Meet the Candidates for State Auditor Tom Cool Democrat
The citizens of our state have a proud tradition of hard work and honesty. And our taxpayers deserve a government with the same values.
Yet in the past few years we’ve seen a couple of major financial scandals such as EB5 and Gearup resulting in the loss of untold millions in state funds, the misdirection of state resources and sadly the tragic loss of life. At the same time a national organization has given our state an “F” when it comes to the potential for corruption and the lack of protective guidelines.
As a onetime investigative report and an experience nonprofit administrator – used to keeping a close eye on the bottom line – I’d like a chance to undertake the role which is described on the current state web site as the taxpayers’ watchdog.
It is the State Auditor who scrutinizes the manner in which state tax dollars are spent. Simply stated, the office of State Auditor has been described as constitutionally the “checks and balances” of state government.
So the big question is where have the current officeholders (auditor and treasurer) been the past several years in fulfilling this function.
I grew up in Platte, sight of the Gear Up tragedy, and I know that residents of that city had concerns about the operation of the program and the spending of state funds long before any problems were cited by state government. South Dakota’s taxpayers deserve a watchdog – not a bureaucratic lapdog – and I welcome the opportunity to undertake that job for you.
As a brief background I am a graduate of the University of South Dakota, after which I spent a few years In Indiana working for a local daily newspaper. I returned to the state in 1980 with my wife and three sons. I worked a brief time for St. Michael Church in western Sioux Falls during construction of a new building and a new parish. Later I served as an administrator for the Foundation for the Arts in South Dakota, operated a small computer consulting business and eventually joined the organization now known as the Council on College Admission in SD where I have spent the past 30+ years coordinating college fairs, workshops and publications aimed at promoting informed decision-making by students planning for life after high school. The programs have involved bringing together persons and institutions from throughout the state. OCTOBER 2018
Rich Sattgast Republican
The three most important roles within the Auditor’s office are to be accountable, accurate and timely. Having served as one of the chief financial officers for the state for the last 15 ½ years, I have the knowledge to ensure success in those areas. I have state auditing and payroll experience as well as the knowledge and background in the use of the state’s accounting system. This knowledge and experience is imperative when we hire the State Auditor. In addition, our State Auditor is mandated to ensure state and local governments are compliant with IRS and Social Security regulations. My experience in these areas, as well as having served as the Director for the Association of County Officials, gives me the knowledge and the relationships to effectively work with the local leaders who run our cities, schools, counties and townships.
Looking forward, I pledge to always work to improve accountability, accuracy and timeliness of payments. Serving as State Treasurer, I have intimate knowledge of our state banking system, which makes me uniquely qualified to build upon that pledge. I plan to increase the number of auditors we have by freeing up other FTE’s through the use of automation in the reconciliation process. This is important because of the auditor/workload ratio that currently exists. At present, auditors are estimated to only have a little over 2 ½ minutes per voucher due to the sheer volume of daily vouchers. By being able to re-allocate employees, I can increase the amount of time each auditor can spend per voucher. This not only increases the ability to catch anomalies, but also provides a more timely payment system, thus working toward fulfilling the “pledge”.
As your State Treasurer, I am working with UMACHA to host fraud prevention classes for state finance officers and as State Auditor I look forward to opening that opportunity to local government finance officers as well. I am focused on results, and as State Auditor I will work to ensure better government for all of South Dakota.
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