Thursday, July 01, 1999
County: Stadiums need auditor
Firm would trouble-shoot contract, taxpayer money for taxpayer dollars
BY DAN KLEPAL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
There is likely to be a new set of eyes watching out for taxpayer money spent on the construction of Paul Brown Stadium.
At least temporarily.
Hamilton County staff has recommended hiring an independent, outside auditor to review several aspects of the new football stadium project.
The auditing firm also would review the contract that will guide construction of the new baseball stadium, making sure all the appropriate auditing provisions are included.
The recommendation comes more than a year after ground-breaking at the $280 million Paul Brown Stadium, and just as the contract for the new Reds' stadium is being written.
Paul Brown Stadium is scheduled to open for the 2000 football season, while the Reds' ballpark will be ready in 2003.
Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes, who has been calling for such a consultant since before construction began, applauded the move.
“Better late than never,” Mr. Rhodes said. “It's too bad they haven't had an auditor down there from the get-go. But I'm pleased they're doing it. It's great for the taxpayers, and that's what really matters.”
Construction auditors can check on things such as quality and quantity of materials being delivered, possible cases of overbilling, project change orders or subcontractors' records and accounting practices, to name a few.
Suzanne Burke, director of the county's Administrative Services Department, said the idea is to have the firm review four key aspects of the football stadium construction.
If there is no waste or fraud found, the county may then revert to allowing the project manager, construction manager and the county's Public Works Department to handle the audits.
“We want a snapshot of what's going on down there,” Ms. Burke said. “It's like a one-time hit.”
Ms. Burke was one of a team of eight who discussed the idea before making the recommendation to County Administrator David Krings. She is recommending that the national accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers be hired for the job.
The four things to be reviewed by at Paul Brown Stadium are:
• Internal control procedures and payment practices.
• Construction schedule for verification that the project is on time and under budget.
• Small business, minority business hiring reports.
• Change orders to determine whether they are included in the scope of the original contract and that the expenditures are legitimate.
“If we find, for example, that minority hiring is really not at 11 percent — that it's at 4 percent or 16 percent — that would be cause for me to say we need to keep them (the auditors) on,” Ms. Burke said.
“But if everything is 100 percent accurate, then we've accomplished the independent review.”
It is unclear how much those services will cost.
County Commissioners Bob Bedinghaus and John Dowlin, both of whom were unavailable for comment Wednesday, have previously expressed support for the idea.
Mr. Krings said he will discuss the issue with all three commissioners next week before deciding on the next move.
“Most of the board isn't around this week,” Mr. Krings said. “But we'll talk over the pluses and minuses, then decide on a direction.”
Stadium Project spokeswoman Brooke Hill was a member of the eight-person team that originally discussed the issue. Six of those eight people, including Ms. Hill, are in favor of hiring an outside auditor.
“I believe the public thinks there is a need for this,” Ms. Hill said. “It's important for folks to know that someone removed from the project is taking a look at it.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers now is providing auditing services for the new Cleveland Browns' stadium.
“That was important to me,” Ms. Burke said. “I wanted to find a firm with stadium experience.”
It is unclear exactly when, if approved, the auditing firm will begin work. But Ms. Burke said she would like to have the firm on board “as soon as possible.”
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