Taxpayers of Butler County might not have serious complaints about the way outgoing Sheriff Dennis Rickard has operated his department. Unfortunately, any county resident concerned about how the county government spends money can't be happy with the way Rickard has managed his office's financial records.

For the second time since 2003, the county has authorized a significant outlay for an accounting firm to organize the sheriff's financial records in a form that can be audited.

The first outlay of $65,000, about six years ago, involved reworking of the sheriff's books for the years 1999 to 2002. The latest records overhaul, which will cover the years 2003 through 2009, will cost about $95,760.

Grossman, Yanak & Ford, the company hired by the county commissioners Wednesday to do the work — the company also performed the previous financial records reorganization for the Sheriff's Office — will be paid at a rate of $95 an hour.

What should anger taxpayers, many of whom are having difficulty making ends meet in the troubled economy, is that Rickard is the only county officeholder who has not been able to keep his records, as he described it, "accountant friendly." He disputes the contention that his records aren't auditable.

"They're auditable, but not in the format a CPA would like to have them," Rickard said.

County Controller Jack McMillin said his office has assisted every county office at one point or another, but the Sheriff's Office is the only one not maintaining records in a form that can be audited by either his office or the county's independent auditing firm.

Regarding the other county offices, McMillin said, "They've been assuming the responsibility to maintain their records."

Commendably, the county's incoming sheriff, Mike Slupe, has promised to maintain records that are accountant-friendly.

"We're looking into a new software program for the office that, it's my understanding, will make it more easily auditable for the controller and auditing firm," he said.

But that shouldn't ease county taxpayers' concern that money again is being wasted for financial records reconstruction work that should not be necessary.

When the latest reconstruction is complete, county taxpayers will have paid as much as $160,760 for a service that should not have been necessary.

A mill of property tax brings in $1.5 million for the county.

According to McMillin, the Butler accounting firm Maher Duessel has been able to audit all county departments except the Sheriff's Office. That provides a troubling picture of Rickard's handling of this basic responsibility — regardless of how well he has handled his other sheriff duties.

It's reasonable to observe that the commissioners wouldn't have authorized the latest outlay if they weren't convinced that reconstruction of the sheriff's financial records were necessary. The current board of commissioners has demonstrated a desire to save money wherever possible.

In terms of overall county spending, the $95,760 to be spent is a small number. However, the $95,760 could be put to work in other ways.

Instead, it's being wasted.

Holding public office involves numerous important responsibilities. Those responsibilities aren't a pick-and-choose matter decided by the whims of the officeholder.

Unfortunately, Rickard has maintained such an attitude despite plenty of reminders that his method of financial record-keeping was flawed and unacceptable.

With his retirement must come the confidence that no further waste of county dollars will be necessary involving that office.