At least Alderman Toohey is going about this the right way. Unlike Alderwoman Saunders who is trying to stir up drama within the board.

When the "I know nothing, I see nothing, I do nothing" Mayor and old board are gone, the city will move on. The coming elections will purge the drama they created by their actions AND more importantly - lack of accountability and communication.

Mr. Jacobs, I think you may be partially right -- it does appear Alderman Toohey is trying to move forward with suggested solutions; however, didn't you mean to say Alderman Saunders is SHEDDING LIGHT on the drama the City has worked to hide for so long? I'm glad to see both Alderman Toohey and Saunders working for Brentwood's citizens, to move past the questionable practices that have been in place for far too long, and to hold the City more accountable for the benefit of ALL residents.....

Mr. Jacobs,
I also applaud Mr. Toohey's efforts to be transparent, as long as he is not requesting we forgive prior administrations transgressions of the past even prior to knowing the results of the state audit.
Alderperson Saunders and numerous well intended citizens are not motivated by drama, but rather a sincere and consciencable desire for simple accountability.
The objective is simply to discover all facts, and then we can begin to clean the slate for the future. "The highest form of ignorance is when you reject or accept something you don't know anything about." Wayne Dyer (1940-?) American Professor and Psychotherapist.

I believe the mention of internal controls now by Alderman Toohey after the BOA has met with the state auditor in closed session may be a violation of state law. If one of the recommendations by the state auditor is to review internal controls, he is revealing discussions from closed sessions. The BOA should take this incident seriously.

Jim Pozzo

If I am interpreting Patrick Toohey’s comments correctly, it sounds like he is moving in the direction that Maureen Saunders has been trying to move the City since she took office. I don’t think folks are trying to place blame as is suggested in the article and one of the comments. I think the focus is on holding individuals accountable and making sure that the right policies and procedures are in place to insure that the types of abuse Brentwood has endured over the last 20 years are prevented.
Using the bus driver analogy, if a bus goes off a cliff due to poor execution on the part of the bus driver, it is very doubtful that the bus driver would be given the responsibility of driving a bus again. I think that that is all the citizens of Brentwood are asking for (and deserve). If there were people in positions of responsibility in Brentwood that did not do their job or provide appropriate oversight and governance, then they need to be held accountable just like the bus driver.

Ms. Smith, In response to your bus driver analogy, how many times does it need to be explained to Alderwoman Saunders that those "driving the bus" were unaware that something was going on internally in the city. Is it the bus drivers fault if the mechanic fails to do his job properly? You all want honesty and transparency in City Hall? Well, they are being honest and transparent. Take them at their word, they have nothing to gain by hiding something from you all.

For those who don't know, I am a CPA with 7 years of audit experience and I have been preaching about improving Brentwood's internal controls since I first began campaigning to be an Alderman. I spoke based on my professional knowledge and experience along with the public knowledge the Brentwood has had some problems in the past.

Mr. Jacobs -- thanks for your comment. I guess the question is: should “those driving the bus” have had the checks and balances in place so that they would have known what was going on in the city. As the “bus driver” of the city, wasn’t it their responsibility to implement policies and procedures so such abuse would be prevented?
I do respectfully disagree with you that City Hall is being honest and transparent. There are questions that have not been fully answered. And I am uncomfortable with “taking them at their word”. That is what got Brentwood in the mess it is in right now. Brentwood has to earn the trust of the residents and this will take time and a lot of work.
And it is not just Alderman Saunders that is asking for this. Don’t forget, she was elected by the people in Ward 1 to represent them because of her audit background and because she knows how to put policies and procedures in place to prevent the type of abuse that Brentwood endured for 20 years.

I agree with Ms Smith - ignorance of the situation is not acceptable. The fact that simple, standard controls to ensure accountability we're not in place is less acceptable. We elected them to GOVERN - not to sit idly by.

How are we going to move forward, when some on the board are only interested in bringing up the past?

When there are transportation accidents or building/construction failures, the incident is investigated for the cause so that there will be no more failures, was it a maintenance, design, manufacturing problem, or human error. Again, this is to prevent other failures. That would be the responsible thing to do.
Jim Pozzo

As a Brentwood resident, I disagree with Alderman Toohey as far as anger having no purpose. It is the anger of us Brentwood citizens being misled, duped and told, don't pay any attention to the man behind the curtain, everything will be ok because we, the current city administration admit that we we made mistakes, but will fix it, so you need not worry, that got the ball rolling on this audit.

Tim, I never said anger doesn't have a purpose. Anger can serve as a wonderful motivator but it can also impair judgment. Anger must be kept with in reason so that sound decisions are made. I would urge you to reread my comments.

Ryan, Doug, any information on whether it was legal or appropriate for an alderman to talk to the Patch to discuss "possible" recommendations from the closed meetings with the State Auditor's Office?
It is just up to the alderman?
Jim Pozzo

This is exactly what is tearing this city apart. People like Mr. Pozzo who wan't to make a big deal about Alderman Toohey talking with Patch. You all say you are trying to move us forward with accountability, well why don't you all just quit bickering about every little thing, and quit trying to attack the littlest things. I hope you all get what you want, which is for Alderman Saunders to become mayor and then have all of her "people" become aldermen. At this point, I would like to have that happen so the tables can be turned. You all try and run the city when every move you make is being second guessed at every second. See how easy it is for you.

Mr. Johnson, I thought it was a simple question that would be easy to answer.