Meet Lancaster County’s new fiscal watchdog, controller Scott Wiglesworth [Q&A]

• By Tom Lisi | LNP/LancasterOnline

Scott Wiglesworth says he’s ready to be the next controller of Lancaster County, a position that has traditionally been held by a trained finance professional.

A former state trooper, Wiglesworth has spent his working life wearing several hats: auto auctioneer, landlord, real estate developer and township supervisor among them.

Wiglesworth, 55, is due to be sworn in as county controller Jan. 5, but he has been seen in the halls of the Lancaster County Government Center and attending public meetings since his election in November.

In August, the GOP needed to field a replacement for the controller’s race after the incumbent, Lisa Colón, died of complications from cancer. Wiglesworth was the only person to submit his name to the county Republican Committee in August for a nomination to the county controller position.

Wiglesworth ran unopposed in the November municipal election, as Democrats did not field a candidate.

The controller’s office is a pivotal one. It acts as both the accounting team for county government, tracking spending and cash flow, and as its fiscal watchdog. The controller is charged with performing regular audits of county offices. As an independently elected official, the controller does not fall within the authority of the commissioners office.

In his future office on the seventh floor of the county government building, the former chairman of the East Hempfield Board of Supervisors sat down with LNP | LancasterOnline in December to talk about why he’s suited for the job, and what his plans are for his first year.

The following interview was edited for clarity and length.

LNP | LancasterOnline: I just wanted to ask you, to start off, what have you been doing since the election? What’s it been like getting up to speed?

Scott Wiglesworth: So, first of all, I’d like to thank Kathy [Kunkel], the (interim) controller, and also the commissioners. They’ve allowed me to come in early, which is, for me, invaluable. Right now, I’m observing, doing a lot of listening, attending internal meetings, as well as board meetings, and just getting up to speed on things, so that come Jan. 5, once I get sworn in, I’m able to hit the ground running.

What are your first impressions in terms of what you’re learning about the county’s finances and the controller’s office?

I would say, No. 1, the county is in very good fiscal shape. And I think that gets lost sometimes in the conversation. When you compare us to other counties, we’re doing very well. It was the first time that they’ve had to raise taxes since 2013. The reserve funds are healthy. We have, obviously, a major project ahead of us, (the new county prison), that we need to account for. But overall, I would take our position over any of our neighbors right now.

Obviously, there are people who disagree, who think that there’s a pretty significant structural deficit. You disagree with those folks?

So, I would like to hear their particulars, and their reasonings, why they believe that. So, let’s get in a room with those that disagree with that and take a look at what the general fund balance was last year, and what it was projected to be this year and what it actually is. And maybe let’s go from there and have a starting conversation. But again, I think if you were to talk to other commissioners and other controllers, where we sit right now, we’re in a much healthier position than many of them are.

Are there ideas or priorities you want to pursue? What kind of stamp do you want to make in your first year?

Come Jan. 5, I’ll begin to interview all the employees. I want to hear their thoughts on how the office is functioning, what they feel we can do better, and then go from there to develop an overall plan going forward.

I do have some key priorities that I feel are important in any position that I’ve had involving leadership. Succession planning is extremely important. You know, just evaluating things from a 1,000-foot level. I think we need to be prepared. We have some key people that are doing a lot of the work. And we need to make sure that if something were to happen to them or if they decided they won the lottery tomorrow and decided not to come back, that we’re gonna be able to function properly. We need to get some responsibilities, I think, more easily distributed and shared.

The elephant in the room is that this was Lisa Colón’s office. You talked about the emotions around that before you were elected. Do you feel like that has at all been complicated with her untimely death?

I would say everyone, to me, has been extremely welcoming. Our office staff, the commissioners, the elected row officers, county staff, have been extremely welcoming. There’s certainly a sadness, and if you walk around the office, maybe you would see that there’s pictures of Lisa here. She was close with her staff. I’ve spoken about this before. She was well liked — actually loved — within the community. She had a big heart. She’s definitely missed.

You would be the first controller in a while who doesn’t have a formal financial background or accounting background. How are you approaching that?

It’s a very fair question. In regards to that, where I don’t have my CPA, I do have a lot of relevant experience. I was a state trooper. I’ve been in business for myself for 30 years. I’ve been a township supervisor. Government accounting is definitely different from the private sector. Essentially, the (controller), they’re not out doing the actual auditing. Their staff is actually doing the audit. This position is managing the 25 people in this office, holding them accountable, making sure that we are doing things the right way.

Commissioner Alice Yoder and Treasurer Amber Martin have argued that your office, the treasurer’s office and others should be in closer communication on the county’s finances. You were at a recent Investment Board meeting where this came up. Have you had a chance to talk to them about this yet?

So, not since that meeting. And we’ve been trying to connect, so I’m going to hold off on commenting specifically on that meeting until I do have an opportunity to speak to [Martin] directly, out of fairness. And [Yoder] is on my list of people that I need to meet with and talk to. I’m open to anything. So if she has specific ideas that she thinks that I believe will improve this office, I’m all about it. So, I’d be happy to hear what she has to say. We’re going to serve on boards together, and, you know, I respect her position and viewpoints on things.

Have you developed any relationships yet with other county controllers and been picking their brains?

So, I obviously just started. I attended the county controller conference that was held here in November, over at the (Eden Resort & Suites), which was great. So I’m looking forward to getting involved with the County Controllers Association. But having a direct one-on-one sitdown with a specific county controller, not yet. But that will happen.

Did you have any big takeaways from that experience with the conference? 

Just that no matter what political party everybody is from, it seems like we’re all dealing with the same issues: just the nitty gritty of the office, what we have to do and what we have to comply with. And it seems that that’s universal. And what I found the conference to be was there were a lot of people that are just willing to help, that have a lot of institutional knowledge.

Are there any controllers offices in the state that you’re just like, ‘Wow, they seem like they’re the gold standard’?

I’ve not gotten that far in the investigation yet, but yes, that’s what I want to do. I want to take a look at who’s doing what, what’s working, what’s not, and take best practices back here.

What is your philosophy on the role of the controller as being independent from the commissioners?

Well, you got a glimpse of it at our last (investment board) meeting. I have no problem being independent and speaking my mind. At the same time, the controller’s office is unique in that you are part of a team, but at the end of the day, you’re the watchdog, you’re the person that is in charge of making sure that we are complying, the money’s getting to where it’s supposed to go in an efficient manner. And if something’s not working right or something needs to be done better, regardless of relationships, it’s my responsibility to say so.

One of the biggest things you mentioned looking forward to is being on the Prison Board. What is your vision for that role?

Our (current) prison facility prevents us from doing a lot of good work that the warden and her team want to do. So I’m really looking forward to working on this part of it.

I do have a law enforcement background, so I have that perspective. Most of the people that are coming into Lancaster County Prison will be released within a year. Are we sending them back out better prepared than when they came in? And if we’re not, then that’s a problem. And I think there’s so much we have the ability to improve upon just because of space. I think (the new prison) will open up a whole new world for education, training, mental health and faith-based programs. I mean, when people are at their lowest and are self-reflecting, it’s really an opportunity to reach them and make the difference. And I think that can happen.

You mentioned you were a foster parent for several years. How did that experience impact your view of the justice system?

I think a lot of the children that we ended up taking care of in some way, shape or form came from families that were affected by drug addiction, alcohol, physical abuse. Those children are at high risk to repeat what they’ve been taught or what’s happened to them. George Bush used to say, “I’m a compassionate conservative,” and that’s how I would describe myself.