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MINUTES OF THE
LEGISLATIVE AUDIT SUBCOMMITTEE
Wednesday,
April 17, 2024
•
2:00 p.m.
•
445 State Capitol
Members Present:
President J. Stuart Adams, Co-chair
Speaker Mike Schultz, Co-chair
Sen. Luz Escamilla
Sen. Evan J. Vickers
Rep. Angela Romero
| Members Absent:
Rep. Jefferson Moss
Staff Present:
Brian J. Dean, Deputy Auditor General
Donna Hernandez, Office Manager
Darin R. Underwood, Deputy Auditor General
Kade R. Minchey, Auditor General
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Note: A copy of related materials and an audio recording of the meeting can be found at www.le.utah.gov.
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| President Adams called the Legislative Audit Subcommittee Meeting to order. |
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| MOTION:Speaker Mike Schultz made a motion to approve the minutes from the November 14, 2023 meeting. The motion
passed
with a vote of
5-0-1.
|
|
| Yeas -
5 | Nays-
0 | Abs-
1 | |
Sen. J. Adams
Sen. L. Escamilla
Rep. A. Romero
Rep. M. Schultz
Sen. E. Vickers
| | Rep. J. Moss
| |
| Mr. Kade Minchey, Legislative Auditor General, discussed the new mission statement for the Office of the Legislative Auditor General (OLAG). |
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| Mr. Minchey introduced both the 2024 General Session Impact Status Update Report and the Lead and Review Committee Report. |
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| 2024 General Session Impact |
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| Mr. Darin Underwood, Deputy Auditor General, discussed the importance of the General Session Impact report. |
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| Mr. Minchey introduced the Recommendation Dashboard and reported on the status of the recommendations made in the audits done by the Office of Legislative Auditor General. |
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| Ms. Leah Blevins, Audit Manager, discussed the recommendation index available on the OLAG website and the audit follow up process. |
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| Mr. Minchey discussed the impact HB244, Office of Legislative Auditor General Requirements, will have on the processes agencies will follow based on statute and help being implemented within OLAG for those agencies. |
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| 2.Audit Report Presentations |
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| Mr. Jesse Martinson, Audit Manager, introduced A Performance Audit of the Utah Transit Authority: An Evaluation of the Efficiency and Effectiveness of UTA's Governance and Planning (Report 2024-04). |
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| A Performance Audit of the Utah Transit Authority (Report 2024-04) |
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| Mr. Jesse Martinson, and Mr. August Lehman, Audit Supervisor, presented on the findings of the audit. |
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| Mr. Lehman responded to a question by Speaker Schultz regarding other states and the timeliness of their services. |
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| President Adams commented on the importance of planning for future transit plans, especially given the bid for the Olympics. |
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| Representative Romero commented on UTA working with local municipalities. |
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| Mr. Carlton Christensen, Chair of the UTA Board of Trustees, responded to the findings of the audit. |
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| Mr. Jay Fox, Executive Director of UTA, responded to the findings of the audit. |
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| Speaker Schultz thanked Mr. Fox for the relationship changes between the legislature and UTA over the past few years. |
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| Mr. Christensen responded to a question from Speaker Schultz on UTA 's future strategic plan for congestion and regarding money being set aside for the increases. |
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| Speaker Schultz responded to Mr. Christensen, commended him on the restructure of debt, and advised UTA to think long-term in future strategic planning. |
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| Mr. Christensen responded to comments on future corridors. |
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| Mr. Fox responded to comments from Senator Escamilla on future growth of Utah transport and frequency of services. |
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| Mr. Christensen responded to comments from Senator Escamilla on airport transportation options. |
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| President Adams commented on infrastructure development and issues with population increases and congestion. Expressed importance of frontrunner and highspeed options. |
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| 3.Audit Report Presentations |
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| Ms. Leah Blevins, Audit Manager, introduced A Performance Audit of the Utah's Property Tax System; A Case for Increased Accountability and Transparency (Report 2024-05). |
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| A Performance Audit of Utah's Property Tax System (Report 2024-05) |
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| MOTION:President Adams informed the legislators and Ms. Blevins that he would have to interrupt the presentation and made a motion to refer A Performance Audit of the Utah Transit Authority: An evaluation and Effectiveness of UTA's Governance and Planning to the transportation Interim Committee as the Lead Committee, and the Political Subdivisions Interim Committee as the Review Committee. The motion
passed
with a vote of
5-0-1.
