Brownsvillians are likely to learn about leadership’s plan to uncover problems with the city’s finances this Friday. Yesterday, (Tuesday) Mayor Bill Rawls called for a special meeting of the Brownsville Board of Mayor and Aldermen. The board will meet Friday morning at 9am at City Hall.
Recent accounting revealed that the town’s General Fund, once the holder of more than $4 million, had been depleted. Board members say they don’t know where the money went. A move last week by the mayor to convince board members to approve a $2 million Tax Anticipation Loan failed.
Last week Rawls suspended City Clerk Lisa Brooks. Brooks is the town’s chief bookkeeper. Rawls says Brooks made accounting errors and he also said a statement she made to the press was in violation of the town’s media policies.
Yesterday (Tuesday) Mayor Rawls told Brownsville Radio that he’d visited all of the banks used by the city and asked for balances. He says Brownsville has $3.6 million dollars on deposit, but admits some of the money may be in restricted accounts. For example, neither state street aid nor sanitation funds can be used to finance other city operations. The mayor did not provide details of the deposits but said, “…we are not broke…”
During the Friday meeting the board is expected to hear from the town’s audit firm and from accountants from the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS). Rawls hopes they will help the board sort out what the he believes are accounting mistakes. Board members may also learn when the 2016/2017 audit will finally be complete.
The mayor said he is attempting to learn more about Lisa Brooks claim that part of the problem comes from excessive hiring. In a statement released a week ago today, Brooks said the city has added 21 additional workers to the payroll. “I don’t know if they are additional hires or just replacements…” The mayor explained that some departments experience significant turnover.
The mayor says he is also checking government’s accounts receivable. He says the city is owed money from various sources including from some of its own funds and he wants to make sure all of the accounts have been settled.
Whether Brooks returns to her position is up to, the mayor said yesterday, city board members. “She works at the will of the board,” Rawls said.
