The opportunity to serve the public as an elected official is definitely a privilege, I will never take for granted. As County Controller, my job is primarily to oversee the office, audit staff and as fiscal watchdog, the County finances. Reaching out the public creates more visibility for the office and more visibility creates greater transparency increases engagement and builds public trust. That outreach isn’t always at a ceremony, meeting or gala event, sometimes, it is meeting people where they are at.

My self, the Deputy Controller, Mark Aurand, and some of our staff had the opportunity to visit New Bethany Ministries and work in their soup kitchen for a few hours, serving the local unsheltered or underserved populations within the Bethlehem area. It is meaningful to provide a service and look at the faces of the people who are directly affected by the policies made at various levels of government, the same people who may be disenfranchised by subsistent wages, housing costs, lack of health insurance and food insecurity among other issues.

Although the County Controller’s office cannot directly create policy, it can help shape policy by shining a light on areas of social impact and providing insights in the form of recommendations when audits are completed through internal audits of procedures, processes and finance. We can look at the money allocated to housing and see if it is being spent wisely. We can look at the allocation of funds for affordable housing and evaluate the method of distribution. Is it efficient? Is it cost effective? Is it enough?

It’s kind of like sharpening a pencil. Sure, a dull point can write but, it’s a lot clearer when we use a sharp tool to craft our policies. In our office, we are trying to sharpen the tools of the county, the policies that impact the lives of every person in the county regardless of their socio-economic background. I think that is the point of government, to keep making it better by learning what is needed. The only way we learn, is by working within the community to understand what it needs, why it needs it and how can it be delivered? It’s a vision we are working on as we create the audit calendar for 2024 and beyond.

Our office has committed to serving at New Bethany Ministries quarterly as part of our community outreach. It helps us give back to our community and serve the public, after all, isn’t that the point!