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Norwood council presses for updated Financial Recovery Plan after state auditor questions omissions
Summary
Council members discussed the Financial Recovery Plan (FRP), flagged missed deadlines for departmental budget submission and budget hearings, and said the plan must be revised after questions from the Auditor of State’s office before the Financial Planning and Supervision Commission will approve it.
Council members at a Norwood committee meeting pressed administration to deliver a revised Financial Recovery Plan and clearer department budget schedules after state auditors flagged missing items and questions.
The discussion centered on items the Auditor of State’s office returned for clarification, including missing street and highway funds and a set of questions spanning several pages. Council members said they expect an updated FRP to be available for council review ahead of the scheduled April 22 meeting so the Financial Planning and Supervision Commission can consider it after council action.
The FRP itself includes annual calendar deadlines: departmental budget submissions are listed as due on or before Sept. 15, the finance committee and mayor are to forward appropriations by Nov. 1, and the city council is to complete budget hearings by Dec. 1. Council participants said those steps have not reliably happened on that timetable in recent years and urged administration and the auditor’s office to improve the timing so council can review and ask questions earlier in the process.
Council members described a packet timing problem: materials have often arrived in the packet the Friday before the council meeting, leaving little time to review departmental requests. Several members asked that administration and the auditor provide earlier preliminary figures so the finance committee and full council can perform meaningful review rather than last-minute approvals.
Councilors also noted that the FRP remains a legally relevant document during the fiscal emergency and said some numbers in the version reviewed by the Auditor of State required correction. The council scheduled additional review meetings and said it will forward documented questions to administration and the city auditor for the next iteration.
Proponents of an earlier review timeline said the change would give the finance committee time to meet with department heads and the auditor’s office in advance of formal votes, reducing the need for emergency ordinance procedures or special meetings.
Council members said the mayor’s office and the city auditor are cooperating on updates and that the Auditor of State’s staff will review submitted corrections before final approval by the Financial Planning and Supervision Commission.
