SCIOTO COUNTY — Auditor of State Mary Taylor Thursday released the performance audit of Scioto County.

The audit identifies potential savings of more than $1 million annually, which could help the county recover from its fiscal emergency designation.

“County officials are working on the difficult task of balancing the county’s current budget and identifying long-term solutions to ensure that Scioto County can achieve financial stability,” Taylor said. “Fiscal recovery will require the cooperation and input of all county elected officials and I encourage them to consider the full implementation of these recommendations.”

Scioto County was placed in fiscal emergency in August 2009 after a fiscal analysis by the Auditor of State showed a combined county fund deficit of more than $3.5 million as of June 30, 2009.

The performance audit released today examines the county’s financial and human resources management functions, as well as the two largest General Fund departments, the sheriff’s office and court of common pleas.

In addition to identifying areas of improvement, the report also commends the county for making adjustments to its benefit plan that resulted in annual cost savings of almost $240,000 effective Jan. 1, 2010.

Strategies and recommendations presented in the report represent fundamental, long-term changes for Scioto County. The recommendations that county officials should consider include:

Develop and document budgeting practices that are consistent with state law requirements

Establish formal guidelines to collect “pay for stay” fees from prisoners for an estimated annual savings of $38,000

Reduce staffing levels to increase departmental efficiency for an estimated annual savings of $570,120

Renegotiate certain benefit provisions throughout the county for an estimated annual savings of $158,600

Performance audits report on the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations through peer comparisons and benchmarking to industry standards.

A performance audit is a valuable tool for agencies seeking to improve operations, identify cost savings and make better use of existing resources.

Since taking office, Taylor has released 95 performance audits outlining 2,992 recommendations for improvements.

Those recommendations, if fully implemented, could result in potential cost savings of more than $147 million annually.

A copy of the complete audit is available online at www.auditor.state.oh.us.