Nearly half of Maine’s counties are behind on their audits

Nearly half of Maine’s counties are behind on their audits

The Washington County Superior Court in Machias, where the county's administrative offices are located, is pictured on Feb. 18, 2021. Photo by Erin Rhoda of the Bangor Daily News.Daniel O’Connor is a Report for America corps member who covers rural government as part of the partnership between The Maine Monitor and the Bangor Daily News, with additional support from BDN and Monitor readers. Washington County used to complete its audits in less t…

Nearly half of Maine’s counties are behind on their audits

Washington County used to complete its audits in less than a year. But in 2020, county officials grew frustrated as they realized their auditor was taking much longer than usual. “He wasn’t very speedy,” former county manager Betsy Fitzgerald recalled. So, although they had no alternative lined up, they fired him. The delay only got worse. In July 2020, the county put out a request for help analyzing its 2019 books, but it didn’t get any bids un…