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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; For the second year in a row, Luzerne County has reduced its general fund deficit.</p><p>Mike Johns, principal at CliftonLarsonAllen auditing, said the county had again, &#8220;beat the budget,&#8221; reducing its deficit from $9.4 million at the end of 2015 to $7.9 million at the end of 2016.</p><p>And although auditors generally delivered good news, they also provided several caveats to council.</p><p>Johns detailed concerns regarding the segregation of duties, saying it is sometimes the same county employee who approves and records a financial transaction.</p><p>&#8220;You always need a system of checks and balances,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Brian Swetz, the county&#8217;s budget/finance division head, said he foresees the problem being alleviated because of increased staffing.</p><p>&#8220;There are more people available to review transactions,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I have a deputy now.&#8221;</p><p>Johns also said financial reconciliations should be done monthly or quarterly.</p><p>&#8220;Some have simply been done annually,&#8221; he said.</p><p>On a positive note, Johns pointed to $800,000 in the general fund that had been earmarked to be spent by Luzerne County Children &amp; Youth Services, but was not used.</p><p>&#8220;Its like getting out your winter coat from last year and finding money in the pocket,&#8221; said council&#8217;s Linda McClosky Houck.</p><p>County Manager David Pedri suggested the funds be used to bolster the county&#8217;s pension fund or placed in the reserve account.</p><p>Pedri credited both CliftonLarsonAllen and the county finance department with &#8220;getting the job done&#8221; on time.</p><p>&#8220;There were over 800 documents that were requested,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They worked incredibly hard and made the timeline.&#8221;</p><p>In other business:</p><p>&#8226; Council discussed upcoming capital projects and their effects on what many have called a &#8220;rapidly dwindling&#8221; capital fund.</p><p>The fund, containing previously borrowed money, now contains about $9.5 million.</p><p>Should all scheduled projects be completed by 2021, that amount would be reduced to $1.2 million.</p><p>When questioned about the expenditures by county councilman Rick Williams, Pedri said, &#8220;Are you asking that the rotunda project be suspended? I don&#8217;t think that&#8217;s the right thing to do.&#8221;</p><p>Pedri said present courthouse projects, which include some grant funding, not only increase the aesthetics of the structure, but provide necessary safety.</p><p>&#8220;So, public safety is really driving this project (of courthouse restoration)?&#8221; Williams said.</p><p>&#8220;Yes it is,&#8221; said Pedri.</p><p>&#8226; Pedri also discussed a recently signed contract with ADP for payroll services.</p><p>&#8220;Although it is already signed, it hasn&#8217;t been implemented,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think that it&#8217;s prudent to review it.&#8221;</p><p>Pedri also said he would be reviewing New World System financial software purchased in 2012.</p><p>Resident Brian Shiner questioned if New World software had been underutilized by the county and could perhaps fill its need for payroll services.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think that New World can provide the services that ADP can,&#8221; said Pedri. &#8220;But I think we need to understand what both can offer.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Audit: Luzerne County again reduces general fund deficit