It’s no secret that the finances of Uintah County are under a microscope since the release of an audit by the State Auditor’s Office. In an apparent response to some of the audit’s findings and almost exclusively those that concerned Clerk/Auditor Mike Wilkins, Uintah County Commissioners approved an Ordinance on Monday to delegate accounting services for the entire county to the director of what will be a newly created accounting department. In short, the Clerk/Auditor’s office will no longer provide or help with accounting services. The patron seating in the Commission Chambers was full and the most vocal attendees made it clear when the Ordinance was presented that they opposed it and wanted the opportunity to submit public input. Tensions remained high, even with law enforcement needing to ask patrons to leave if they did not follow procedure. Eventually, the Commission allowed for public comment, including a response from Clerk/Auditor Wilkins himself. Wilkin made comments concerning employee W-4 and 401K contributions and said that due to pending litigation, his attorney has asked him to say nothing else. When Commissioner Brad Horrocks pushed Wilkins as to why the 401K contributions were not brought forward to Commissioners for the past 4 years, Uintah County Treasurer Wendi Long asked if she could respond. Long emphasized that according to her research of county policy, there is no requirement to present that information in a public meeting and that she feels the Commissioners are reading into the policy in order to blame Wilkins. Further she asked to go on the record stating that she disagrees with the Ordinance to delegate accounting to a new Accounting Department as she believes this removes checks and balances. The Commissioners emphasized throughout the meeting that they are about following the rule of law and that the facts back them up. To listen to the audio from Monday’s meeting, visit pmn.utah.gov. Under Government click County, under Entity click Uintah County, and under Body click County Commissioners. The .mp3 audio recording will be found below.
