The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled against State Auditor Rebecca Otto Wednesday, ending her legal effort to block a 2015 law that allows counties to hire outside accountants rather than her office.
Otto, a DFL candidate for governor, had argued that the law undermined her authority. She sued Becker and Wright counties after they hired CPA firms, and challenged Ramsey County's refusal to sign a three-year contract ensuring that her office had the sole right to conduct audits.
In a statement Wednesday, Otto said that the high court had "now made clear that the State Auditor has authority and responsibility over county finances, including the authority to conduct additional examinations of a county following a private CPA firm audit."
She said the Supreme Court opinion "clearly establishes the role of the State Auditor in county finances and sets an important precedent that protects taxpayer dollars."
[...] The opinion concluded that the 2015 law did not violate the separations of powers clause in the Minnesota Constitution [... which] "does not expressly detail the duties of the constitutional executive officers" of state government and are instead "prescribed by law."
The Supreme Court agreed with the appeals court that the state auditor retains the authority to "set uniform standards for auditing counties and ensure compliance with those standards."
In Strib's reporting, the paragraphs covered by the first ellipsis had Republican snipers quoted doing their little thing against there having been litigation of the questions. Partisan hackdom remains alive and well.
But will a policing function be real moving forward? And will it be more politicized? The legislature will set an agency budget and within that budget whichever party holds the Auditor office might be inclined to police more closely counties controlled by the other party. If starved of funds, the office of State Auditor could become a haven for a handful of voted-out legislators from the same party as the Auditor, with nothing to do and needing regular pay. In effect, ceremonial window dressing much akin to a few other civil jobs, e.g., the airport commission where professionals run the operation, and other board and commission "parking lot posts for the voted-out, politically connected, or election losers who chased higher office." Where the staff carries the weight, while the appointees get the better window-offices and larger desks.
A bottom line, shrinking the office and allowing local control of both the spending and the oversight over the spending is an invitation for friendships, discord and intrigue. Bless the legislators behind the will to so empower local control to where it can more easily run amok.