Transitional audit finds inconsistent contract and records management in Clerk of Council’s office; recommends document system and staffing changes

Forensic auditors presented a transitional audit of the Clerk of Council’s office at the Oct. 28 Columbus City Council meeting and recommended systems and staffing changes to improve records, contract management and board/committee compliance.

Benjamin Meadow, a forensic auditor on the team, summarized the audit scope and described methods used: document review, interviews, observation of meeting minute work, and independent verifications. Auditors told council the office performs a heavy volume of post‑meeting work, often rewatching recordings and drafting minutes. Audit team members said departments sometimes fail to return fully executed contracts to the clerk’s office, creating gaps and extra staff work.

Key findings: auditors said the city has substantially more boards and committees than comparable jurisdictions and that many boards failed to submit required minutes on time, increasing the clerk staff’s workload. The audit also identified a vacancy and cross‑training needs inside the clerk’s office that create processing delays.

Recommendations: Jonathan Smith (forensic auditor) offered four recommendations: purchase a contract management or document management system (example vendors mentioned in the presentation), fund and fill the currently vacant support clerk‑level position to implement and maintain the system and handle retention/destruction per the state schedule, explore workflow automation and vetted AI tools in collaboration with IT, and transfer cemetery plot availability/confirmation to the Public Works cemetery division to streamline the process for grieving citizens. The auditors estimated a sample contract system cost at roughly $6,900 per year if customized; the auditors recommended involving IT on selection and deployment.

Clerk of Council response: Lindsay McLemore, Clerk of Council, told the council the office already functions as the repository for contracts approved by resolution, but that many agreements arrive partially executed or without consistent routing, which has led staff to scan incomplete documents. McLemore said a document management system (rather than a contract‑creation system) would better match her office’s needs because it would allow departments to upload fully executed documents and have retention schedules applied automatically. McLemore asked council to consider reclassifying a support clerk position to provide capacity to manage the system and retention requirements.

Follow‑up and implementation: Deputy City Manager said staff can consider funding for a document management purchase in the midyear budget process and that administration will coordinate with the clerk’s office on a recommendation. City attorney offered to draft updated language for a records retention resolution adopting the state retention schedule.

Why this matters: the audit highlights administrative bottlenecks that affect public records requests and open‑records responsiveness. The report’s recommendations — software, staffing and clearer retention policy — would change how the city manages contracts, minutes and other records and help reduce time spent by a small clerk staff on manual retrieval and correction.