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Councilman John Friend, CPA’s Letter to the City Council About AuditGATE

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Councilman John Friend, CPA: The man whose petition started the movement that led to teh NO VOTE for the Vectren fee

My Fellow Council Members:

Per your email concerning SBOA findings, the Board has broad authority in regards to who performs GASB audits (133-A, yellow book) and is the authority in granting outside CPA firms which, in my opinion, would cost the City and Utility upwards of $250k, and, when asked, during the exit conference, out of hand, rejected the request.

In regards to the comment that the City Council should have over-sighted the process is expected and normal under the separation of powers doctrine. Congress over-sights the executive branch, but, they have the GAO at their disposal and, of course, subpoena power. Up to now, no other City Administration has given the City Council funds to perform their apparent responsibilities. Per my request, in July, before this unfortunate situation was exposed to any member on council, including me, my request for Council City funding was honored; thus, we now can be expected to do our separation of powers responsibility. During the salary debate, you probably remember that the City has an internal auditor which reports to the Mayor and the controller office. Surprisingly, the SBOA does not mention the failure in reporting this disturbing state of affairs, maybe she did, but, regardless, nothing was done, no request for any additional appropriations from the Mayor to help with the exit of the only CPA due to underpay, no qualified replacement, and, obviously, lack of planning and over-sighting by Tyler and our contracted IT vendors. Thus, my three year concern of the IT situation and the requested assessment went un regarded by the past administration. You and Missy both supported my IT concerns over those years. During our meeting with Mark Rolley, weeks ago, you, Jonathan Weaver, and I heard the issues, seemingly uncontrolled acquisitions of software and peripherals and lack of involvement of IT in the process, among other issues.

What corrective actions by the Council, in my opinion, should be suggested? Well, first of all, the internal auditor needs to report to the council, not the executive branch. In corporate American, the IA reports, generally, to the board of directors, we should be the board of directors in the public since. If she had knowledge, and should have, her failure of reporting the condition of the accounting reporting system would have repercussions? Obviously, this smacks of either a cover-up or incompetence, neither one not inviting. If she properly would have informed us, would her job be in jeopardy? Second, as an ordinance, a required IT Assessment every three years including the establishment of a central authoritative committee concerning IT, and finally, our own over-sight coordinator, which I have nominated David Garrett. He is a CPA, former CFO of Pacific-Press, has IT project credentials, (Keller-Schraeder), probably should be on the short list for the CIO position.

We were all elected to oversee the affairs of the City, to appropriate funding were critically necessary, in safety and the supporting functions, etc. To execute those functions, it is the purview of the Mayor. For any one of us to perform those duties is not in the separation of powers doctrine. For instance, you are a cardiovascular surgeon, so, if our employee healthcare issues drive our costs upwards, our you responsible? Or, as we all are aware, this City has from time to time, entered into unfavorable contracts, would Dan McGinn, Connor O’Daniel, and Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley who are all attorneys, be held responsible? and likewise, as a CPA, would I be held responsible for the controller’s office failures. We all happen to be ordinary citizens elected to see to it that our community is a good place to call home and where we see the necessity for corrective action, we will respond. With this said, I strongly urge you and our colleagues to consider the aforementioned corrective actions. If you and others have additional recommendations, please bring forth.

Thanks, John

POSTED BY THE CITY COUNTY OBSERVER WITHOUT OPINION, BIAS OR EDITING! POSTED WITH PERMISSION OF 5TH WARD AND BUDGET CHAIRMEN AND CITY COUNCILMAN, JOHN FRIEND, CPA.

Mayor Winnecke’s Statement on AuditGate

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Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke

CITY OF EVANSVILLE
ONE N.W. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. BLVD.
EVANSVILLE, INDIANA 47708
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
LLOYD WINNECKE

September 28, 2012

In response to the State Board of Accounts 2011 audit filing for the City of Evansville, Mayor Lloyd Winnecke released the following statement:

“First off, I would like to be clear regarding city finances. The City of Evansville maintains a balanced budget with a surplus. The city’s fiscal health is strong and affirmed by the bond rating of ‘AA-’ assigned by Standards & Poor’s. The ‘AA-’ rating means the city has a ‘very strong capacity to meet financial commitments.’

For background purposes, the State Board of Accounts (SBOA) conducts annual audits of municipal and county governments statewide. Currently, the SBOA is completing audits for the year 2011.

Shortly after taking office in January of 2012, our administration became aware of long-standing difficulties with the conversion to a new financial software package that was installed in late 2010. The city converted from a 25-year-old financial system to a new windows-based real-time operating system that facilitates thousands of monthly transactions.

