MGCA hosts Diane Morgan, Montgomery County Controller

Did you know that Montgomery County has to spend $60 million on a new 911 response phone system by the end of 2011?  Or that the county has a $520 million budget and over 120 departments, with only four auditors? 

These and many other facts were presented at the most recent meeting of the Maple Glen Community Association (MGCA) on April 26, by keynote speaker Montgomery County Controller Diane Morgan. 

Approximately 50 attendees learned about the role of the controller and some of the processes that go on at the county level, as well as some of the challenges that Montgomery County faces.

“One striking thing I gained from Diane's talk was that of the $520 million budget to run our county, a full half was dedicated to law enforcement,” said longtime member and past MGCA president Carol Bonnet, of Maple Glen.

Other large expenses discussed were for a new prison for "recycled" prisoners who will be returning to the general population soon.

The controller’s office is responsible for the disbursement of all county funds. Morgan is the first female ever elected to the position.

“I take my job seriously. Even though they call the position a “fiscal watchdog,” I like to call myself a ‘pit bull,’” Morgan said.  “I’m making sure I protect taxpayer dollars.”

Morgan described her first day walking into her office as the controller and discovering that the department didn’t own a scanner. 

“Imagine being elected controller in 2008 and not having a scanner for disaster recovery, easy access of documents and the ease of providing information to the public,” Morgan said.

Since then, Morgan has established a system whereby all contracts are routed from the commissioners’ office and digitally scanned and indexed. Then, the paper copies are stored in her office in keeping with county law.

The public can now go on the county website, use a searchable database of contract files and be assured they are all there.

“I believe in making documents easily accessible and transparent to the public so they can see where their money goes,” Morgan said.

Morgan also described the responsibilities of the five departments she supervises: Accounting, Accounts Payable, Internal Audit, Payroll and Retirement. 

“I’ve identified $15 million in errors in the Retirement Department, which saved the county millions in retirement contributions for 2008. I’ve also automated the Retirement Department by leveraging IT staff,” Morgan said.

The controller also wants to integrate all of the contracts, invoices and insurance information into the county’s accounting software so they can have all documents easily accessible for review before authorizing payment.

“I’ve chosen the software I want to implement, and I’m still waiting for the commissioners to sign off so we can get started with the process,” Morgan said.

In addition to Morgan, Deb Ritter, technology administrator for Upper Dublin Township, updated the MGCA on the Township Online Business Directory powered by ShopsQA that is free to Upper Dublin businesses.

"This searchable directory is designed to help township businesses and residents connect directly from the township's website home page at www.upperdublin.net," Ritter said. "The directory gives Upper Dublin businesses and organizations a webpage on the township's site that they can manage and customize with coupons, job opportunities and more." 

Ritter reported that over 20 percent of the close to 500 township businesses listed on the site have taken over management of their own pages since the directory went live in March of this year.

For more information on how the site works, or to discuss if your business qualifies, contact Ritter at dritter@upperdublin.net.

The next general MGCA meeting is May 24. Information is available at www.mgca.eventbrite.com. For more information about the organization, including membership, visit www.mapleglen.org.

The MGCA is also hosting a Speed Networking Event on May 13 open to everyone; for information, visit www.mgcacp051311.eventbrite.com.