title
Resolution of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, requesting the County Controller to oversee an examination of the books, accounts, and records of all Allegheny County authorities through the contracting of an independent auditor.
body
WHEREAS, the County is embarking upon a year in which review of the overall County government will be conducted with resulting recommendations about changes that could be made to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the County's services;
WHEREAS, although the Municipality Authorities Act provides that an authority shall file an annual report of its fiscal affairs and have its books, accounts, and records audited annually by a certified public accountant, a review by another entity or agency is appropriate in determining whether there are issues or concerns regarding the authority's operations;
WHEREAS, as the creating municipality, Allegheny County should be concerned that all authorities are operating in a conscientious, knowledgeable manner that benefits the residents of the County for which the authority was created to provide services;
WHEREAS, while the provisions of the Municipality Authorities Act do not provide for ongoing oversight responsibilities by any government agency, it does provide that the Attorney General has the right to examine the books, accounts, and records of any authority; an option that can provide an unbiased review of how each authority is handling its business; and
WHEREAS, the Attorney General's Office does not have the resources to conduct an examination of the County's authorities; because this is a local concern, it is appropriate that the County Controller assume the responsibility to conduct such an examination through independent means in order to prevent any criticism of bias;
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby resolves as follows:
SECTION 1.
Allegheny County Council requests that the County Controller oversee an examination of the books, accounts, and records of all Allegheny County authorities through the contracting of an independent auditor; and, further, requests that findings be provided to the County Council so that any issues or concerns regarding the authority's operations can be addressed by the County as the creating municipality.
SECTION 2. If any provision of this Resolution shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Resolution which shall be in full force and effect.
SECTION 3. Any Resolution or Ordinance or part thereof conflicting with the provisions of this Resolution is hereby repealed so far as the same affects this Resolution.