I directed City Controller Russ Lloyd, Jr., and his team to review the issues and implement a corrective plan of action to ensure confidence in the city’s finances. While the state was considering the city’s request for an extension, the city’s financial team diligently completed the 2011 reconciliation process.
As a result, it has been concluded that the difficulties revolve around a mismanaged conversion to new software, deficient training of city personnel using the new software and insufficient oversight and project management. While the conversion was the main reason for the difficulties, the delay in complying with the SBOA’s audit requests was directly linked to the lack of monthly reconciliation of the city’s bank accounts in 2011.

The good news that I would like to emphasize to taxpayers is that the accounts have now been reconciled for 2011, and the city has requested the SBOA return to conduct a final review.

As part of our process, city personnel have received updated training in the new technology overseen directly by the software vendor. The vendor continues to be onsite to provide additional training and process improvements.

Our administration has spent significant time and staff resources to address this past problem and is confident in our financial management practices going forward.”

Mayor Lloyd W. Winnecke

Politics are Alive and Well at the Fall Festival

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Keep Evansville Beautiful Creates Partnership To Remove Litter From State Roads

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Keep Evansville Beautiful is partnering with Indiana Department of Correction, the Indiana Department of Transportation, and the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office to remove litter from state roads located within Vanderburgh County.

This partnership is the first of its kind for Keep Evansville Beautiful and the Indiana Department of Correction. Keep Evansville Beautiful, a not-for-profit funded by donations from the public, is organizing and overseeing the project. Offenders from Branchville Correctional Facility and Wabash Valley Correctional Facility will be transported to Vanderburgh County to pick up and bag litter along most major state maintained thoroughfares. INDOT will provide all safety equipment, funding for waste disposal, and needed signage to inform motorists of any traffic changes. Vanderburgh County Community Correction’s offenders, under the supervision of the Vanderburgh County Sherriff’s Office, will then collect and dispose of all waste bags.

All IDOC offenders assigned to the work detail are offenders who have been cleared by the facilities to work off prison grounds and will be supervised by Indiana Department of Correction staff. Off ground work crews routinely pick up trash along interstates and work in Indiana parks throughout the state.

“This partnership is not only a great deal for Indiana taxpayers and Vanderburgh County but it provides an opportunity for offenders to give back to the communities from which they have often taken so much,” Indiana Department of Correction Commissioner Bruce Lemmon said.

“Keep Evansville Beautiful is delighted to partner with the Indiana Department of Correction, Indiana Department of Transportation, and the Vanderburgh County Sheriff to clean litter from our state roads. This partnership will create a better environment and encourage economic development in the area,” Keep Evansville Beautiful President Cheryl Musgrave said.

Exciting New Species on Exhibit at Mesker Park Zoo

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Evansville, IN – Visitors to Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden can now see a new species of animals, recently added to the Zoo’s animal collection. For the first time in Zoo history, springbok are now on exhibit and visible from the Zoo’s African Panorama decks. Two male and three female springbok arrived from the Pittsburgh Zoo and have been adjusting well to their exhibit in Evansville. A male calf, conceived and born at Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden, now brings the Zoo’s springbok herd to six animals!

Springbok are native to the western half of southern Africa. Their coloration is bright reddish fawn with a dark side-band contrasting with white under parts, a white face with a dark band from eye to muzzle, and a white rump. They have a line of white erectile hairs in a fold of skin along their lower back, and short horns that curve sharply at the tip. These animals are typically 38-45 inches in length and reach a height at the shoulder of 30 inches. Springbok can run at speeds of up to 55 miles per hour, jump 11 1/2 feet vertically, and 50 feet horizontally.

Females and bachelor males form separate herds, with breeding males maintaining that separation for females within their territory. Females reach sexual maturity in a year and will reproduce every two years, typically producing one lamb during summer months. Springbok graze on young, tender grasses and browse on shrubs and succulents. The lifespan of these animals is up to 10 years.

VHS Pet(s) of the Week: Minnie and Pumpkin

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Minnie: (right) Minnie is a great dog. She is a retriever mix with a great personality. Minnie is about 2 years old. She rides well in a car, walks on a leash and knows some commands.

Pumpkin: (left) This 2 month old kitten is just one of many adorable and playful kittens we have up for adoption. He is very social and would love to go home with one of his siblings.

IS IT TRUE October 1, 2012

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The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE October 1, 2012

IS IT TRUE that the CCO publicly calls for the Indiana State Board of Accounts (SBOA) to perform an audit on the financial condition of the City of Evansville Water & Sewer Utility Department?…that the rationale for the public to have an audit of the water and sewer funds because commingling them into City funds as reported on page 41 of the audit findings that were published on Friday, the 28th of September states that comingling is not acceptable?…if there was an audit, then where is the report and its findings?…that according to many civic center sources, the funds, like the City, are out of balance with the bank and, even more amazing, the prior controller of the City responsible for the financial debacle, etc is the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with quite the raise?…that, unlike the City Controller’s offices, the books and record are still not balanced as of December 31, 2011, and, unlike the City’s version of the menacing new software, they are paralleling which might mean that the old outdated software has been re-installed for comparison purposes and why wasn’t the City’s version handled the same way?

