Residents criticize city services and raise payroll concern; finance staff says double-payment was a bank error

Several members of the public and a council member used the public-comment period to raise complaints about city services and to press the council on accountability.

An unnamed resident who identified having worked a long shift criticized the quality of snow plowing between east and west sides of town, raised a question about how the city could prevent another death of a homeless woman, and said a recent FOIA response was "99% blacked out," contributing to mistrust in city government. The commenter also criticized what they described as ceremonial focus on issues such as a sister-city tie while public needs go unmet.

During the same public-comment period Alderman Sanders raised a separate concern about a payroll incident in which double payments appeared in his account. He described the occurrence as a potential fraud issue and urged the council to exercise oversight of contracts, invoices and payroll processes.

A finance staff member identified in the transcript as Michelle responded from the podium during public comment. Michelle said the duplicate payments had "absolutely nothing to do with the city of Freeport," called the incident a bank error, and said the bank recouped the identical funds. She noted that the city is audited annually and described a process by which alderpersons can submit suspected-fraud forms to the auditors, a third-party firm.

The meeting concluded without further formal action on these complaints; the mayor moved to adjourn after the public-comment period.