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State To Begin Florissant Audit
By Carol Arnett
The state of Missouri will begin its audit of Florissant this month. Debra Lewis, an auditor from the state, spoke to the city council at Monday’s council meeting to explain the process.
A group calling itself the Friends of Florissant submitted the petition requesting the audit to the state. The state requires a percentage of registered voters to sign to initiate the audit. The petition submitted contained 2,965 valid signatures, more than the amount required.
The state will bill the city for the audit. Lewis said the audit should cost $16,000 to $24,000.
Lewis said speaking to the council was one of the first steps in the audit. She and her team would also meet with some of the petitioners who requested the audit. She said her team would begin work this week on the audit. They will also conduct a court audit. The court audit is required by state law and the city will not be billed for it.
The audit should take from eight to twelve weeks, Lewis said. The entire process, including meetings after the audit, and the submission of a written report, will probably take six to twelve months, she said.
Lewis explained that hers was a compliance audit, not a financial audit. A yearly financial audit is already required.
“We will review the CPAs report, and try not to repeat it,” Lewis said. She said after the meeting that a compliance audit looks at things like whether funds were used for the proper purposes, and whether proper management processes are used.
“We will concentrate on the most recently completed fiscal year,” Lewis said. “We will also go backward if we feel it is necessary.” Lewis said members of her team would be meeting with city employees and pulling records as needed.
After work on the audit is complete and a draft report is prepared, she and her team will have a closed-door meeting with the council to discuss their findings. Then the report will go to the public.
After the meeting, Mayor Robert Lowery said he welcomed the audit. “We have nothing to hide,” he said.
In other action, the council held a first reading on a bill that would restrict the painting of any brick commercial buildings in the city. Previously painted buildings would require city approval before they could be repainted, and unpainted buildings could not be painted.
Historian Rosemary Davison asked the council to include and amendment to the bill that would exempt historic buildings from the ordinance. Davison explained that several historic brick buildings in Florissant were built and immediately painted. Councilman Tim Lee, who introduced the bill, asked to meet with Davison before a final reading on the bill .
