Mercer Co. Commissioners Vote For Audit After Comptroller Report

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — The Mercer County Board of County Commissioners voted 7-0 Thursday in favor of an independent audit.

Calls for an independent audit grew after the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) released a report last week detailing how the County paid nearly $4.5 million in tax penalties and interest between 2018 and 2021. More: $4.5 Million In Tax Fines Paid By Mercer County: State Comptroller

The chair of the Mercer County Board of County Commissioners, Lucylle R.S. Walter, told Patch there was “discomfort” from the Board over the report and they want to know where exactly the monies are.

“An independent forensic audit, we believe will give us answers. The administration has said that they too think a forensic audit should be done. And the Commissioner Board would like that, whether it is an extraordinary unspecified contract, or whether it is a request for proposal, we would like that immediately put in place so that the auditor can be brought on board,” Walter said.

The decision to request for an audit was taken during the regular meeting but was also discussed during a closed session.

The OSC investigation also found that the County’s finance department, led by CFO David Miller, lacked basic internal financial controls. Miller did not have the credentials to hold the position of CFO, the entire time he was employed. By law, the CFO is required to hold a county finance officer certificate. More: Officials Call For Audit, Review In Mercer After Comptroller Report

Walter said that although in some way the County was preyed upon by a “bad actor,” the real victims were the residents.

“This money is money that we cannot put into programs. It's money that we cannot put into hiring needed personnel, it's money that we can't put into projects,” Walter said.

“We have not yet been told to date, where the money to pay the fines came from. Obviously, it came from somewhere. Clearly, the residents of Mercer County are the victims. And we owe it to them to get to the bottom of this.”

In general, Mercer County has been financially stable, due to the controlled budget, but an audit was needed to protect taxpayers from such instances in the future, Walter said.

“I believe that we will be able to work with the administration to get this forensic audit started and that we will get to the bottom of what happened and that those responsible will be held responsible,” Walker said. “I would expect no less, and I assume the administration would expect no less.”

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