PEORIA, Ill. – Peoria County voters are being asked for the second time in four years to eliminate the position of County Auditor.
The question on the ballot claims the county would save money by eliminating the internal auditor, in part because the county already has an external one.
But Auditor Jessica Thomas says that’s misleading.
“They’re not going to get any rebate back,” Thomas tells WMBD News. “They’re not going to get anything back…any tax discount or anything back. So, saying something is a cost savings is misleading as well. Anyone who deals with government knows that when they don’t put something in one column, they adjust it and shift it to another account.”
Thomas claims in part because of the area’s population, the Auditor is required by law. Problem is, she says, the External Auditor is also required by law.
Those in favor of the question say the internal auditor simply isn’t needed.
“This is money that,s not getting any benefit for the taxpayers, so why pay for it? Peoria County Board Vice Chair James Fennell said, in a recent interview with 25 News. “So that’s why I recommended that we remove it.”
Thomas, meanwhile, cites to a statement from the Institute of Internal Auditors, calling the move to eliminate the office “misguided.” Ultimately, Thomas says government oversight of county operations is not a bad thing.
Fennell says otherwise.
“This is a time we’re telling people we can reduce some of our costs,” Fennell said. “They have a decision to make, whether they’d like us to do it or not.”
“I have been one that’s always followed the rules,” said Thomas. “Some people call me a pollyanna, I’m a hopeful optimist. I just really think that the government that I thought that existed here in Peoria county is one that followed the rules and did the right thing.”
The question, as it’s stated on the ballot, is below.
(From a Peoria County Election Commission sample ballot. A lawsuit seeking to stop this wording was dismissed.)
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