Poland Board of Selectmen
Minutes of Meeting
February 1, 2007
Additional Monthly Meeting
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Sandra Knowles called the meeting to order at 6:00PM with Selectmen Reginald Jordan, Lionel C. Ferland, Jr. (arrived late), Wendy Sanborn and Erland Torrey present.
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Also present were Town Manager, Richard Chick, Assistant Town Manager Rosemary Roy, James George, Neira Douglas, George Sanborn, Glenn Peterson, Brian Mello, Joe Cimino, Nancy Fraser, and Rebecca Moran.
The purpose of this additional monthly meeting was to conduct an entrance meeting with the auditor, selected by the state, who would perform the post audit of the town’s FYE 2005 financial activities, and to provide an open forum for citizens to voice their concerns.
Mr. George briefly described the type of audit his firm would be conducting. Standard auditing practices will be performed. He confirmed that his firm would have the audit completed by the requested date of the RFP of March 1, 2007, however there is extra time built into the contract if needed. Once completed, the results will be reported to the State Auditor, Selectmen and citizens within 24 hours.
Citizen Glenn Peterson spoke outlining the following concerns of the 550 citizens who signed the petition to have the audit conducted.
(1) In six years there has not been an accurate audit – TIF funds are shown as commingled funds
(2) No audits conducted in the six years picked up on the problem with the TIF funds until 2005
(3) The audit of FYE 2004 shows a shortfall of 286,000+ which the Board of Selectmen, at the time, never saw until published with the annual town report
(4) The current 2006 audit is not completed yet
(5) The 2006 Town Meeting was held with no completed audit, and it was after that the 2.7 million dollar TIF district debt was revealed.
(6) Where were the TIF funds actually spent? Were those funds actually spent on the Town’s regular expenses?
(7) Management letters from past audits have not been addressed
(8) Management of trust accounts is not clearly known
(9) There has not been a trial balance for over two years.
George Sanborn expressed his concerns to Mr. George over the investigation of the town’s past rescue billing practices and asked if this audit was like a forensic audit. Ms. Douglas explained to Mr. Sanborn that a post audit is very different from a forensic audit. The state statute only provides for a post audit to be conducted. This audit is to see that tax dollars raised were indeed spent where they should have been. Mr. George went on to explain that his firm will be preparing the same audit as the original auditor did. They will start from scratch and pick up anything missed. No financial auditor looks at every account. What is performed is the actual review of financial statements and the verification that they are correct.
If complete, the exit meeting will be scheduled for March 6, 2007.
Any Other Business
None.
Adjourn
Selectman Jordan moved to adjourn at 7:20pm. Selectman Sanborn seconded the motion. Discussion: None.
Vote: 5-yes 0-no
Recorded by: Rosemary E. Roy
Board of Selectmen
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Sandra T. Knowles, Chairman Erland M. Torrey, Vice Chairman
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Reginald D. Jordan Wendy S. Sanborn
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Lionel C. Ferland, Jr.
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