Fort Thomas residents press council over duplicate accounting entries, $277,721 pension payment and calls for forensic review

Residents, council members and staff discussed duplicate journal entries in Fort Thomas— Springbrook accounting system, a $277,721.51 pension-related payment recorded in March and related amendments to the city budget during public comment at a council meeting.

City staff told residents the error was a duplicated journal entry: one transaction was posted Feb. 4, a second duplicate was posted March 13 and the March entry was reversed once discovered. Staff said the reversal is visible in the general ledger history and that the duplicate was not deleted but reversed. Staff also attributed part of the detection problem to the previous finance director—s illness and miscommunication between that individual (working from home) and in-office clerks who perform monthly reconciliations.

Why it matters: residents said the duplicate entries and late audit should have been red flags. Public commenters tied the entries to a $277,721.51 payment they said appeared in March 2025 and to discrepancies between a fiscal-year closing balance and the next year—s opening balance. Those discrepancies, speakers said, contributed to concern that the amended budget presented to council did not fully disclose pension-related…