Salt Lake County auditor says he doesn't have enough resources to do his job

SALT LAKE CITY – Salt Lake County's auditor is sounding the alarm over staffing levels in his office, saying he doesn't have enough resources to do his job.

Chris Harding, who took office in 2022, said he thinks county leaders' decisions about funding his office signals they aren't serious about accountability.

"We want to protect taxpayers' dollars," Harding said. "We want to make sure that programs, departments are operating in an efficient, effective manner, and it's hard to do."

In a social media post over the weekend, Harding pointed out his office had nine full-time auditors in 2014. Today, it's roughly the same amount, Harding said, even as Salt Lake County's budget has grown.

"Without sufficient staffing, the risk of fraud, waste and abuse grows exponentially," Harding wrote on the social platform X. "Auditing isn't just about crunching numbers — it's about ensuring transparency, accountability and trust in how public funds are spent. The decision to underfund oversight sends a troubling message, that accountability is not a priority in Salt Lake County."

Last week, Harding appeared before the Salt Lake County Council to talk about staffing levels in his office. Council member Dave Alvord supported making two positions in Harding's office permanent.

But the Council ultimately voted for just one, while keeping the other position temporary.

"What I've seen from him is a very productive office. He keeps bringing us audits that actually have findings, and so that to me tells me we got to keep doing this," Alvord said. "We ought to support him (and) give him the resources he needs to do his job."

Tight county budget

But council member Aimee Winder Newton told KSL-TV money this year is tight, making it "especially hard" to add permanent employees to the budget.

In a statement, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson added, "I believe in the importance of the auditor's office, and he was given all the staff he requested except one that was approved on a time-limited basis to be reviewed next year."

Harding's office recently got some attention over a new audit that revealed "significant deficiencies" in Salt Lake County regarding "the misuse of proprietary and purchasing cards, inadequate management of gift card inventories, improper shipments to non-county facilities, and cases where terminated employees retained Amazon Business account access."

But the release of that audit clearly didn't go over well among some county leaders.

During the most recent Council meeting on Nov. 26, council member Jim Bradley downplayed the audit's findings – which he said "really didn't show much" – and criticized Harding for how he publicized them.

"I think how we communicate information out of the county to the general public is critical," Bradley said, "and I thought this was a mistake in the way that was presented."

Wilson echoed that, insisting Salt Lake County is well managed and that the auditor's report may lead the public to believe something "super, super bad" is going on.

"I would just ask that we be more aware about impacts and make sure that the choices made are really wise," Wilson said.

Harding defended the audit to the Council and said it was not a "nothingburger."

"There are significant findings there," he said.

Future steps

As for Harding's staffing concerns, in the short term, he hopes the Council will make the final temporary position in his office a permanent one.

In the long term, Harding would like five more auditors – for a total of 15 – to keep a closer eye on how the county's tax dollars are working. He said each full-time employee can complete about two audits a year, but there is a "laundry list" of others they currently can't get to.

"Folks need to have an awareness and an involvement in their local government, in county government," Harding said. "One of the best ways they can do that is through reading our audits."

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