Start-of-year government business continues to take up the front pages of local papers this week as county officials give reports on their successes of the past year, if continuing their jobs, as well as quieter plans for 2011. A Register Star story this morning charts Columbia County Controller Ronald Caponera's recent statements in this area, emphasizing his goals and objectives for county spending and ability to better oversight in the past year.

"A primary responsibility of Caponera’s in 2010 was bringing the county into compliance with the Governmental Accounting Standards Board’s GASB 34 and 45," reads the article, noting that GASB 34, published in 1999, requires state and local governments to report all their financial transactions including the value of their infrastructure, while GASB 45, published in 2004, requires governments to measure non-pension costs associated with their workforce, including post-retirement medical, dental, disability costs, etc.

After talking about all he's fdone to comply with such oversight legislation in the past year, including a corporate compliance plan fthat includes whistleblower protections for employees, Caponera said that for the coming year he hopes to see complete computerization of "almost every county system," including the county’s payroll system, and a streamlining of travel expenses, with "Advantage Travel as, basically, the county’s travel agency.”

Could it be there are some worried about the recent wave that swept over so much of the nation's politics?