Iowa Auditor of State Rob Sand visited Perry Tuesday afternoon for an hour-long chat in Caboose Park, describing some of the methods his office has used to uncover more misspent public funds than any previous state auditor.
Some 20 people were on hand to greet Sand, including Perry Mayor John Andorf and Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson, who both welcomed the opportunity to discuss some of the programs and priorities of the state auditor’s office.
Sand described the successes of the Public Innovations and Efficiencies (PIE) program, which began in 2021 and has already attracted about one-third of the state’s 1,500 cities, counties and school districts as participants. The PIE program provides advice, feedback and recognition to government entities for their efforts to save taxpayer money through cost-cutting measures provided by the Sand’s office.
Answering questions from the audience, Sand, the only Democrat presently holding statewide office in Iowa, discussed the Republican-dominated state legislature’s recent efforts to limit the auditor’s access to some records. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill in June that prevents Sand’s office from suing state agencies in order to force their turning over some requested documents.
The Iowa law was denounced by numerous state and national auditing and accounting groups as an attack on transparency and accountability in the field of public finance.
