(Spirit Lake)– The Spirit Lake city council Tuesday reviewed the city’s audit report for the 2003-’04 Fiscal Year. CPA Tim Hinrichsen of Winther, Stave and Company pointed out several concerns, including a 156-thousand dollar decrease in the city’s General Fund. He says it’s partially the result of Tax Increment Finance Districts.
Not enough revenue in the Water Fund to cover costs of various improvements was also pointed out. As we reported earlier, a possible rate increase is being considered to deal with that.
Hinrichsen also expressed concern over some unbudgeted transfers that were not approved by the city council and that a fund-by-fund summary of receipts and disbursements wasn’t always available.
The city was also cited for segregation of duties…a common occurrence among entities that have a limited number of people working in the office. To help address that, councilman Jerry Harbst said he’d like to see a Deputy City Clerk appointed. City Administrator Pete Hegeman said he’s open to that idea.
In other business, the Spirit Lake city council awarded 27,601-dollars for materials for utility improvements on Peoria Avenue and 74,287-dollars for utility improvements in the Southern Hills Subdivision.
