COEUR d'ALENE — Kootenai County is proposing to form an internal audit committee in hopes of improving government efficiency.

"If we can find more efficient ways to do things, that's an advantage to the taxpayers," said County Clerk Jim Brannon, who is spearheading the proposal. "You save money by doing things efficiently. That's what this is all about — doing it right the first time."

The clerk's office currently performs internal audits of county departments at the request of commissioners, elected officials and others.

If the internal audit committee is formed, those employees would perform audits independently rather than under the clerk's umbrella.

County commissioners will further discuss the proposal on May 31 at 11 a.m. The concept has been presented to county officials and department heads.

Brannon said forming an internal audit committee was recommended by the Spokane accounting firm of CliftonLarsonAllen when it performed its external audit of the county.

"One of their concerns is that the internal audit team should be reporting to the highest level of governance," Brannon said, adding it currently reports to the clerk's office.

"Their suggestion morphed into the discussion that the highest level of governance would be a committee of the elected officials."

While the committee would consist of county elected officials, how large the committee would be and who exactly would serve on it haven't been decided.

One idea is to have one county commissioner represent that three-person board and all of the other elected officials on the committee. Another is to have a three-person committee that rotates.

Brannon said the other advantages of having a committee is that it would eliminate any perceptions that his office is targeting specific departments to uncover issues and it would eliminate any perceived biases if his own staff was auditing the clerk's office.

"You can see where that would create a conflict," Brannon said.

Brannon said he doesn't anticipate the formation of the committee costing any money.

Treasurer Steve Matheson said he supports the formation of a committee because it would increase the safety and soundness of how taxpayer funds are spent.

"One of the first things I believe should be required is that the auditing committee should have the ability to hire and fire the auditing director," he said. "I also believe the audit committee should have the ability to request its annual budget from the county commissioners."

Matheson said the committee needs to be independent and buy-in from all of the elected officials is key, he said.

"The total buy-in validates the committee," he said. "If you have an official who is unwilling to participate, that erodes the foundation of the committee."

Matheson said he also believes the committee of all the elected officials would lead to more cooperation between the departments — something the county has been criticized for the lack of during election campaigns.

"It won't be the magic bullet, but it will help for addressing the issue," Matheson said.

Internal audits are important to improving the efficiency of county departments, officials said.

Brannon said the Coeur d’Alene Airport was recently audited by his staff and has done a good job of implementing the audit's recommendations to make improvements.

Another example of how internal reviews of departments can lead to tweaks is that commissioners on May 31 are expected to approve a resolution involving the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.

The resolution states that, in order to support the Fair Board's role and to ensure that commissioners have met state code, county Buildings and Grounds Director Shawn Riley shall be given primary responsibility for oversight of all projects related to the physical upgrades of all fairgrounds structures as well as any and all new capital and non-capital construction and remodel projects.

Commissioner Dan Green said he believes the formation of an internal audit committee would be a step in the right direction.

"Every business has room for improvement," he said. "If a department is audited, it would report to an audit team rather than one elected official (the clerk). I believe this committee would help us tighten things up if we are being sloppy."