The council discussed the need for a better system of tracking expenditures and more accountability. According to the council, the city’s records are about 12 months behind, delaying the annual audit.
“We as a council need to leave this administration as well as we can for the next administration to come in and take over, whoever that may be,” Walker said.
Walker wanted to set a written procedure for maintaining records of credit accounts, but other council members felt that finding a qualified candidate for the role of city clerk would eliminate the need for those formal measures.
“Those are kind of like best practices for accounting so, realistically, whoever comes in with that type of accounting background should know that,” council member Kristie Tuggle said. “That’s not really anything you should have to mandate.”
The council also heard a proposal from Sharron Harbison, of The Harbison Group, to come in and set internal control measures for the city’s finances. The council discussed options for using Harbison to catch up the old paperwork and asked for a new proposal, reflecting those numbers and cost.
Council members Nick Isbell and Clyde Nix, and Mayor Chris Edwards were not able to attend the meeting.
No motions were made and no votes were taken during the meeting.