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2014 State Audit for City of Logansport, LMU released

Last Updated on April 15, 2017 by cassnetwork

The Indiana State Board of Accounts has released its 2014 audit of the finances for both the City of Logansport and the Logansport Municipal Utilities.

The audit, which was conducted earlier this year, indicates that the Logansport Municipal Utilities had been disbursing payroll checks to its employees without approval from its governing body, the Logansport Utility Service Board. Corrective measures taken by the board and approved by the Logansport City Council were in response to the findings after the SBOA’s on-site visit to Logansport.

The audit also determined the city’s beginning balances for 2014 were under-reported by $3,212,866, receipts were overstated by $2,008,185, disbursements were under-reported by $7,177,657 and the ending balance was overstated by $5,972,976. Federal grant awards totaling $1,597,694 were not reported.*

(See the 2014 Financial Statement & Federal Single Audit Report and the Supplemental Compliance Report).

Mayor Dave Kitchell, who was involved in the initial and exit conferences with SBOA officials, said the audit is a much-needed step forward to establish a stronger financial profile for the civil city and its utilities.

“The extensive audit completed by the State Board of Accounts confirms many of the concerns Logansport residents have had about their city government in the previous four years. We now know what the true budget picture of 2014 was and we will work with the State Board of Accounts openly as it conducts its 2015 audit of the city,” Kitchell said.

Given the declining general fund revenue the city has and the impact of the state’s circuit-breaker law which has subtracted 26 percent of Logansport’s general fund balance for 2016, the mayor said settling the city’s books from previous years has become increasingly important.

“We need to be able to say and show Logansport taxpayers, LMU ratepayers, bonding authorities and anyone who has a major fiscal investment in our city that we have our financial house in order,” Kitchell said.

The mayor said the hiring of a financial consultant to provide oversight for the city, new internal controls implemented by Clerk-Treasurer Stacy Cox and stricter oversight by the city administration will ensure more accuracy in the city’s fiscal reporting, capital investment and spending plans.

“Part of our responsibility is to be good stewards of the public’s money, and our administration vows to be accountable not only to the budget, but to the people who pay our salaries,” Kitchell said.

SOURCE: News release from the Office of Logansport Mayor Dave Kitchell

* Publisher’s Note: This report has been updated with figures from pg. 7 in supplemental compliance report).

 

 

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