Hoover council adopts purchasing and travel policies amid calls for state audit

The Hoover City Council on July adopted a purchasing policy and procedures manual and an employee travel reimbursement policy intended to memorialize existing procurement controls, while members of the public urged a separate state audit into prior financial practices.

Jennifer Cornett, the city's finance official, told the council the purchasing manual documents existing approval chains and required backup documentation for requisitions, credit-card charges and other expenditures. "Every purchase that is made, there is a requisition and approval process to document that those were approved expenditures," Cornett said. She described multi-level approval chains in the accounting system and said departments and purchasing follow a documented process.

The travel reimbursement policy raises the in-state daily reimbursement ceiling from $40 to $85 (receipts required) and continues to require itemized receipts and departmental approvals, Cornett said. "This is a demonstration of, you know, a documentation rather of what is already being done," she said.

During public comment, resident Paul Hamon of Meadowbrook praised the steps but urged the council to ask the state Examiners of Public Accounts to perform an audit covering past years. Hamon said a prior third-party review (the Kroll engagement) had limited access and that available reports indicated an environment "ripe for fraud." He asked Council President John B. Lyda to send a letter from the council requesting a state audit so "it'll settle everything and put it to rest." Ken King, also a resident, questioned how the city had received a GFOA award for financial reporting while other reviews later identified deficiencies; he asked for clarity on which assessments reflected the city's current state.

Councilors discussed the policies before voting. The council approved the purchasing policy (resolution 8515-25) and the travel reimbursement policy (resolution 8516-25) by voice vote; the record shows the motions carried. The council also approved payment of bills after a motion to pay the bills and public comment; that item passed on a voice vote.

Cornett and council members emphasized that the policies formalize checks already performed in the accounting system and that detailed receipts are required for reimbursement claims. She explained technical accounting effects of lease proceeds under GAAP (booked as right-of-use assets and corresponding liabilities) and said lease proceeds do not artificially inflate fund balance once capital outlays and accounting entries are considered.

The policies take effect after adoption and will be posted as final documents. Public commenters said they expect the council to pursue a state audit; the council record did not show a letter to the Examiners of Public Accounts at the meeting.