000. Last year, the council approved a pay raise to $124,800.
Under the proposed budget for next year, Jackson would see a 3% increase to about $128,200, according to county budget Director Paul Kreidler.