IS IT TRUE that the shiny new Ford Center was completed during 2011, the very year that the City of Evansville lost its ability to count?…that the people of Evansville and the Evansville City Council were repeatedly assured with some pretty involved looking spreadsheets that the checks and balances were in place, the budget was right on schedule, and that the Ford Center Project came in just under budget?…that the CCO wonders just how the City of Evansville was able to verify the cost of the Ford Center at a time when the bank accounts could not be reconciled and the City could not even count?…we wonder if Arena Project Manager John Kish took a look at the accounting system of the City of Evansville and said to heck with it?…maybe Mr. Kish had a $300 commercial version of Microsoft Excel on his laptop to manage the biggest public works project in the history of Evansville because the City of Evansville squandered over a Million Bucks on a program that does not work?…we hope Mr. Kish had his budgets on his personal computer and not on the City of Evansville’s accounting system because if he didn’t the people of Evansville, the Evansville Redevelopment Commission, and the City Council have been told a real pack of lies?…we are quite interested in knowing if the Weinzapfel Administration was fully aware for all of 2011 that the accounting system just didn’t work and that the accounts were not reconciled?…we wonder further if the Weinzapfel Administration was up front and honest with the Winnecke Administration about the non-existent financial accounting system?

IS IT TRUE there have been many shortcomings exposed with the government of the City of Evansville during the last several years?…the shortcomings like the Executive Inn dilemma, the McCurdy debacle, the Homestead Tax Credit deception, needles in the parks, Opus One parties, the Maingate City Council meetings fueled by lobbyist dollars, and cemeteries in shambles are all symptoms of a sick system dominated by incompetence, cronyism, and just outright idiocy or laziness?…this latest exposure that the financial accounting system that cost the people of this place more than $1 Million is a CORE DEFECT in how Evansville is run?…this problem is not carelessness, it is not something to let slide, but it is a fundamental failure by the Weinzapfel Administration?…this is not something that should be let slide?…this is a failure of the highest proportion and it was covered up?…if there are no consequences to be paid by whomever is in the command chain of this failure then the City of Evansville is not redeemable?…the CCO calls upon the Evansville City Council to conduct a public hearing to determine just how and who is responsible for this unmitigated disaster?…for a modern city to be in a position where the only CPA on staff was lost over a noncompetitive salary and to have the new controller reconciling the books by hand is nothing more than acceptance of prehistoric process?…that the people of Evansville should not let this latest deception stand without consequence?…the chickens are home to roost, but it is not yet established that the people of Evansville will have the presence of mind to see them or do anything about it?…as taxpayers this is not acceptable?…as taxpayers for the people in charge now to abdicate their responsibility to find out who did it is also not acceptable?

EPD Activity Report: September 30, 2012

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epd activity report September 30, 2012

City of Evansville to Offer Fall Festival Lunch Shuttle

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City of Evansville to Offer Fall Festival Lunch Shuttle
(EVANSVILLE, IN) – September 28, 2012 – The City of Evansville will once again offer lunch time shuttle service to the West Side Nut Club Fall Festival for Civic Center employees, downtown workers and other area residents from Monday, October 1, through Friday, October 5. As with all METS services, City employees can ride the shuttle for free. The fare for all other passengers will be only $1.00.
The shuttle will pick up/drop off from the C.K. Newsome Community Center (west side of building by the “back 40” parking lot) and the Civic Center (near the flag poles in front of the building) on the half hour, with the first departure/pick up at 11:00 a.m. and the last arrival/drop off at 2:00 p.m. each day. The shuttle will pick up/drop off at the corner of W. Franklin St. and Wabash Ave. (temporary bus stop) on the quarter hour, with the first arrival/drop off at 11:15 a.m. and the last departure/pick up at 1:45 p.m.
The route for the Fall Festival Lunch Shuttle will be as follows:
Pick up/drop off on the west side of the C.K. Newsome Community Center, proceed to Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. (MLK) through the “back 40” parking lot and along Locust St., turn right onto parking area in front of the Civic Center, pick up/drop off near the flag poles in front of the Civic Center, turn right on Sycamore St., turn left on Ninth St., turn left on Vine St., turn right on Second St., turn right on Fulton Ave., turn left on Lloyd Expressway, turn right on Wabash Ave., turn right on W. Franklin St., pick up/drop off at the temporary bus stop on the corner of W. Franklin St. and Wabash Ave., take W. Franklin St. to Fulton Ave., turn right on Fulton Ave., turn left on Second St., turn left on Sycamore St., and turn right on Elsas St. to arrive back at the C.K. Newsome Community Center and the “back 40” parking lot.

