Delaware County Auditor George Kaitsa was presented with the Ohio Auditor of State’s highest award Monday during the Delaware County Board of Commissioners meeting.
“It’s a pleasure to be here, because a lot of times when you hear from the auditor’s office, we’re not bringing good news,” Kaitsa said Monday. “Luckily, we’re here today to bring good news.”
Tim Kraft, a regional representative with the Ohio Auditor of State’s Office, said when Dave Yost, a former Delaware County prosecutor, took office as Ohio auditor of state, he saw the importance of publicly recognizing excellence.
“I’m here to present the highest award that the Ohio auditor of state gives out,” he said. “This is the Ohio Auditor of State Award with Distinction.”
Kraft said the award is given to those entities who file timely financial reports with the Ohio Auditor of State’s Office and have a clean audit report containing no findings recovery, material citations or weaknesses, no significant deficiencies, no findings or questionable costs. He said the list of requirements is a lot of auditor’s speak, so he broke it down into simple terms for those in attendance.
“What I would like to talk about is that there are 6,000 public entities in the state of Ohio, and out of those 6,000 entities, the auditor’s office audits all of them,” he said. “Out of those 6,000, roughly 5 percent only receive this award. You are among the five percentile of the state.”
Kraft then presented the award to Delaware County Auditor George Kaitsa and his staff, Dawn Hall, senior accountant; and Jane Tinker, director of the fiscal services.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the officeholders and the fiscal specialists that work in the various offices (of the county) for their assistance as we prepare our annual audit,” Kaitsa said. “It’s an honor to accept this award on behalf of Delaware County.”
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t think any county in the state has a better county auditor than we have,” said Commissioner Gary Merrell.
Commissioner Jeff Benton added he has been an auditor and understood the challenges of the county auditor’s office.
“I’ve been in your shoes,” he said. “I know how difficult it is and that makes me appreciate it all the more.”
With that in mind, Benton said he appreciated the culture of excellence that had been created in the auditor’s office.
Commissioner Barb Lewis said she thought “it’s just a wonderful honor” for Delaware County Auditor Kaitsa and his staff to receive the award.
“I would like to thank Auditor Kaitsa and his staff for all the wonderful work,” she said.
Following the presentation, Kaitsa said, “I’m really pleased to receive the recognition from Auditor of State Dave Yost.”
