Small Town News

Supervisors accept audit honors, get update on Copper Corridor

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FLORENCE -- The Pinal County's Office of Internal Audit is once again recognized by the Association of Local Government Auditors for their work in keeping county government working effectively and efficiently.

In Wednesday's Supervisors meeting, Internal Audit Officer Lori Stripling announced that the office's audit report of the Pinal County Parks, Recreation and Fairgrounds earned the 2009 Knighton Silver Award in the Small Shop Category.

This is the second time the Office of Internal Audit has been recognized. Last year, the Internal Auditor's website was awarded a bronze medal by the Association of Local Government Auditors.

"This is a very high honor, " Stripling said. "I'm pleased we have been recognized by our fellow auditors from across the country."

The Association of Local Government Auditors was formed in 1985 to support auditors working in local government. The association now represents 400 local government auditing organizations. The Knighton Awarded was created in 1995 to highlight the best performance audit reports in local governments.

An audit report submitted for the Knighton Award is judged by five categories:

Scope and potential for significant impact

Persuasiveness of conclusions

Focus of the recommendations on effective and efficient government

Clarity and conciseness of communication style, and

Innovation

Stripling recognized Bill D'Elia, Senior Internal Auditor and main author of the winning report, Kate Witek, Internal Auditor and Jason Konrad, Internal Audit Analyst for their team effort at making this award possible. Copper Corridor Annual Report to Supervisors

The parking lot outside of the Board of Supervisors Meeting Room was host to an exhibit of the Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition's new Mobile Visitor's Center.

"When we purchased and renovated this trailer we kept the revenues in the state, " said Bill Boiin, Project Manager for the Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition. "We also put local people to work on it."

Liz Harris-Tuck, President of the Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition, said that the Mobile Visitor's Center came about after it was determined that many of the towns within the coalition were too small to staff and support their own local visitor's center.

"When you do a project like this - you have an idea of what it will turn out like, " Harris-Tuck said. "This one surpassed all of our expectations."

The Mobile Visitor's Center features a television, lighted panels that show different tourist attractions throughout the region and a paint scheme that recognizes the rich copper mining history of the area.

The Coalitipn is using the mobile unit and a new website to help to brand the area, Harris-Tuck said. (The soon-to-debut website will be www.DiscoverCopperCorridor.com.)

Chairman Pete Rios, whose district encompasses the copper corridor region, acknowledged that the Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition works with limited resources but is able to make some significant gains due to partnerships.

"It's challenging to get people from different communities together, " Chairman Rios said. "But this group, with its excellent leadership, has the communities coming together and its members are coming to the meetings. It's a positive for the region and Pinal County."

Vice-Chairman Bryan Martyn took a tour of the Mobile Visitor's Center just before the meeting began and was impressed with the vehicle.

"Having a chance to tour around the state and the country with this information is impressive and represents the qualify of Pinal County, " the Vice-Chairman said. "It's very forward thinking."

Supervisor David Snider was equally impressed with the presentation of the Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition.

"Your board is to be congratulated for their hard work and for setting ambitious goals, " Supervisor Snider said. "I appreciate the innovative 'outside the box' thinking that led to the mobile center so people can learn about activities and attractions throughout the Copper Corridor region. This should be a great tool in our economic development efforts across the county."



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