Sturgeon improperly used cemetery funds, audit reports
Pat Pratt
Dec 17, 2019 at 12:05 PM Dec 17, 2019 at 3:51 PM
Sturgeon improperly used a dedicated cemetery fund to pad general revenue, according to a state audit released Tuesday.
In a press release, State Auditor Nicole Galloway's office wrote that the city transferred certificates of deposit totaling about $82,000 from a fund dedicated to the care of the Mt. Horeb Cemetery and placed it in the general revenue fund, depleting it from $177,000 at the end of fiscal 2018 to $95,000 at the end of fiscal 2019.
Interest from the 50-year-old fund is used for preservation and upkeep of the cemetery, but Galloway wrote the city improperly spent the transferred money and commingled the cemetery fund with other city funds.
She is recommending the city put the money back and change other accounting practices in light of the audit, which gave the management of the city of about 926 people a rating of "fair."
"Audits can make recommendations to help government officials take steps to better serve their constituents more effectively and efficiently," Galloway wrote in the release. "I encourage the Sturgeon Board of Aldermen to use this audit as a means to improve their financial and other practices."
In its response, the city claimed the certificates of deposit were erroneously placed in the Mt. Horeb account and disputed a statement in the audit that it did not have documentation to back that claim. The city will reimburse the account and limit spending for cemetery upkeep to the interest earned on the account, Sturgeon Mayor Steve Crosswhite said.
"At the time the audit took place, we thought the CDs were the city's CDs," Crosswhite said. "We disagreed with what they told us in the audit, but they felt we were not able to give them sufficient documentation to show proof of that fact. We are going to comply with what they are recommending and we are going to reimburse the money, then appropriately deposit it and credit it to our general revenue account."
The audit, which was initiated by a citizen petition, also found that the city's budget, financial reporting and accounting records are in need of improvement. Those include an incomplete budget, inaccurate records, and inadequate statements submitted to the auditor's office.
"We are going to implement every recommendation they made to us as a result to the audit and do our best to be as compliant as possible going into the future," Crosswhite said.
ppratt@columbiatribune.com