Officials Express Report Concerns To Evansville City Council
By: Shalah Sasse
Updated: March 11, 2013
Concerns are still being raised over the hiring of a man brought in to look over certain records in the Civic Center. The Evansville City Council hired David Garrett to audit its finances, but not everyone has been on board with the decision. Some city officials have now given their own report to the City Council, because they believe Garrett's report is inaccurate.
It's a controversial hire Evansville city officials continue to talk about. David Garrett was hired by the City Council to audit some of the books. His latest report has some leaders now submitting their own report to the council.
"You know some of the things he pointed out that he said, 'the city's liability to Evansville Water & Sewer is unknown.' That's blatantly not true. We know exactly what that liability is. There's a whole list of reconciling items that we've listed in our response. But why he would draw that conclusion without really investigating further we don't know the answer," Russell Lloyd Jr. said.
City Controller Russell Lloyd Jr. held a news conference Monday with Steve Schaefer, the Chief of Staff to the Mayor, and a representative with H. J. Umbaugh & Associates. They are questioning Garrett's work and want to correct the record. Despite accusations suggesting Garrett wasn't qualified for the job, he was hired.
But Lloyd says Garrett's report is a reckless observation.
"We expected questions. We didn't get it. Had we gotten some questions, even one question, even the opportunity to look at the draft report, we would've responded the same way we're responding in this letter and likely cleared this up before it even started. So from our perspective, what we wanted to do with our letter is just clarify for everyone, that's interested, the complete story," Dan Hedden said.
Schaefer says the city's finances are strong. He says Mayor Lloyd Winnecke wants to make sure the City Council and citizens have accurate information on the city's finances.
"We're all on the same team, the City Council, the Administration. We all want to see the City of Evansville in the strongest financial position. We want to see correct accounting controls, so to say things like that and put it out in the public realm, we don't think it's helpful to anybody," Lloyd said.
Mayor Winnecke requested Garrett attend Monday night's City Council meeting, but we're told he did not show up. Garrett has a one year contract with the City Council.
It's a controversial hire Evansville city officials continue to talk about. David Garrett was hired by the City Council to audit some of the books. His latest report has some leaders now submitting their own report to the council.
"You know some of the things he pointed out that he said, 'the city's liability to Evansville Water & Sewer is unknown.' That's blatantly not true. We know exactly what that liability is. There's a whole list of reconciling items that we've listed in our response. But why he would draw that conclusion without really investigating further we don't know the answer," Russell Lloyd Jr. said.
City Controller Russell Lloyd Jr. held a news conference Monday with Steve Schaefer, the Chief of Staff to the Mayor, and a representative with H. J. Umbaugh & Associates. They are questioning Garrett's work and want to correct the record. Despite accusations suggesting Garrett wasn't qualified for the job, he was hired.
But Lloyd says Garrett's report is a reckless observation.
"We expected questions. We didn't get it. Had we gotten some questions, even one question, even the opportunity to look at the draft report, we would've responded the same way we're responding in this letter and likely cleared this up before it even started. So from our perspective, what we wanted to do with our letter is just clarify for everyone, that's interested, the complete story," Dan Hedden said.
Schaefer says the city's finances are strong. He says Mayor Lloyd Winnecke wants to make sure the City Council and citizens have accurate information on the city's finances.
"We're all on the same team, the City Council, the Administration. We all want to see the City of Evansville in the strongest financial position. We want to see correct accounting controls, so to say things like that and put it out in the public realm, we don't think it's helpful to anybody," Lloyd said.
Mayor Winnecke requested Garrett attend Monday night's City Council meeting, but we're told he did not show up. Garrett has a one year contract with the City Council.
