City gets answers on audit, finances

By JOSH ZIMMER

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 12, 2000

CRYSTAL RIVER -- A highly anticipated workshop Monday night appeared to restore confidence in how this city handles its finances.

Two City Council members backed away from their push for a special six-month audit after a presentation by the city auditors, the financial software vendor, former finance director George Zoettlein and finance director Carol Grivetti.

Heeding the advice of auditor Don Sutton and Grivetti, the two officials decided Grivetti deserved more time to put the troubled finance department in order.

"I certainly was very vehement about a six-month audit, but I feel a lot more comfortable," council member Mike Gudis said.

"I am very impressed with what I see," said council member Kyle "Joe" Chrietzberg, who first demanded the workshop last month.

His demand was in reaction to growing concerns about delays in completing the annual audit and revelations that some city vendors, including the insurance company covering the city volunteer fire department, were not being paid on time.

Sutton, the city's longtime auditor, was able to answer one of the council's most pressing questions: When will the annual audit be completed? Although the state gives municipalities 12 months to finish the report, Crystal River has traditionally had a completed audit by early March.

Sutton's firm received a deadline extension, however, allowing Grivetti more time to prepare the necessary financial information that the previous finance director, Helene Morris, had not provided. The audit should be completed soon, Sutton said.

"We have finished our field work," he said. "And we will meet the April 30 deadline."

Gudis, who led the workshop in Mayor Curtis Rich's absence, tried to start the meeting on a civil tone.

"I don't think anybody's here tonight to place blame on personnel," he said.

But at times the discussion did center on who is responsible for the problems, which,Zoettlein said, involved unbalanced accounts. Zoettlein, now Hernando County's budget officer, was brought in as a consultant at a rate of $100 per hour.

Council members Paula Wheeler and Alex Ilnyckyj asked Sutton and the software representatives if computer glitches were the cause of delays in obtaining the audit information or if management was responsible. Both council members had been more hesitant about calling for the workshop than council members Ray Wallace and Gudis.

Staunch defenders of the administration, Wheeler and Ilnyckyj were told by Sutton that management could have done a better job.

"There will be comments about the internal control structure" in the audit, Sutton said.

Wheeler, who volunteered many hours in the utility department to help prepare the year's first billings, acknowledged city finances may have suffered in the process.

After a difficult first month on the job, Grivetti said Tuesday that she felt a morale boost from the meeting.

"I truly believe that I need to continually produce accurate financial information to bring up everyone's comfort level . . . to enable them to run the city better," she said. "I'll do that."

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