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Inverness' financial house is in order
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET © St. Petersburg Times, published February 8, 2001 INVERNESS -- An audit presented at the Inverness City Council meeting Tuesday evening shows that the city is in good financial shape, despite several weaknesses in its accounting procedures. "Nothing has come to our attention that would cause us to doubt the financial strength of the city," said Paul Cash, a partner with the accounting firm of Williams, McCranie & Sutton. Cash said all of the city's expenses and revenues are accounted for, and the city's financial statements accurately depict its financial position. But he noted several places where expenses were listed in the wrong account, or where accounts were not reconciled by year's end. The audit reflects the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. City Manager Frank DiGiovanni said the city has already addressed the flaws in its bookkeeping system. Perhaps the most serious irregularity noted in the audit was a $62,953 lease for police cars executed by Inverness police Chief Joe Elizarde without DiGiovanni's approval. Under city regulations, only the city manager can execute leases on the city's behalf. Elizarde also bought $6,729 in equipment for those cars before the city approved the purchase order. DiGiovanni said the city noticed the error last June and has corrected the situation. Finance Director Cheryl Chiodo now oversees the lease agreement and obtains DiGiovanni's signature on the paperwork before payments are made, he said. "We've been marching down the road toward central purchasing, but you don't do these things overnight," DiGiovanni said. Cash also noted that the city spent $12,275 more than budgeted for school crossing guards last year. DiGiovanni said the city hired additional crossing guards last year to replace off-duty police officers who had served as crossing guards. The Citrus County School Board reimbursed the city for the extra crossing guards, DiGiovanni said, but the city did not amend its budget to show that funding. This year's budget includes the funding from the School Board, he said. Even with these and several other minor irregularities, Cash said the city had come a long way in improving its books. An interim audit last year showed that the city was late in making payments to some vendors, had failed to reconcile some accounts and had incorrect balances entered in the general ledger. Chiodo, who returned as the city finance director last June, corrected most of those errors before the fiscal year ended, and has fixed the rest of the problems since then, Cash said. "We feel kudos are definitely warranted to her for the hard work she's done the past few months," Cash said. In other council news: Airport agreement takes flight. The city agreed to support the county's Inverness Regional Airport expansion plans by offering nearby land used as a spray field for treated city sewage. The landlocked airport on U.S. 41 S will encroach on the Inverness spray field when it expands its runway to 5,000 feet long and 100 feet wide and adds other airport facilities, said Ken Frink, assistant public works director for the county. The county has offered to pay for upgrading the city's wastewater treatment plant so that treated sewage could be reused to water lawns and golf courses. If that happened, the city would no longer need part or all of the spray field, Frink said. Council members voted to proceed with an interlocal agreement exchanging the land for the sewer plant upgrades. "I just love the idea of having that park and that expansion, and what it will mean for the city of Inverness," council president Bob Plaisted said. Courthouse permit fees waived. The county plans to build an addition to the county courthouse this year, a project that will help solidify Inverness' status as the county seat, city officials said. To make construction as painless as possible for the county, the city agreed to waive about $27,000 in permitting fees for the project. "I think we know the value and the greater benefit of this relationship," council member Ted Stauffer said. Aesthetic measures approved. The city passed an amendment to its Land Development Code that sets design standards for new homes. The standards establish a minimum roof pitch, require a roof overhang of at least 2 feet, and state that exterior walls may not contain exposed concrete but must have some type of painted or stucco finish over block walls. The amendment also allows community club buildings in residential neighborhoods. City tartan not for sale. The council declined an offer by a private marketing company to incorporate Inverness' unique tartan design into souvenirs. Council members said the gold and black plaid design should be for city, not commercial, use. Council member John Sullivan said the city should incorporate the tartan pattern downtown, perhaps with the new signs that will be added during renovations this summer. "But I do not want to sell it or market it," he said.
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