Mum’s the word — at least for now.
Clark County commissioners missed Wednesday’s deadline to respond to a scathing audit of a year-and-a-half-old county program that eliminates traffic impact and permit fees on nonresidential development. The program, considered a job-creation measure by Commissioners David Madore and Tom Mielke, has been heavily touted by its supporters as a reason for the turnaround in the local economy.
Others, including Auditor Greg Kimsey, have been less complimentary of the program, saying its numbers simply don’t pencil out.
News that there would be no response to the audit came as a surprise to Kimsey, who said he was led to believe the commissioners had planned to craft one.
“It was my understanding they would respond,” Kimsey said. Last month, he extended the original 10-day deadline to respond to the audit to Nov. 12, so commissioners would have more time.
The auditor’s office now plans to release a final version of the audit on Nov. 25 after it’s been reviewed by the county’s Audit Oversight Committee. A letter from Marty Snell — director of the county’s community development department, which oversees the fee-waiver program — will be attached as an appendix to the audit.
Throughout the delayed timetable, the county has kept the draft audit under wraps. Although the county initially declined to release the draft audit in October, The Columbian obtained a copy of it last week.
While there won’t be an official response to the audit that will become part of its official record, Madore said Wednesday that he was initiating an independent analysis of the program.
The fee-waiver program was a cornerstone of Madore’s 2012 campaign, and he has defended the program against criticism in the past. And while he has said little about the audit’s findings, he has discussed his desire to see another analysis of the numbers.
Approved by Mielke and Madore in June 2013, the Job Creation-Fee Waiver Program, as it’s officially known, broadened the county’s previous fee holiday by removing job-creation requirements for new businesses and eliminating all costs for retail developments.
“If for some reason our business-friendly policies are unsustainable, we should do away with them,” Madore said. “But we shouldn’t second-guess the data.”
Madore’s call for an “independent analysis” of the fee-waiver program — independent, it would seem, even from the auditor’s office — is the closest he’s come to denouncing the report’s findings ahead of its official release.
Asked how the analysis would be conducted, Madore declined to comment. He told commissioners at a Wednesday meeting that he wanted a “good, honest, transparent look” at the program.
Kimsey said he stands by the audit’s findings, which conclude that the waiver program is unsustainable and may negatively impact future county infrastructure projects.
The audit is also critical of job-creation figures cited by commissioners Mielke and Madore. It says 68 percent of the waivers offered under the program went to projects in retail, food, consumer service and entertainment industries, which tend to pay low salaries.
Appointment
The Audit Oversight Committee also gained a new, controversial member Wednesday.
Commissioners approved adding forensic accountant Tiffany Couch to the committee, much to the displeasure of Commissioner Ed Barnes. He noted that Couch had previously worked for Madore, providing forensic accounting work of the Columbia River Crossing during the commissioner’s opposition to the megaproject. (Couch said she stopped working for Madore once he was elected.)
Couch defended herself, saying Kimsey had suggested she join the committee, not Madore.
Barnes said there would still be the appearance of underhanded dealings because Couch had previously worked for Madore.
“That association is already out there,” he said. “I’m telling you guys, I have a serious problem with it.”
He said he was concerned Couch would sway the audit’s findings because of her close association with Madore, a notion the auditor’s office dismissed.
For his part, Madore lauded Couch as an outstanding forensic accountant who would not buckle to outside pressure.
“I have the greatest confidence in Tiffany as an independent person,” Madore said. “She is the most uncompromising person I know.”
He added: “I love auditors.”
