Auditor of State Rob Sand released an audit report March 24 on the city of Wilton.
The City’s receipts totaled $11,447,526 for the year ended June 30, 2019, a 111.2 percent increase over the prior year. Disbursements for the year ended June 30, 2019 totaled $10,302,402, an 80.9 percent increase over the prior year.
The significant increase in receipts and disbursements is due primarily to interim note proceeds received from the Iowa Finance Authority and spent on improvements to the city’s sanitary sewer system.
Audit findings—Sand reported eleven findings related to the receipt and disbursement of taxpayer funds. They are found on pages 49 through 54 of the report. The findings address issues such as a lack of segregation of duties, lack of an independent review of bank reconciliations, the lack of supervisor review and approval of timesheets reviewed, the lack of a proper public purpose documentation for employee clothing allowances, and disbursements exceeding budgeted amounts at year end.
Sand provided the city with recommendations to address each of the findings. The city council has a fiduciary responsibility to provide oversight of the city’s operations and financial transactions. Oversight is typically defined as the “watchful and responsible care” a governing body exercises in its fiduciary capacity.
A copy of the audit report is available for review on the Auditor of State’s web site at https://auditor.iowa.gov/audit-reports.