Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident presses council for explanation of apparent discrepancy in use-tax figures
Summary
A resident told the council he found a discrepancy between use-tax figures in the city's unaudited monthly report and figures provided by the clerk's office, and said he had not received an explanation after repeated public records requests. Councilors acknowledged the request and said staff would attempt to respond.
A Prattville resident continued pressing the City Council on Tuesday for an explanation of what he described as inconsistent use‑tax figures in public financial documents.
Daniel Woodfin told the council that one unaudited monthly report listed year-to-date use tax for 2024 at "just over $6,000,000," while a packet he received from the city clerk indicated the use tax for 2024 was "just over $3,000,000." Woodfin said he had submitted public-records requests and had not received adequate answers and that he would continue seeking an explanation.
"I'm not apologetic about anything I've said. I will continue to speak what I think are pure facts... I'm upset I'm not getting any answers and that's unacceptable to me," Woodfin said. Councilors responded that they would try to get him a reply. Councilor Jackson said, "I hope we can try to get you an answer... we will try to address that." Council discussion noted that finance staff and officials are better positioned to reconcile the numbers.
Why it matters: Public financial transparency is central to municipal accountability. Woodfin said the discrepancy motivated his repeated requests and public comments; councilors agreed responding was important.
Next steps: Councilors asked staff to follow up and provide an explanation for the difference between the figures Woodfin cited and to respond to his outstanding records requests.
