`plain English' Text As Published

Antone Brum

By JENNIFER LEARN-ANDES jandes@leader.net
 Monday, January 27, 2003 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





Some similarly sized counties rely heavily on certified public accountants
to put together their $100 million-plus operating budgets. Luzerne County does
things a little differently. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Russ Arnone, the brains behind the county's 2003 budget, doesn't hold a
bachelor's degree or CPA certification. But he says he's confident his
practical work experience and education helped him draft an accurate and
thorough $126.7 million operating budget. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Some have a different opinion. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``A CPA should be putting that budget together, and there's no question a
CPA will do the job if I run for commissioners and am elected,'' said county
Controller Steve Flood. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I'm not attacking Russ Arnone. He's tried his best, but a budget -
especially one of this size - has to be under the control of professionals
whose job it is to deal with numbers all the time.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That's how it is in Berks County, where Budget Director Kerry L. Heckman
holds a bachelor's degree in accounting, two relevant master's degrees and has
more than 30 years of significant financial experience, including CPA status. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``A lot of counties are moving into requiring more background from the
people who put together their budgets,'' Heckman said. ``Budget preparation
has gotten a lot more difficult in recent years and probably demands more
credentials and backgrounds.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 By contrast, Arnone, the county's personnel/budget director, has a two-year
associate's degree in engineering technology from Penn State University and
said he has taken numerous other college courses in accounting and business. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He worked 25 years in the private sector as an industrial engineer and said
he gained budget experience by estimating projects and supervising payroll. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Arnone also worked for H&amp;R Block for two years in the early 1970s and has
prepared tax returns for individuals and handled accounting for small
businesses for 30 years. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He said he gained experience in public budgeting as a Jenkins Township
supervisor, where he was instrumental in drafting and monitoring annual
operating budgets for 14 years. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``In 14 years, we had one tax increase done two years ago to consolidate
debts and do road projects,'' Arnone said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Arnone said the county budget is the largest spending plan he's drafted by
far because Jenkins Township's budget was about $1.5 million. But he was
undaunted by the county task. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``The county budget is larger, but the same budgeting concepts apply,''
Arnone said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Minority Commissioner Stephen A. Urban said the county budget director
should hold a minimum of a bachelor's degree and experience in finance and
budget preparation in similarly sized organizations. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 There are no minimum training/education requirements for those who put
together county budgets, although the key employees drafting budgets in at
least three other counties on par with Luzerne have more formal training. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Heckman of Berks County holds a bachelor's degree in accounting, a master's
degree in taxation and a master's degree in business administration. He is
also a certified public accountant and certified government finance manager. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Northampton County Budget Administrator Doran Hamann has an undergraduate
and graduate degree in accounting and a master's in business administration. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lancaster County Administrator Timothea M. Kirchner has a master's degree
in educational psychology but said she relies heavily on certified public
accountants in the controller's office to help her prepare county budgets. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Heckman said he has 10 years of experience in public accounting, 10 years
as a controller/chief financial officer in private industry and 10 years in
government in the controller's office and as budget director. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Though Heckman and the others wouldn't critique Arnone's background,
Heckman said he believes counties should rely on certified public accountants
to put together budgets. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I would put a lot of weight on being a CPA. Being a CPA in this day and
age is absolutely essential in drafting a county budget,'' Heckman said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hamann, who has worked in various finance/budgetary positions in his county
for 23 years, said his peers in other counties include people with similar
backgrounds, people with lots of formal training and little experience and
people fresh out of college with bachelor's or master's degrees. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``There's no standard, but I would think in this day and age in the year
2003, a four-year degree with an emphasis in accounting would be most
beneficial,'' Hamann said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But he added, ``That's not to say somebody who put in 20 years without
school couldn't do just as good a job.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Though she doesn't have an accounting degree, Kirchner said she has
extensive budget experience as a school federal programs coordinator and
through volunteer work. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``The Controller's Office has accountants and auditors within their office.
I work in concert with them,'' Kirchner said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Not here. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Flood has questioned the accuracy and thoroughness of Arnone's 2003 budget
and has complained that Arnone never sought assistance from the two
Controller's Office CPAs when he drafted the budget. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Majority Commissioners Tom Pizano and Tom Makowski stand by their selection
of Arnone and frequently praise the quality of his work. They hired Arnone in
March 2001 without seeking resumes from outside applicants. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Makowski has said he didn't look outside the county to fill the position
because he wanted to promote from within. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jennifer Learn-Andes, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at
831-7333. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Accounting For County Budget Head's Credentials 
Lack Of Cpa Status For Russ Arnone A Concern For Some. Luzerne County
Personnel/budget Director Says Practical Experience Important.

Accounting For County Budget Head's Credentials Lack Of Cpa Status For Russ Arnone A Concern For Some. Luzerne County Personnel/budget Director Says Practical Experience Important.