State audit of Nevada's city finances to begin next week

Wednesday, March 3, 2004

By Ralph Pokorny

The operation of the Nevada city government will be under a microscope for the next couple of months.

Donna Christian, audit manager in the State Auditor's Springfield office, told the Nevada City Council Tuesday night that next week the State Auditor's office will start work on an audit of the city government.

Christian and Amy Baker, a senior auditor in the State Auditors Springfield office, told the council that they were at the council meeting for an entrance conference.

"We're here to introduce us to you and to let you know what to expect," Christian told the council, adding that the city will not be billed for this meeting.

The estimated cost of the audit is about $24,000, which the city will have to pay.

Christian said the field work part of the audit, which is being done at the request of Nevada voters who signed petitions, will begin next week and the entire process will take several months.

According to the Auditors office in Jefferson City a part of the audit process involved a private meeting with Joe Kraft, who the State Auditor's office lists as the chief petitioner, and other individuals who Kraft selected, to discuss their reasons for wanting the audit.

This meeting with some of the petitioners is considered part of the State Auditors work product and therefore falls into one of the exceptions to the states Open Meetings Law requirements and was not open to the public.

William McCaffree, Nevada's city attorney, said after Tuesday night's council meeting that representatives of the city were not included in this meeting, either.

The Auditors office will not divulge the reasons for the requested audit until it is complete and when contacted by telephone Tuesday afternoon, Kraft was unwilling to discuss his reasons for wanting an audit, saying that he had already furnished some of his reasons several weeks ago.

In January, a Daily Mail story written by Justin Baldwin reported Kraft's response to similar questions at the time. "'It's the democratic process being exercised,' he said. Kraft feels that enough voters were concerned about the financial practices of the city that they deemed it necessary to spend the money to delve into the expenditures and budget of the city. 'If there's anything wrong let's correct it, if there's nothing wrong we will go on down the road,' said Kraft."

Christian told the council that most of the fieldwork would be done by Amy Baker, a senior auditor, in the State Auditors Office in Springfield.

"Because of the distance from Springfield we will try to cut down on overnight travel through the use of electronic material," she said.

Christian talked to Robin Fisher, city clerk, last week and Fisher said that Christian was pleased at how much of the information they would need to consult, such as meeting minutes, the city code and other documents are available on the city's web site, www.nevadamo.org.

When auditors are finished gathering and analyzing information they will prepare a written draft of their report and then meet with the city council in a closed meeting to check on the accuracy of the report and to allow the council to respond to the report.

The council responses will be added to the report, which will then be reviewed and signed by the State Auditor.

Once the report is signed it becomes public record.

Christian told the council that they might hold a public meeting after the audit is finalized to discuss the findings.

In other business the council:

* Approved the appointment of Jay Taylor to the plumbing board to replace Eric Jeffries. Taylor's term will expire in November 2005.

* Accepted the low bid of $69,252.58 from Heartland Waterworks, Grandview, for pipe and fittings for the city's spring and summer water construction projects and accepted the low bid of $13,641.60 from Joplin Supply for Mueller fire hydrants.

* Passed on first reading a special ordinance approving the transfer of ownership of a water main in the Barton Meadows addition from Todd Thorpe to the city of Nevada. The Barton Meadows addition is across Ash Street from the Ozark Building.

* Passed on first reading a general ordinance amending Chapter 26 of the city's code to update the city's purchasing process. The current regulations were written 20 years ago and do not provide for purchases done by e-mail or done in bulk.

* Passed on first reading a special ordinance approving a contract with Challenger Sports Corporation to provide a youth soccer camp in Nevada. Carol Branham told the council that this will be similar to the annual football camps.

* Passed on first reading a special ordinance approving a three-year lease agreement with the Vernon County Senior Building Board on the Neal Center, 301 N. Main Street.

* Passed on first reading a special ordinance approving a one-year service agreement with the District III Area Agency on Aging to provide senior services and programming at the Neal Center.

* Passed on first reading a special ordinance approving an Ozark Building special counsel agreement with Armstrong Teasdale LLP.

* Adopted Resolution No. 1066 acknowledging the receipt of a verified petition from Dean Stutesman requesting that the city annex property owned by Stutesman Realty into the Nevada city limits. Stutesman wants to build housing development on the property and he wants the development to be inside the city limits so the houses can be connected to the city's sewer system.

* Adopted Resolution No. 1067 approving $33 in travel expenses for City Manager Craig Hubler and council members Mike Straight and Marie Wessley to attend a regional Missouri Municipal League meeting on March 18 in Aurora. Part of the program will be a talk by Buck Katt, deputy director, State Emergency Management Agency, on disasters, response and recovery.

* Began discussion of a draft agreement with the Nevada/Vernon County Chamber of Commerce for providing tourism services for the city. The proposed agreement would allow the Chamber of Commerce to assist the city and its tourism commission in overseeing the city's guest tax, without being subject to many of the requirements that the city must follow.

* Passed on second reading a special ordinance approving an engineering services agreement with A. W. Brauer Engineering. The contract is good for up to $5,000 in engineering services between November 1, 2003 and December 31, 2004. Brauer will review water and sewer plans as well as street work and easements.

* Gave final approval to a special ordinance approving a computer support agreement with Dennis Jones and Associates for the city's AS/400 computer system in the finance department.

* Passed on second reading a special ordinance approving paying Jorgen Schlemeier, of Gamble and Schlemeier, $900 per month to represent Nevada in Jefferson City. The agreement requires Schlemeier to provide periodic reports to the Nevada city staff and city council.

* Passed on second reading a special ordinance approving a contract with Kirkpatrick, Pettis, Smith and Polian Inc. for advice in financing various projects. This will allow the city to receive advice on bond issues from someone other than the company selling the bonds.

* Passed on second reading a special ordinance approving an agreement with US Bank to allow the city to accept credit cards for paying bills, such as water bills.

* Passed on second reading a special ordinance approving a contract not to exceed $1,800 with Washington Electronics for maintenance of the city's storm warning sirens. Washington Electronics was the only company to submit a bid that met the city's specifications.

The money for the maintenance will come from the city's emergency management budget.

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