Ohio Harness Horsemen's Association

House Bill to Aid Ohio Agriculture

March 4, 2010

Matt Close, legislative director for the Auditor of State's office, said the legislation would eliminate necessary accountability that agricultural societies currently receive and remove audit oversight for substantial amounts of public money.

Many agricultural societies have revenues exceeding $500,000 or more, and more than half have revenues exceeding $1 million, Mr. Close said. The average audit cost for these societies is $5,195.

"Eliminating fair receipts from the audit is like eliminating fair receipts to the Ohio State Fair from the Ohio Exposition Commission audit," he said.

Since taking office, the Auditor has made it a priority to curb audit costs for smaller government entities, including agricultural societies, Mr. Close said. One new initiative allows for an agreed upon procedures engagement, which the office anticipates will significantly reduce audit costs for qualifying smaller local governments.

"Auditor Taylor understands that many local governments are finding themselves in tough economic situations, however, with the economic climate we find ourselves in, ensuring that limited public funds are spent legally and appropriately is even more crucial," he said. "Eliminating audit oversight and accountability will not protect our public dollars."

Rep. Zehringer asked the witness if the Auditor has looked at changing agreement procedures. A representative from the Auditor's office said they are piloting procedures in smaller government bodies, and have seen a savings of an average of 70% down to 38%.

In response to a question from Rep. Ruhl, Mr. Close said the office hired six independent auditors last time, but the cost of the audit was on point with what the state auditor charges.

Rep. Pryor asked why a fair in his district with half the revenue of another fair, was charged almost $1,000 more in audits. Mr. Close said the condition of the papers could matter, or perhaps the number of revenue sources. He told Mr. Pryor he would look into specific situations to find the reason.

Dan Martin, a representative from the Ohio Fair Managers Association, testified as a proponent of the bill, saying it would help solve some of the problems fairs are encountering.

Currently, those that perform fair audits know nothing about how fairs work, there is no consistency in audit procedures and fairs are sometimes not notified in a timely manner concerning when the Auditor's office would like the audit to take place, Mr. Martin said. In addition, audits can be very lengthy and there is a wide fluctuation in fees charged for the fairs.

"More and more fairs are finding they must make more money to pay for the audits," he said. "Fairs do not have the power to tax and many fairs wonder where they are to get the money to pay for these audits. The Ohio Fairs Managers Association feels the bill would help solve some of these problems that fairs are having with the Auditor's office."

J.B. King, a member of the Albany Independent Fair Board, also testified on behalf of the bill, saying fair board audits should go back in the hands of the Department of Agriculture.

During the fair's 2007 audit, auditors found a $160 discrepancy Mr. King said. The board was aware of this discrepancy, and made note of it following the event in question. They did not wish to pursue any legal action to regain the funds, however. Despite the board's wishes, the auditor forwarded findings against the board treasurer to the county prosecutor for investigation, and to the local press.

"How much time and money was spent on this, he said." "I am sure it was more than the missing $160.00."

Mr. King also suggested that by having audits checked by two more auditors before release, fairs are losing a lot of money on audits that could be spent on the fair.

In response to a question from Rep. Bolon, Mr. King said the Albany Independent Fair is required to be audited every other year.

OHHA Mission Statement

Founded in 1953, the mission of the
Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association
is to preserve, protect, promote
and serve the Standardbred
industry in Ohio & beyond.

Important Dates

October 26, 2010
4th Quarter Board Meeting~OHHA Office
January 14, 2011
1st Quarter Board Meeting~OHHA Office
January 15, 2011
OHHA/USTA District #1 Annual Membership Meetings
Meetings are are held at the OHHA office in Columbus, Ohio at 1 pm, and all horseman are welcome to attend.

2010 OHHA Memberships--JOIN NOW!

It's easy and quick to join the
Ohio Harness Horsemen's Association.
Just click on the link below to join and
receive all of our membership benefits!

(614) 221-3650 or (800) 353-6442

House Bill to Aid Ohio Agriculture