StateAuditor

Meet the Candidates for State Auditor

Tom Cool Democrat

The citizens of our state have a proud tradition of hard work and honesty. Andourtaxpayersdeserve a government with the samevalues.

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 resourcesandsadlythetragiclossoflife. Atthesametime a national organization has given our state an “F” when it comes to the potential for corruption and the lack of protectiveguidelines.

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.

ItistheStateAuditorwhoscrutinizesthemannerinwhich statetaxdollarsarespent.Simplystated,theofficeofState Auditorhasbeendescribedasconstitutionallythe“checks andbalances”ofstategovernment.

Sothebigquestioniswherehavethecurrentofficeholders (auditor and treasurer) been the past several years in fulfillingthisfunction.

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 longbeforeanyproblemswerecitedbystategovernment. South Dakota’s taxpayers deserve a watchdog – not a bureaucratic lapdog – and I welcome the opportunity to undertakethatjobforyou.

AsabriefbackgroundIamagraduateoftheUniversityof South Dakota, after which I spent a few years In Indiana workingforalocaldailynewspaper. Ireturnedtothestate in1980withmywifeandthreesons. Iworkedabrieftime 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 theArts in South Dakota, operated a small computer consulting business and eventually joined the organization now knownastheCouncilonCollegeAdmissioninSDwhere I have spent the past 30+ years coordinating college fairs, workshopsandpublicationsaimedatpromotinginformed decision-making by students planning for life after high school. The programs have involved bringing together personsandinstitutionsfromthroughoutthestate.

Rich Sattgast

Republican

The three most important roles within theAuditor’s office are to be accountable, accurate and timely. Having served as one of the chief financial officers for the state for thelast15½years,Ihave 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 StateAuditor. Inaddition,ourStateAuditorismandatedtoensurestate andlocalgovernmentsarecompliantwithIRSandSocial Security regulations. My experience in these areas, as well as having served as the Director for theAssociation 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 StateTreasurer, I have intimate knowledge of our state banking system, which makes me uniquely qualifiedtobuilduponthatpledge. Iplantoincreasethe 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” .

AsyourStateTreasurer,IamworkingwithUMACHAto 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 StateAuditor I will work to ensure better government for all of South Dakota.