Below is the body of an emailed resignation letter former Wichita County Auditor Deb Stevens sent to

the county’s three district judges, 30th District Judge Jeff McKnight, 78th District Judge Meredith Kennedy
and 89th District Judge Charles Barnard.
The emailed letter also went to Wichita County Judge Woody Gossom and Precinct 4 Commissioner Jeff
Watts.

Sent: Tuesday, December 31, 2019 10:09 PM

Subject: Appointment of the County Auditor

After much thought, deliberation and prayer, I have decided not to seek reappointment as
Wichita County Auditor. I turned 65 in 2019, I have a 90 year old mom that needs more
attention than I can provide while working, my husband has been wanting me to retire for
years and we just received the deliriously happy news of our first grandbaby in
2020. Until the next auditor is appointed, I have a number of projects to complete and an
office with 25 years of accumulation to sort through and clean out to prepare for as
smooth a transition as possible.

I am proud of all that the Auditor’s Office has accomplished over the last 28 years. When
I first set foot in the Auditor’s Office, the debits and credits literally did not balance. The
comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) contained “magic” numbers that could
not be verified. There was one personal computer and only one very unskilled
user. Internal audits consisted of an occasional cash count. Bills were routinely paid 90
to 120 days past their due dates. Payment of the indigent health care bills carried a near
100% error rate. The County had three grants. The County did not have an inventory of
its fixed assets.

I redesigned the chart of accounts, implemented a robust accounting system and

provided timely budget reports to each elected official and department head. From my
background in public accounting, I devised financial systems to produce an accurate and
robust CAFR. Over the past 28 years, our outside auditors have only found three
adjustments.

I designed audit programs to test the County’s internal control systems and to accurately
account for all transactions. The Auditor’s Office pays about 25,000 invoices each year –
accurately and on time with an error rate of less than 1%. Although the number of grants
varies from year to year, our grants accountant manages 25 – 30 grants annually. Our
workpapers have been used by the State as good financial management tools for other
counties.

In accordance with the new standards for Governmental Accounting Standards Board
Statement #34, the CAFR was extensively revamped and expanded. Part of that process
included a full accounting of the County’s fixed assets. For the first time in the County’s
history, the County received an unqualified opinion from its outside auditors.

Due to the failure of the GSA / LGS indigent health care payment software, we worked
closely with the State to craft a more streamlined program. Our spreadsheets and
databases became the foundation for the software developed and now sold by Indigent
Healthcare Solutions. That software is now used by most counties throughout the State.
The Auditor’s Office was instrumental in preparing the documents needed to garner a
favorable interest rate and secure passage of the MPEC bonds in the 1990s and the Jail
bonds a couple of years ago. We work closely with the Commissioners Court to provide
financial analysis on projects large and small. As various functions have failed around
the County, the Commissioners Court has turned to the Auditor’s Office to pick up the
pieces and create a better system – from the fixed asset program and payment of the
indigent defense bills years ago to the Payroll and Benefits program in the recent past.

I have a commitment to excellence in all that we do and that commitment is held by my

crew as well. We adhere to the highest standards for ethics, fairness and
professionalism. I am so proud of all that has been accomplished by the Auditor’s Office
during my career with Wichita County.

I have a succession plan in place that should provide for a relatively smooth
transition. As I previously told you, Chief Deputy Judy Mallone will be retiring at the end
of January. I have already announced that Linda Castillo, our current Internal Audit
Manager, will succeed Judy as Chief Deputy. With my impending departure, Linda is well
placed to be the next Auditor for Wichita County.

Linda has worked in the Auditor’s Office for 13 years. She represents one of the very
best hiring decisions of my career. Linda possesses a keen intellect, superb problem
solving skills, a thought process that relies on critical deliberation, analytical
assessment and a deliberative course of action.

Linda is unique in that she has held every position within our office over the course of
her employment. When the Commissioner’s Court asked us to take on benefits
responsibilities, Linda was the direct supervisor over that process. When Karen
Provence suffered a heart attack, Linda was a key player in ensuring that payroll checks
went out. When the Commissioners Court assigned payroll to the Auditor’s Office, Linda
once again stepped up and managed that transition and ongoing process.

Linda and the internal audit team also discovered the vast and pervasive errors in the
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Zone payment system supervised by the Tax Assessor
Collector’s Office. Had the County relied on the numbers provided by the Tax Assessor
Collector, we would have paid out almost half a million dollars too much. Linda and her
team undertook a year long process to straighten out that mess. We also provide
guidance every year to the Tax Office on how to apply the tax rates correctly.

Corey Liner is another superstar in the Auditor’s Office. Corey has over seven years of
experience with the Auditor’s Office. He also has a razor sharp mind and is a whiz at
complex analysis. Corey was directly responsible for cleaning up the significant
problems that had accumulated over a number of years with the County’s benefit
programs when those programs were supervised by the Human Resources department.

Corey and Linda were instrumental in developing the vast array of resources now
available to County employees regarding their benefits from:
• An in depth orientation for new employees
• Annual comprehensive review for current employees preceding open enrollment
• Thoroughly documented and depth resources on the County’s Sharepoint
system.
 • Retirement checklist and information package.

Corey and Linda stepped up to the plate when Karen Provence suffered a heart attack on
a Monday before payroll direct deposits on Thursday. Even though the Treasurer’s
Office was then responsible for the payroll process, no one was cross trained on the
payroll process. No one knew how to produce the payroll. Even though the Auditor’s
Office had never generated the payroll, we knew how important it was to make sure that
all employees received their paychecks on time. Linda, Corey and I literally worked
around the clock, taking shifts from Monday afternoon when we found out until Thursday
morning when we verified the direct deposits had successfully been made.

Corey is ready to step up to the Chief Deputy position if Linda becomes County Auditor
or to Internal Audit Manager if Linda remains the Chief Deputy under a different County
Auditor.

I will leave more detailed notes on each of my staff and their duties to help with the
transition to the next County Auditor. I do have some ongoing projects that I will finish
up until the next County Auditor is appointed. I am proud of the accomplishments my
team and I have made over the past 28 years, the legacy that I will leave and the staff that
stands ready to move forward with whoever the District Judges select as the next
Wichita County Auditor.

I wish only the best future for Wichita County.

Deb
Deborah A. Stevens
Wichita County Auditor