COUNTY OF ULSTER

PO BOX 1800 KINGSTON, NEW YORK 12402

Office of the Comptroller

(845) 340-3525 (845) 340-3697 Fax

Elliott Auerbach
Comptroller

MY VIEW: TRUST THE PROCESS NOT THE PERSON

Being a comptroller can be a bit like being a parent. Sometimes you have to intercede and do what you know to be right even when the people around you dont understand, or choose to misunderstand. Unlike a parent who seizes the teachable moment right at the time, a comptroller cannot necessarily do so without compromising the public good and the integrity of others. Now that Tim Matthews has pled guilty in Ulster County, I am at liberty to explain why I would not allow public funds to continue to flow into and out of - a system that had no written protocols of oversight and had been under the sole control of an individual charged with theft of public funds. Upon learning of Matthews arrest my staff immediately began to research and document confidential monies paid to Matthews and others. These checks typically for $5,000 and $10,000 - were made payable personally to the individual. It is understood that in the undercover world the use of cash is essential and a degree of trust must be exercised in the management of confidential funds. For this reason there must be an effective system of checks and balances designed to reduce risks and protect assets. When it became clear to me that control activities over confidential funds could not be documented I could no longer authorize County funds to be paid out for these purposes. My office was extremely careful to strike the balance of meeting our fiduciary responsibilities for public money without compromising the pending legal case in this matter. As a result, it was necessary to leave a lot unsaid at the time even as some in the media, the Legislature and the public accused me of acting irresponsibly and putting officers in harms way. I can speak freely now about the lack of internal control over the use of confidential funds that existed at the time Matthews was arrested and will say to the public what I have said to the Sheriff and the District Attorney in Ulster County: internal control cannot be based on the trust of any one person; processes for protecting public assets must be memorialized; and the use of funds must be fully documented at each stage. Hopefully much has been learned through this unfortunate experience. As Comptroller I will continue to watch-over the use of public assets and, to the fullest extent I am so empowered, protect them.
(02/14/2012) The mission of the Ulster County Comptrollers Office is to serve as an independent agency of the people, to protect the public interest by monitoring County government and to assess and report on the degree to which its operation is economical, efficient and its financial condition sound