Chris Walsh Press Release

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For Immediate release

Chris Walsh, Candidate for Vanderburgh County Clerk, is working to make the Clerk’s Office more user friendly and efficient.

To achieve this goal, he has provided a survey to a bipartisan group of professionals and individuals who frequently use the office. The survey which allows the respondent to remain confidential asks what improvements they would recommend for the office based upon their experiences. It also asks what positive comments they have to offer. The list of people asked for input includes attorneys, property managers, judges and individuals who regularly use the office.

Chris is committed running the Clerk’s Office like a business. He plans to use the information collected for these professionals as a basis for these improvements. Chris will be compiling the data in the coming weeks.

According to Chris Walsh, “For too long, people have run for office to promote a political agenda. It is time for these offices to be run like a business. I look forward to working within the budget constraints of the Vanderburgh County Council to provide a more user friendly office. I will be a good steward of the taxpayer’s dollars.”

A copy of the survey that has been sent out is attached for you to review. Chris wants to encourage anyone who wants to provide input about the Clerk’s Office to contact him at the telephone number or email provided above.

The Survey

CHRIS WALSH
FOR CLERK

I am conducting a survey of professionals such as attorneys, property managers, judges, and individuals who use the Clerk’s Office in the course of conducting business. I have had the opportunity to talk with many people in the course of my campaign who have given me valuable feedback, and these conversations have prompted me to conduct this survey.

I hope to improve the office where possible, leave things in place that are working well, and make changes as needed to improve the efficiency and operating procedures of the office. That is why I am asking for your input.

Please take a moment to reflect on your experience as a customer of the Clerk’s Office, and fill out the enclosed form. Return it to me as soon as possible. Your responses will be confidential. Please do not include any information that would identify your office unless you wish to meet with me for further discussion.

Given the opportunity, I will publish the results in an overall position paper and use the information in my new role when elected.

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

Chris Walsh,

Candidate for Vanderburgh County Clerk

Paid for by the committee to elect Chris Walsh, Vanderburgh County Clerk, Kelly Walsh – Treasurer (Printed In House)
PUBLIC SURVEY
2012 – CLERK’S OFFICE

Please take a moment to fill out the following survey and return it in envelope provided. If the envelope is lost, or you have received a copy of this survey, please mail it to Chris Walsh for Vanderburgh County Clerk, 440 Wilson Square, Evansville, IN 47715.

Please check one only: _____ Attorney
_____ Judicial
_____ Property Management
Or Related Role
_____ Child Support
_____ Elections
_____ Individual

1. I use the office mostly to: (please check one)

_____ File Paperwork
_____ Research Documents
_____ Make a Payment.
_____ Other – Please specify: ____________________

2. How do you rank the Clerk’s office in user friendliness on a scale of 1-5.
(1 being poor, 5 being excellent – please circle one)

1……..…2……..…3………..4…….….5
Suggestions: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Would streamlining or standardization of paper work add to the efficiency of the Clerk’s Office?

______ Yes _______ No

What paperwork would you suggest?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. If filing paperwork is what you mainly use the Clerk’s Office for, what could be done to make it faster and more efficient?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Would more use of scanning technology that places documentation on the internet for a small user fee benefit you?

______ Yes _______ No

If so, what documentation would you most like to see?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. I am exploring the idea of a pilot program which would seek out local college students interested an internship in the Clerks Office to assist with workload, educate them on local government, and save tax dollars. (please circle one)

A.) Bad Idea B.) Good Idea C.) I would like to know more…

Please provide thoughts and feedback on the idea:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Using a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 = completely dissatisfied and 5 = completely satisfied, how satisfied are you with the Clerk’s Office on…
_____ Courtesy _____ Listened to my concerns
_____ Technical skills _____ Professionalism

8. How do you rank the Clerk’s office in efficiency on a scale of 1-5.?
(1 being poor, 5 being excellent – please circle one)

1……..…2……..…3………..4…..……5

9. Do you think forming a small focus group that would meet occasionally to look for efficiencies in the Clerk’s Office would be beneficial?

_____ Yes _____ No

10. Please use the space below to provide feedback in essay form with any suggestions or concerns that will assist me in my new role as Clerk.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paid for by the committee to elect Chris Walsh – Vanderburgh County Clerk, Kelly Walsh – Treasurer. (Printed In House)

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