Last night the Finance Advisory Board met. One of the topics of discussion was on the Internal Auditor. We used to have one, Scot Menke, up until 2009 when the City Manager allowed his contract to expire. Mr. Menke was the one who, upon investigation, found all sorts of irregularities in our city landfill back in 2007. His discoveries not only included unauthorized landfill expenditures and a lack of controls over cash disbursements and budgets but he highly recommended that the City pursue civil and criminal remedies for CCNA violations.
The two who were involved in these charges, the Finance Director and the Public Works Director, left the City of Lake Worth's employment prior to the Audit Report being completed. The City swept the whole unsavory mess under the table. Larry Karns was the City Attorney at that time.
The City Manager, in an e-mail dated 9/10/2009 to Mr. Menke said: "Well....they would like you and I to this a work plan. (sic) Scott....we will be getting a very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very
Dirty Audit again for the 2nd year because it appears our people don't know what they are doing. I think they, as well as me, ask 'Where is the Internal Auditor in all this mess'?"
The City Manager implies that the mess they are in is the Internal Auditor's fault.
Last night one member of the FAB suggested that we had two great employees in Steven Carr and Ed Fry and therefore did not need an Internal Auditor. The Fox watching the hen house trick. An internal auditor is independent. We do not pay benefits, etc. and he reports to the City Commission, not to the City Manager as do Carr and Fry. You can not audit yourself and anyone on Staff who suggests that does not want to find out the true state of affairs in our finances or has something to hide.
From the Lake Worth Charter:
The form of government of the City of Lake Worth shall be known as the "commission-manager plan." The city commission shall constitute the governing body with powers as hereinafter provided to pass ordinances, adopt resolutions and policies and appoint a chief administrative officer to be known as the "city manager," and to exercise all other powers hereinafter provided, or conferred by law.
Elective and appointive officers.
The elective officers under this charter shall be the mayor and the members of the city commission. The appointive officers shall be the city manager, city attorney, internal auditor, city clerk, police chief, fire chief, and such other officers as may be provided for by ordinance. Any of the above officers which are, or may become, under civil service shall be subject to civil service regulations. All of the appointive officers under the charter, except the city manager, city attorney, and internal auditor shall be appointed by the city manager and all appointive officers shall hold office subject to provisions of law.
Ord. No. 96-34, § 1, 12-5-96)
Two Motions were made last night regarding the Internal Auditor--1) Table the discussion of hiring an internal auditor to the next scheduled meeting and 2) recommend the City Commission align City Charter to actual practice regarding the internal auditor position.
8 comments:
I forgot to mention--
Those on the FAB in favor of an Internal Auditor were Ron Exline and Jessica Plotkin.
Those against were Laurel Decker, Bill Thrasher and Darrian Dougherty.
On the fence, or I should say the lone member who was hard to read, was John Pickett.
Either way, if the vote had gone 3/3, it would have been defeated. Pickett was the one who made the motion to table it until the next meeting.
Why do people think this is a waste of time? It is essential that we have someone in there delving around and getting to the facts.
That's why the naysayers consider it a waste of time. They don't want anyone to know what's really going on. Plotkin and Pickett are both sharp people. Look at the ones that opposed, who would you trust?
Not to mention that if people like Plotkin and Pickett were running the city we would all be alot better off.
Sorry Darrian--I spelled your last name wrong. Just realized it.
As I said, I don't know where Pickett stands here. All I know is who he supported in the last election and that he filed a complaint against Cara Jennings regarding the Nature's Way incident involving Scott Maxwell.
The City does not want bad news to leak out and an internal auditor would find all the things that they want to hide.
Look,I am a taxpaying resident of Lake Worth. Therefore, I am the boss of EVERYONE, Including the city Commission and the city manager. There would BE NO LAKE WORTH if it weren't for ME.I want an internal auditor. ANYONE who does not want an internal auditor should be audited. Shame on Laurel Decker, Bill Thrasher and Darien. These three have absolutely been compromised by the city Manager and can no longer be trusted to think independently and do what is right for the real boss of Lake Worth-ME, THE DAMNED TAXPAYER ,who is VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY PISSSED about this whole situation !!!!!!!!!!
As you know, I am a big believer in public transparency and, to the extent that an internal auditor would have oversight responsibilities over the city's finances, I would be in favor of having one. To be effective, an auditor would have to report to the city commission and mayor directly, bypassing staff. This is essentially how an internal auditor functions in the private sector. At the last meeting, it was far from clear to me a. this would be an auditor's duties and b. who they would report to. Hence, my motion to table.
I want to make one thing clear concerning my complaint against ex Commissioner Jennings. I thought her actions in that case were completely out of bounds, un-called for, and unworthy of a sitting Commissioner, from whom I believe we should expect higher standards. I would do exactly the same thing if any other commissioner pulled a similar stunt, whether their last name be Maxwell, Varela, McVoy, Mulvehill, whomever.
I have nothing personal against Cara. As a matter of fact, I respected the hell out of her when she was a commissioner. While we agree on very little politically, she was always extremely well prepared for commission meetings and brought her "A" game every time. Right before she left office, I wrote her an e-mail acknowledging the same, and thanking her for her service to our City and expressing my admiration for her dedication to her causes.
John
I happen to agree with you on the Nature's Way incident. Tallahassee said differently. I will also say that Cara made some responsible decisions for our City. I, however, am strongly against "open borders" and believe in the free enterprise system 100%. I believe in a strong police force that enforces our laws. I believe in a strong code enforcement department that does the same. I did not agree with her on taking the $5 mil at the beach that had strings from the County for 30 years. There never should have been strings on this money--we have been paying on that bond forever and it's our beach, not theirs. So these are some of the things for which I disagree with Cara Jennings and you probably see a few there that we can agree upon. I can say that she was the sharpest knife in the drawer on the dais and I can't remember one commissioner who was ever smarter or ever quicker.
Glad that you see the need for an internal auditor. Too many things can be or are covered up. We also desperately need a forensic audit of our Utility department.
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