Zeigler to Become “Field Auditor” to Keep Office Operating
In addition to his normal duties as State Auditor, Jim Zeigler said Thursday he will train to also work as a field auditor, doing the actual property inventory of state agencies.
The unusual move is necessary because Zeigler’s budget has been cut 28.5% since January 2015 when he took office. He called the move “an emergency measure to keep the State Auditor’s office operating following three years of budget cuts.”
Zeigler says his office budget is $368,400 below the minimum needed to audit the state’s $1.9 billion worth of state property items.
Zeigler made the announcement in a speech to the Capitol Rotary Club in Montgomery Thursday.
Zeigler says his office has less money budgeted than they need to do the job. He says the amount now appropriated, $762,575, is 2.78% less than 10 years ago, Fiscal Year 2007, and below the minimum level needed to run his office.
“This marks the third year in a row that our budget has been cut,” Zeigler said.
“We are $368,400 below sea level. With the severe cuts the previous two years, we cannot do our constitutional job of property inventories with this latest cut. We had already cut everything we could after the last two budget cuts, so there is nothing left to cut.”
When Zeigler took office in January 2015, the office had $1,066,922 to operate. With three cutbacks in a row, the office will have only $762,575 starting October 1 of this year. That represents a cut of 28.5 % since FY2015.
“We have already dropped from 11 full-time and 1 part-time to 6 full-time and 2 part-time employees. We dropped from 5 field auditors to 2 full-time and 1 part-time to audit the entire state. The only option left is for me to replace one of the field auditors myself.”
“We also made the following cuts:
Discontinued the cell phone contract for the auditors
Cut office supply budget
Delayed replacing aging vehicles used by auditors
Transferred three vehicles to other agencies to reduce insurance since we have lost field auditors
Cut overnight travel and only allow daily travel by the auditors
Reduced the number of miles each auditor is allowed to travel from their home base to reduce vehicle fuel and maintenance costs
Delayed replacing computers and printers
Cut out state travel to national property management conferences
Reduced office space that was being leased
“These cutbacks had already been made before this third budget cut. There is nothing left to cut.”
“It is frustrating. We don’t have good options left.”
Zeigler says the budget his office was appropriated this session “was a Gov. Bentley budget. The amount set by the initial Bentley budget did not change during the legislative process.”
The State Auditor is responsible for inventorying state property items worth $500.00 or more plus all weapons and sensitive items. The Auditor serves on the Board of Adjustment deciding claims against the state, appoints voter registrars in each county, and serves on other boards.
