Politics & Government

Brentwood State Audit Presentation Date Set

Ward 1 Alderwoman Maureen Saunders said State Auditor Tom Schweich told her the date.

The state audit of Brentwood’s finances, which began with a residents' petition drive in the summer of 2011, will come to a close in a matter of weeks. The petition drive followed two financial scandals in Brentwood.

Ward 1 Alderwoman Maureen Saunders announced in a meeting of her ward that State Auditor Tom Schweich will come to Brentwood May 7 to present the findings.

She said she spoke with Schweich before the meeting, who gave her permission to announce the date. She said she had called because the audit was resident-driven, and wanted residents to have a fair amount of time to plan on coming.

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"We owe it as a courtesy to the state," she said. "They get a lot of requests for these and we petitioned for the audit, so they did the audit at our – the residents’ – request, so I think as a courtesy we should show up."

The planned venue is the Brentwood Recreation Center, and City Administrator Bola Akande told Saunders the city would rent a sound system so everyone can hear.

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Saunders said in the meeting that she’s concerned that the Recreation Center isn’t big enough, and said said she suggested to Schweich using the high school auditorium.

Saunders told the group of about 20 in the city hall meeting room that internal accounting controls should not be put in place until after the audit report.

She referred to Ward 4 Alderman Patrick Toohey’s comments in Patch suggesting the city should hire outside to start implementing internal controls.

“My question is, what is the foundation of his assumptions?” she asked. “We have no controls? They’re weak?”

Saunders said the state audit is a performance audit, which will tell the city any weaknesses or problems with controls.

"(Schweich) did concur with me we shouldn’t make any decisions as far as internal control elements, until the results are public," she said.

Read related article in Patch:

  • Residents Seek State Audit of Brentwood's Finances
  • Brentwood Audit Results Expected Early 2013


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