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Addressing Deficiencies in Financial Management
December 11, 2007
I attended the City Council meeting today and heard the auditor’s report on the 2005-2006 year end audit, now at least a year overdue. Although I was encouraged by his opinion that the City is solvent and financially stable, I was disappointed with the auditor’s findings of inadequate internal controls and financial procedures. Without question, the city’s financial management has not reflected the level of professionalism and “best practices” that our citizens have every reason to expect. This experience should never again be repeated because it is a problem that we should be able to permanently resolve. To be certain, Columbia faces formidable issues including crime and drugs which we can address, improve, but in all likelihood, never fully eradicate. On the other hand, competent financial management is a basic government function that should be fully achievable. The failure of the City’s financial department to produce monthly financial statements to City Council during the 2005-2006 fiscal year should have provided ample warning of this impending crisis and the inability to close the books at the end of the fiscal year should have been no surprise.
Our auditor delivered to Council in September 2007 a management letter recommending multiple changes in the City’s financial operations. The City Manager should utilize the auditor’s management letter as his road map for addressing these problems and make the resolution of these deficiencies in the City’s financial operations among his highest priorities. Council should closely monitor the City Manager’s progress in addressing these issues and make his success in resolving these problems in financial management and control a major component of the City Manager’s annual evaluation. Council should also post on its website the monthly financial statements, the City’s most current audited financial statement and any management letters issued by our auditors to assure full transparency in City financial operations.
If elected on April 1, 2008, I will bring to Council my experience in personnel supervision and evaluation, strategic planning and financial management. If we aspire to achieve great things for our city, we must do the basics with a level of excellence, and this certainly includes sound, responsible financial management of the City’s budget. This is a “no-brainer”--we should expect and accept nothing less than excellence in the financial management of our City.