Reprinted from             
Voyageur Sentinel

Orr, Minnesota

August 26, 2006

DFL Candidate for State Auditor promises support to local communities and "numbers that add up"
 

Tower, MN - During a visit to Northern communities, Rebecca Otto stressed that the State Auditor's office must not operate with a political bias. "Good fiscal practice is non- partisan," said Otto "and the office needs to give positive support to the financial health of small communities and townships." Otto, a former State Representative and the DFL-endorsed candidate for State Auditor, is opposing GOP incumbent Patricia ;Anderson in the upcoming election.

Otto, who has called the current Auditor "partisan and punitive," said she is also concerned by what she says is a pattern of "unnecessarily partisan and inflammatory language designed to alarm rather than inform" readers. "For example, in an August 8th report, the State Auditor says special districts function similarly to private businesses and taxes were used to 'cover losses' of many of these operations. This shows a clear misunderstanding of their purpose," said Otto. "Unlike for-profit enterprises, many if not most public enterprises were never intended to generate net income from operations. You don't expect to make money from running a watershed district. Otherwise, for-profit companies would likely be providing the service already. Generally public enterprises are instead designed to fulfill a public need that is unmet exactly because it is not profitable, but is still a necessary public service, like sewage treatment, or a rural hospital. Rather than fully subsidize it, the enterprise responsibly asks users to pay a fee to help offset some of the cost of operation. The balance is sought from federal, state or local grants, property taxes, and other sources of revenue. These sources are not sought to 'cover losses' as claimed by the inflammatory language of the State Auditor, but to complete the revenue pie of an enterprise not designed to generate profits, but to provide a public service. We need sewage treatment, and we need rural hospitals, whether or not they make money from operations."

In a telephone interview with the Sentinel, Otto pledged that, as State Auditor - regardless of the State Administration's governing party - she would insure that the office delivered best practices to Minnesota communities. "These include the provision of support to forward-looking financial planning as well as the duty of the Auditor to insure compliance," said Otto. "Best practices includes accurate accounting," she said. Otto claims to have uncovered errors in the August 8th report that totaled $180.1 million - a fact she reported to the media on August 15th. Although Andersen denied the report was in error, a corrected report that matched Otto's findings was subsequently issued by Andersen's office without comment and without a date change.

"There is a pattern of inappropriate partisanship including an earlier misleading opinion issued by the Auditor in support of the Administration's 'no new taxes' pledge and the retention of a paid GOP party operative on the Auditor's staff," said Otto. "Mistakes happen, that's human, and we forgive them. Under my leadership we'll make sure the numbers add up.  I will also take responsibility when there are errors and make clear corrections.  Communities should expect that the Auditor's office is there to support and advocate for their fiscal health and not to undertake partisan or unnecessarily punitive actions," said Otto. "The Auditor's reports should be useful tools for those who receive them,"

Rebecca Otto served in the 2003-2004 Minnesota Legislature and served on the Minnesota House Local Government & Agricultural Policy and Finance committees. A former business owner, teacher, and school board member, Rebecca holds a Master's of Education in science from the U of M and a Bachelor's in biology from Macalester College. She lives near Marine on St. Croix with her husband Shawn and their son, Jake. She has posted position statements and back ground information for her candidacy on the website www.rebeecaotto.com.