Back in December 2007, subsequent to Joe Kroll resigning from Lake Park and being hired by The City of Lake Worth as Public Works Director, an audit was completed for the City of Lake Worth by our internal auditor, Scot Menke. In it, he revealed that there were substantial unauthorized engineering expenditures on the City's closed landfill. All of this involved our then Finance Director, Ann Costello.To refresh your memory of the circumstances of her resignation while she was in Lake Worth:
- Purchasing ordinances were circumvented with no objection from Costello
- The CCNA was violated with no objection from Costello
- Costello did not establish proper controls over cash disbursements
- She failed to supervise inexperienced finance staff
- Inaccurate and incomplete finance reports were disseminated every month. The commission, etc. had no clue as to the real numbers.
- Costello failed to recognize the full extent of the landfill expenditures even after discovering them
- The then Public Works Director continued approving landfill expenditures for payments months after being repeatedly made aware that there was no authorized funding source
- The landfill vendor continued working, billing and receiving funds in the absence of any contract covering those expenditures
- The City was not advised of all the risks about the unauthorized expenditures
Soon after all of this was revealed, Ms. Costello resigned from Lake Worth. Within a short time, her resume recirculated and Lake Park found her. She went to work for that city as its Finance Director. She too was awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. The award is the highest honor in governmental accounting and financial reporting.
Yesterday, Ms. Costello resigned from Lake Park. No one is talking.
11 comments:
Lynn, you may remember Ms. costello receiving that award--Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.---while in Lake Worth. Was that the same award that was received by the Finance Department for last year's Audit?
Why did I know that someone would hone in on that one paragraph that is really not the essence of this story. Her department did get that award in Lake Park--don't remember about LW when she was working here.
What it does show however, is this--one can embellish anything--a resume as an example. Anything can look good but until you dig deeper and find out the facts, you could be kissing a frog. It also shows that we continue to recycle resumes. One questionable character can be asked to resign and then gets hired next door. The vicious cycle never stops. It is the same in the corporate world. They can't tell any prospective employer checking out an applicant that he was fired or asked to resign--law suits and all. So, what happens? Some new unlucky employer gets possibly stuck with that new hire.
Of course, we don't really know what happened to Ann. Do we?
Why don't we yet have an internal auditor?
did kroll get canned at lake park?
I hope LW realize that the GFOA and the ICMA are very similar orginazations. Membership in or recognition by the professional association does not mean you're at or even near the top of the food chain in that profession. Just like thinking that just because you have a PhD you're a good doctor. Or having an MBA means you're a good good business leader.
I hope that LW realizes what these commissioners are trying to pull up there on the dais, Greg and that they are not too stupid to fall for it all.
I guess it's better not to have any degree or struggle to get your GED? We are lucky that we have a PHd as well as an MBA on the dais. The rest of them? Now you are putting down education.
Costello=coruption.If Joe Kroll gets put in as city manager over 67 experienced applicants,then LAKE WORTH CITY COMMISSION= CORRUPTION. Remember Scotty boy, if Kroll gets in, you won't be a Commissioner any more.
Kroll is going to be hired for the c.m. position. Maxwell will easily be re-elected again.
You all have cried wolf about corruption for so long nobody believes you or cares.
Get used to it.
Get used to corruption? No one cares? I think not. Ignorance is bliss in this city and you are a big part of what's wrong with this city.
This is why the electric costs must be addressed. Obviously this is where most of the corruption is coming from because, obviously, there is too much "play money". Despite the negative budget, the folks have no fear of unregulated debt. The money keeps coming through the utility.
This "play money" is obtained on the backs of the citizens, without supervision, in a town that is not personally wealthy, with families now going without power just to survive these hard times.
You can try to reform this wasteland of recycled employees,and the corruption all you want, but a 10% reduction in electric fees, across the board, and it should be more, would straighten a lot of things out immediately.
Ok?
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