What's new is old.
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From the Carr, Riggs and Ingram report in May of 2013 page 16 in the conclusion
we do not assert that irregularities or misappropriation did not occur. Given the nature and extent of control deficiencies identified, should misappropriation have occurred, the records / documentation may not exist to provide the City with substantive evidence
Now in July we come to learn that the temporary workers that were brought in from an agency, rather than borrow from other cities or an accounting firm that is familiar with the processes, software, and procedures that should have been in place, were provided by Remedy Staffing and that the supervisor contact person there for the city was our former external auditor Alex Kish’s son. This is the firm that assured Councilman Ford at the prior years CAFR that everything was OK.
Now why this is significant is that it has never been explained to my knowledge, and I still wait, that two of the Remedy workers were sent into the finance directors office to shred documents. The nature of the documents destroyed has never been discovered or disclosed and perhaps in this light very much under-investigated.
With the security lapses in IT that have not been disclosed and that it has been disclosed that persons had access to both sides of the ledger, and that up to recently access to official check printing supplies and equipment were not secure. This not to mention the personal information and credit/debit card information of countless customers who’s accounts and identities may have been compromised.
No matter what was destroyed the new shadow of suspicion as been cast to ask new questions.
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Who knowingly worked with the external auditors son to provide the temporary staffing?
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Why were these people not “vetted”?
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What other access did the workers from Remedy have?
Then the speculation goes on from there. Certainly we will never know the extent of damage or prove theft, fraud, or other wrongdoing. That was in the statement I read from the forensic auditors report.
What we do know is that by misfeasance, at the least, things have been done that were inappropriate and perhaps illegal. Though we will not be able to prove malice or criminal intent, what evidence their may have been would have been destroyed, deleted or never recorded. What should be done is to identify and hold the persons accountable for not performing due diligence to their job or profession.
This cloud of suspicion and dome of concealment has loomed over our city for too long. The longer the more embarrassed we become. As we went through the public works fiasco the water meters, finance department and most recently utilities that should draw human relations and payroll into play, what are citizens and outsiders to think of our elected officials that are content to drag this out and not take action on known issues. What are we to think about our new management who is apparently content to continue the same. You will recall I was put off when I asked at the forensic audit presentation about the payments from other sources (clear channel, towing,etc.) that were clearly to be part of the investigation/audit, that were not included.
It is clear that persons need to be disciplined, demoted or discharged, not given an across the board pay increase and mass atta’boy.
Newton White