Jim Zeigler trains for field auditing on Ala. Speaker of the House
In the wake of cuts to the State Auditor’s office operating budget, State Auditor Jim Zeigler announced in June that in order to help keep the State Auditor’s office operating he would, in addition to his normal duties as State Auditor, also train to work as a field auditor. There he will do the actual property inventory of the state’s 175 agencies totaling over $1.1 billion in state property. On Tuesday, Zeigler made good on his word and began training as a field auditor starting with the Alabama Speaker of the House, Mac McCutcheon‘s office. “People had suggested I go to a small, little-known state agency for my training. But the first agency up for a regularly-scheduled audit happened to be the Speaker of the House, so that is where I went first,” Zeigler said Tuesday after finishing the first phase of the audit of the Speaker’s office. Zeigler continued, “We were looking for 50 items of state property. We found 49, missing one printer. It may have been moved to another office, so the staff there is looking for it. Hope we can update it to reflect a perfect audit.” The audit took took an hour and 45 minutes to complete. “Speaker Mac McCutcheon came in from Huntsville while we were finishing up the audit, and I talked to him. I had let him know last week that I would be in his offices, and why,” Zeigler added. “We had not anticipated any problems in the Speaker’s offices, and there were not any surprises.” Zeigler says he will continue to train as a professional auditor as his office’s budget has been cut 28.5 percent since January 2015 when he first took office. “At some point, I will be on my own and will hit the road by myself,” Zeigler explained. “I can make up for one of three auditors that we have lost as my budget was cut.” According to Zeigler, his office is now current on all state audits.
Personnel note: Rachel Adams leaving Ala. Speaker’s office for new gig with ACCS
Ala. House Republicans unanimously nominate Rep. Mac McCutcheon as Speaker
Members of the Alabama House Republican Caucus have unanimously named Republican state Rep. Mac McCutcheon of Huntsville as the group’s official nominee for Speaker of the House. The decision essentially assures McCutcheon will be selected speaker when the House convenes Aug. 15 — Republicans hold 70 seats in the House compared to the Democrats’ 33 — for a special session Gov. Robert Bentley called to consider his lottery proposal. McCutcheon says he will treat both Republicans and Democrats with fairness and honor. “I’m humbled by the faith and confidence that my fellow Republicans have placed in me, and, if elected as speaker, I pledge to preside in a manner that treats all members of both parties in a fair and honorable manner,” McCutcheon said in a news release after his nomination. “Our state faces many challenges ranging from education to ethics to ensuring adequate funding for even the most basic government services, and finding needed solutions will require all of us to work together.” A veteran of the U.S. Army, McCutcheon was first elected to the House in 2006 where he serves as chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee. Prior to his time in House, he worked with Huntsville Police Department for 25 years. His work there included serving as a hostage negotiator and an investigator with the Major Crimes Unit. McCutcheon was not the only representative seeking the position. He defeated five of his colleagues, Steve Clouse of Ozark, Lynn Greer of Rogersville, Mike Jones of Andalusia, Barry Moore of Enterprise and Phil Williams of Huntsville, who were also interested in the position. Pending the formal House vote, McCutcheon will succeed former House speaker Mike Hubbard, who was automatically removed from office after he was convicted in June on multiple counts of using his office for personal gain. He was later sentenced to four years in prison.
