Alderman Patrick Toohey: Brentwood Needs Financial Controls, Less Anger in Meetings, Whistleblower Hotline

Toohey said good controls would promote trust in the city.

Alderman Patrick Toohey: Brentwood Needs Financial Controls, Less Anger in Meetings, Whistleblower Hotline

Toohey said good controls would promote trust in the city.

Brentwood Ward 4 Councilman Patrick Toohey last week contacted Maplewood-Brentwood Patch with a request to talk about how Brentwood could be better run. Toohey is an accountant, and said the state audit of the city (to be made public early this year), is a good opportunity to improve the city’s processes. At Ray’s Donuts, on Feb. 16, Toohey talked about financial controls, city government hierarchy, productive board meetings and a city whistle blower hot line. He said internal controls have never been a big part of city audits. “This could be a chance for Brentwood to lead the way," Toohey said. He said administrative sign-off for credit card reconciliations is an example of a control. “Someone like Gina (Jarvis, CPA, Brentwood Finance …

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Brentwood Aldermen Meeting with Auditor to be Closed, Sunshine Law Supports It

Resident Karen Smith said for transparency, the discussion of the state's audit of the city should be open.

On Jan. 29 the Brentwood Board of Aldermen will meet with state auditors to review the state’s audit of the city. The audit was initiated by a citizen-led petition drive, so resident Karen Smith said, in an effort for transparency the meeting should be open to Brentwood residents. “It was paid for with taxpayer money, so I think the taxpayers have the right to be able to hear the results of that audit at the same time as the board of aldermen,” she said. She said the meeting doesn’t qualify under the three topics that would justify going into a closed session, which are personnel, legal and real estate. State auditor spokesperson Spence Jackson said the meeting is the exit meeting and is always closed. “The report is still a draft and not …

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Blog: Brentwood Chicken Keeper Wants to Overturn No-Chicken Ordinance

Angie Hulshoff spoke in Monday's board of aldermen meeting. She's had chickens for three years, and thought she was in the clear.

Brentwood Mayor, Board of Aldermen Give City Staff Early Christmas Gift

Mayor Pat Kelly proposed the day off at the last board of aldermen meeting.

Brentwood city employees, other than those with essential jobs like police and fire, have an unexpected day off on Christmas Eve. City Hall was scheduled to be open on Dec. 24, but at the Dec. 17 Board of Aldermen meeting Mayor Pat Kelly proposed shutting it down. Necessary staff would be given a comp day to take at a future date. He cited Christmas falling on a Tuesday and giving employees a chance to travel as reasons. “There isn’t much city business happening on a Christmas Eve,” Kelly said. “I think a lot of cities would consider it. I don’t know if a lot of them are doing it.” City Administrator Bola Akande said some cities have scheduled it, but hadn’t done a survey. She said St. Louis County will have a skeleton crew. Ward 1 …

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Brentwood Board of Aldermen to Review State's Audit in January

The aldermen will meet with state auditors and be given a chance to respond to the state's audit of Brentwood's books and policies.

At the Dec. 17 Brentwood Board of Aldermen meeting mayor Pat Kelly announced that the board of aldermen will meet with state auditors on Jan. 29 in an executive session to review the state’s audit of the city. The audit was triggered by a citizen-led petition drive in Summer 2011. The audit began in January of this year. State Auditor's Office Communications Director Spence Jackson said the board of aldermen will be be given a chance to review the audit and respond to the findings. Jackson said the step is a final piece of the audit, and the board's response will be included when it is released to the public. The board of aldermen will have no power to edit the audit. It is expected to be released in early 2013. When the audit is complete…

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Maplewood Mayor, Councilmen to Run Unopposed in 2013, No Brentwood Elections

The Maplewood incumbents were the only ones to file for the seats

The dates for filing to run for election on Maplewood City Council have already opened and closed. The period ran from Oct. 16 to Nov. 20.  The only candidates to file were four incumbents. Three Maplewood councilmen and the mayor’s terms expire in April 2013. They are running unopposed for four-year terms. The Maplewood filing period is earlier than Brentwood and many other cities across the state. That's because the city's charter has a provision that if more than two people file for a single office, then a primary election must be held in February, City Manager Marty Corcoran said.  Corcoran said the last time he could remember that Maplewood had a primary election was when Mayor Mark Langston ran in 2004. On the Brentwood Board of …

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Brentwood Police Chief Wants More Officers, But Not at the Cost of Raises

Chief Disbennett said city employees wouldn't be happy with him if they lost raises because of him.

The Brentwood Board of Aldermen are working on finalizing the city's 2013 budget, and one consideration is whether or not to include additional police officers. Chief of Police Steve Disbennett said he wanted three more patrol officers, but in a later meeting said he didn't want extra hires to come from funds slated for city employee raises. "The employees of this city would not be happy with me, knowing that they lost a merit raise based on the fact that we hired employees," he said at the Nov. 15 Public Safety Committee meeting. He said merit raises and additional officers should be separate issues. To back up his assertion for more officers, Disbennett compared Brentwood to Durango, CO. He said Durango has a population of 17,000 but has…

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