Mayor and Council,
Regardless of where this public comment falls tonight, I ask that it be treated as a request for Council oversight of the Town’s financial records, budget decisions, and use of taxpayer money.
Before the September 8 budget hearing, I asked for a properly noticed special meeting or agenda item so budget and financial questions could be resolved before final action.
That did not occur.
My concern is not that Council must personally do the bookkeeping. My concern is that Council is being asked to make final decisions about residents’ tax dollars while important supporting Finance records remain unavailable.
ORR-2026-101 was submitted June 24 and remains only partially produced. The missing records include the trial balance, general-ledger detail, cash reconciliations, fund-balance rollforward, journal entries, and reserve-support records. Those are the records needed to explain differences appearing in the Town’s own reports.
I am not alleging that money is missing or that anyone acted improperly. I am asking what Council will do when the accounting records needed to answer legitimate questions about public funds have not been produced.
The Charter provides for an Audit Committee. Please identify the current Audit Committee. If no Committee has been designated, will a Council member propose placing its appointment on the next agenda?
the September 8 minutes state a maintenance-and-operations tax rate of $0.415964 and an interest-and-sinking rate of $0.013160. Before final action on any tax-rate ordinance, will staff or the Town Attorney state on the record whether those remain the Town’s official allocations?
If they do not, please state the current M&O and I&S rates, when they changed, and identify the Council action or correcting record that supports the change.
Please verify the library budget balances before the vote as well.
Finally, I also request that Council place on that agenda a written status report on ORR-2026-101: what Finance records remain outstanding, who is responsible for producing them, and the date they will be available. The Audit Committee, once identified or appointed, should receive the documented reconciliation questions and recommend what records or independent professional review are needed.
Council is not being asked to assume wrongdoing. Council is being asked to ensure that the Town can show its work before and after it spends residents’ tax dollars. Thank you.