|
|
| Yeas -
5 | Nays-
0 | Abs-
1 | |
Sen. J. Adams
Sen. L. Escamilla
Rep. A. Romero
Rep. M. Schultz
Sen. E. Vickers
| | Rep. J. Moss
| |
| Ms. Leah Blevins and Mr. Clint Yingling continued the presentation on the findings of the audit. |
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| Ms. Blevins responded to a question from Speaker Schultz on mandatory disclosure of sales information. |
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| Mr. Yingling responded to a clarifying questions from Speaker Schultz on collecting data and from President Adams on the use of MLS services to obtain the data. |
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| Ms. Blevins continued the presentation on the findings of the audit and responded to comments from Speaker Schultz on the truth-in-taxation process and the increase in taxes. |
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| Mr. Scott Smith, Executive Director of the Utah Tax Commission, Mr. Denny Lytle, Senior Director, and Mr. Joshua Nielson, Director; Real Property and Education respond to the findings of the audit. |
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| Mr. Nielson responded to a question from President Adams regarding why properties continue to increase year after year and the shift in tax burden from commercial properties to primary residential properties. |
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| Mr. Nielson responded to a clarifying question from President Adams on getting relevant commercial sales data and one from Senator Vickers on educating assessors using proper Mass Appraisal Systems and implementing a state-wide system. |
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| Senator Vickers recommended doing an audit on Centrally Assessed Properties. |
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| Ms. Brandi Grace, CEO of Utah Association of Counties responded to the findings of the audit. |
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| Mr. John Ulibarri, Weber County Assessor, commented on the issues of gathering commercial sales data and why tax increases affect residential properties more rapidly due to the tax shift. |
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| Mr. Curtis Koch, Davis County Auditor, discussed truth-in-taxation recommendations and the appeals processes. |
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| Ms. Grace commented on the importance of accurate assessment, transparency and training in the tax processes. |
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| MOTION:Speaker Schultz made a motion to refer A Performance Audit of the Utah’s Property Tax System: A Case for Increased Accountability and Transparency to the Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee as the Lead Committee, and the Business, Economic Development, and Labor Appropriations Subcommittee Interim Committee as the Review Committee.The motion
passed
with a vote of
5-0-1.
|
|
| Yeas -
5 | Nays-
0 | Abs-
1 | |
Sen. J. Adams
Sen. L. Escamilla
Rep. A. Romero
Rep. M. Schultz
Sen. E. Vickers
| | Rep. J. Moss
| |
| 4.Audit Report Presentations |
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| Mr. Jesse Martinson, audit manager, introduced A Performance Audit of Ogden-Hinkley Airport: An Examination of Airport Management, Finances, and Strategic Planning Best Practices (Report 2024-02). |
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| A Performance Audit of Ogden-Hinkley Aiport (Report 2024-02) |
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| Mr. Jesse Martinson and Mr. Andrew Poulter presented on the findings of the audit. |
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| Mr. Ben Nadolski, Mayor of Ogden City, responds to the findings of the audit. |
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| Mr. Nadolski responded to a question from Speaker Schultz over concerns he has about $10 million funding given by the state for economic development. |
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| Speaker Schultz passed on thanks from Representative Hall for the work the new committee has done. |
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| Mr. Nadolski responded to questions and comments from Representative Romero about the 2020 Strategic Master Plan. |
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| MOTION:Speaker Schultz made a motion to refer A Performance Audit of Ogden-Hinkley Airport: An Examination of Airport Management, Finances, and Strategic Planning Best Practices to the Political Subdivisions Interim Committee as the Lead Committee, and the Infrastructure and General Government Appropriations Committee as the Review Committee. The motion
passed
with a vote of
5-0-1.
|
|
| Yeas -
5 | Nays-
0 | Abs-
1 | |
Sen. J. Adams
Sen. L. Escamilla
Rep. A. Romero
Rep. M. Schultz
Sen. E. Vickers
| | Rep. J. Moss
| |
| 5.Audits Previously Released with Subcommittee Approval - January 2024 |
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| Efficiency Evaluation Follow-Up: Transportation Technician Training |
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| 2024 U.S. Senate Poll (Report 2024-A) |
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| 6.Prioritization of Audits |
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| MOTION:Speaker Schultz made a motion to prioritize the following audits and give flexibility to the Auditor General to begin the audits as staff expertise and resources become available: - A performance audit of state entities credit card processing fees. - A performance audit of student performance on statewide tests. - A performance audit of shared governance at Utah’s Institutions of Higher Education. - A systemic audit of Alpine School District. - A system audit of elections processes, controls, and effectiveness as outlined in Utah Code 36-12-15.2 - A comprehensive audit of the health of government organization’s internal audit functions as outlined in Utah Code 36-12-15.The motion
passed
with a vote of
5-0-1.
|
|
| Yeas -
5 | Nays-
0 | Abs-
1 | |
Sen. J. Adams
Sen. L. Escamilla
Rep. A. Romero
Rep. M. Schultz
Sen. E. Vickers
| | Rep. J. Moss
| |
| MOTION:Speaker Schultz made a motion to adjourn. The motion
passed
with a vote of
5-0-1.
|
|
| Yeas -
5 | Nays-
0 | Abs-
1 | |
Sen. J. Adams
Sen. L. Escamilla
Rep. A. Romero
Rep. M. Schultz
Sen. E. Vickers
| | Rep. J. Moss
| |