“We have a shortage of auditors and accountants all over the country, and Iowa is no exception,” he said. “We need people who can do the work.”

By changing the job requirements, Sand said it is an opportunity to save money.

“To me, it’s a smart mindset to look at the four-year degree and the two-year degree, and go, ‘Wait a second. You’re telling me I can get the same job in half the time for less than half the money. What am I missing?'” he asked.

The auditor’s office has already started to hire people with two-year degrees to ensure enough trained and knowledgeable people are working on behalf of the taxpayer. They worked with a nonprofit called Opportunity At Work and identified 28 jobs which require or prefer a four-year degree. Sand said Opportunity At Work calls that requirement the “paper ceiling” — when someone wants to advance their career, but does not have the necessary piece of paper. By no longer telling applicants the piece of paper is the decision maker, they can advance, he said.

Iowa Auditor Rob Sand shakes the hand of an attendee at his annual town hall meeting at Elks Park on Tuesday. He spoke about new restrictions on his office, job hiring practices and property taxes, and answered questions afterward.

“If you can eliminate that preference, we’re going to get more good applicants,” Sand said.

The new hiring practice would not only apply to people with two-year degrees, but also military and life experience. He hopes the state administration will adopt the auditor’s office hiring practice.

“The more we can do that for people, the clearer we can make it for them that they are welcome to join us and to work for the public, the better,” Sand said.

He also discussed property taxes, saying his staff has dug in to a question commonly asked, but not answered on the topic. Most people think the nicer the property, the higher the taxes, he said.

Comparing property tax districts across the state, Sand said the opposite is true. Higher levy rates are usually found in more rural areas. When a person goes to the nicer parts of the state, the rates go down. The auditor’s office has provided the information to the Iowa Legislature, and he hopes the state elected officials will look into it as they reform the tax system.

Sand could not talk about his job without discussing the new restrictions, passed by the legislature and signed by the governor last year, on the ability to access information. He said a lot of people do not understand how the auditor can be restricted, because the point of an audit is to provide independent reassurance that everything is OK without having information access.

A good audit, Sand said, goes where the facts lead it.

“We thought we were going to look over here, but then we noticed something and a little thread led us over here,” he said. “You can’t just pretend the thread wasn’t there. Would anyone trust the audit reports if you did? It’s your job to ask the questions, and when you see the facts, make sure you’re pursuing them until you have some level of reassurance about what is going on.”

Sand assured attendees his office would continue doing that, but it would be more difficult to get answers. Under the restrictions, state agencies can withhold documents from Sand. If the auditor still wants the information, the office no longer has access to the court system to resolve the dispute.

The court was a good option because the personnel did not have to answer to anyone who could fire them easily, Sand said. Now, there is a three-person panel to resolve disputes.

“One person from the agency we’re auditing, which has already said ‘No,'” he said. “There’s going to be one person from our office. Then there will be a third person appointed by the governor. Two who work for the governor, and one who works in our office. You don’t need a two-year degree in accounting to figure out how this will play out. It’s pretty ridiculous. It’s the only place in the country that does this.”

As a result of the restrictions, the auditor’s office issued a report this year stating it was unknown whether or not the Board of Parole was following its own rules regarding panels whose members decide if parole is granted. Sand said his office received a credible tip about how the panels were being made and approached the board who claimed the issue had been fixed. Sand said they sought verification the matter was resolved, but the board refused to provide documents.

“When you give people in positions of trust and power the ability to hide misspent money and problems they are responsible for, they will take you up on that offer,” he said. “The only thing that comes of this is more waste, fraud and abuse. Period. You can’t convince people not to do something for fear of getting caught when the law says ‘The auditor can’t look over here.'”

This year, there was an attempt to sideline the state auditor, Sand said. Inspired by a similar law in Illinois, the state senators wanted to allow voters to determine who the auditor was in an election, but give agencies the power to hire outside auditors instead.

“It’s like saying, ‘That’s really nice. Good for your voters. I’m going to pat you on the head and give you a lollipop, and go do something else,'” he said. “Not particularly respectful of checks and balances, not particularly respectful of the role of voters in creating those checks and balances.”

There would have been no bidding requirements attached, no oversight and no whistleblower protections. Fortunately, Sand said the Iowa House Republicans said “no” because it would have cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

“I’m glad they didn’t pass that bill. We need to keep looking out for this,” he said. “They are going after checks and balances because they don’t want to be held accountable. They don’t want questions asked.”

Sand also told attendees about local governments participating in the state auditor PIE (Public Innovations and Efficiencies) Program. Those include Marshall County, Haverhill, Melbourne, Liscomb, Rhodes and Gilman. In the program, governments learn about best practices to save taxpayer money. Sand plans to travel the state and give certificates and pies to the best performing entity of that size.

“It’s a fun opportunity because it gives us a chance to point out where things are going well,” he said. “We also collect ideas. If someone has an idea to save money, we can add it to the program, put their name and phone number there so people can call them if they have questions. It’s a good way to help save taxpayer dollars.”

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.