State Audit Reviewing Savannah City Records
By: Alan Van Zandt
Updated: March 14, 2013
(SAVANNAH, Mo.) People in Savannah have been arguing for several years about how they got into a financial mess.
They hope a state auditor - in town this week - will help them find the answer. But, he won't be looking at financial records as much as other city documents.
"The state auditor will come in," says City Administrator Jill Cornett. "They will take a look at our code and then check our activities via the minutes of committee meetings and council meetings and determine whether or not we've actually been functioning according to the code book or the laws of the city."
Without going much into the finances, Savannah Mayor Dave Ingersoll says people won't get the answers they're looking for.
"I wish the people who'd signed the petition would step up and say here's what we want you to look at," Ingersoll said.
However, some who called for the petition still think it's all about the money.
"How were the monies handled in the past?" asks Savannah City Council member John Parker, who signed the petition asking for the state audit. "Were they handled legally or illegally?"
This will be the fourth audit of Savannah records in the past two years. It will take 8-10 weeks to complete at a cost of up to $50,000, money Mayor Ingersoll says the city can ill afford to spend while digging out of their financial hole.
"I guarantee you that there's a lot of things that we could do with this money that would benefit the taxpayers of the city in a better way," he says.
At the very least, Parker hopes the review will put all the questions to bed.
"I think there are a lot of people that think that everything that was done in the past was wrong," he explains. "There are a lot of other people that say everything was done right. So, we need a legitimate outside answer."
Parker says two years ago he asked the city council request the Missouri State Highway Patrol to look into irregularities in the city budget, but says he was voted down.
But he adds even though this audit looks at only the last 12 months, if problems are found, that will open up investigations into other issues that might have happened in the past.
They hope a state auditor - in town this week - will help them find the answer. But, he won't be looking at financial records as much as other city documents.
"The state auditor will come in," says City Administrator Jill Cornett. "They will take a look at our code and then check our activities via the minutes of committee meetings and council meetings and determine whether or not we've actually been functioning according to the code book or the laws of the city."
Without going much into the finances, Savannah Mayor Dave Ingersoll says people won't get the answers they're looking for.
"I wish the people who'd signed the petition would step up and say here's what we want you to look at," Ingersoll said.
However, some who called for the petition still think it's all about the money.
"How were the monies handled in the past?" asks Savannah City Council member John Parker, who signed the petition asking for the state audit. "Were they handled legally or illegally?"
This will be the fourth audit of Savannah records in the past two years. It will take 8-10 weeks to complete at a cost of up to $50,000, money Mayor Ingersoll says the city can ill afford to spend while digging out of their financial hole.
"I guarantee you that there's a lot of things that we could do with this money that would benefit the taxpayers of the city in a better way," he says.
At the very least, Parker hopes the review will put all the questions to bed.
"I think there are a lot of people that think that everything that was done in the past was wrong," he explains. "There are a lot of other people that say everything was done right. So, we need a legitimate outside answer."
Parker says two years ago he asked the city council request the Missouri State Highway Patrol to look into irregularities in the city budget, but says he was voted down.
But he adds even though this audit looks at only the last 12 months, if problems are found, that will open up investigations into other issues that might have happened in the past.
