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Council members press for stronger financial oversight and question Miller Park pool scope and cost
Summary
Several council members called for an audit committee or internal auditor to improve project oversight and raised questions about the scope and cost of the proposed Miller Park pool reconstruction, noting staff memos did not present lower‑cost repair options they had identified.
A group of council members urged stronger, in‑house financial oversight and raised questions about capital‑project decisionmaking after staff presented the Miller Park pool replacement as a full reconstruction.
Multiple council members said the city’s existing annual external audit does not substitute for a council‑level audit function that can perform programmatic and project‑level reviews. One councilmember summarized different audit types and asked the council to restore or reconstitute an internal auditor or audit committee to perform deeper programmatic reviews and quality‑control checks beyond the annual external financial statement audit. Participants cited the charter provision that formerly created an auditor role and said a locally accountable check would help ensure council appropriations for specific capital projects are spent on the intended work.
Councilmembers described a discrepancy in the Miller Park pool planning documents. One councilmember said they were told a repair could not be done and that replacement was the only option; the councilmember then said an outside contractor (cited examples from other jurisdictions) told them the pool could be repaired for about $500,000 and contrasted that with staff’s multi‑million dollar reconstruction figure. Another councilmember and staff clarified that the design presented earlier included the entire complex — pool, spray ground, restrooms and site improvements — and was not limited to replastering the pool basin, which accounts for part of the larger price tag. Council members asked staff to present options and corresponding warranties (one‑year vs three‑year) and to document alternatives and their costs in memos to council.
Staff said they perform internal controls (for example payroll verification and credit‑card audits) and external audits are public, but supporters of a council audit function argued an auditor and committee accountable to council would provide needed programmatic oversight. The discussion included possible short‑term approaches: start a council audit committee or direct the elected treasurer to undertake certain functions, or fund a one‑year internal audit position with one‑time funds to establish oversight capability.
Ending note: Council asked staff to provide clearer documentation of capital project options and to return with a proposal for enhanced audit or oversight capacity for council consideration.
