Palatka finance director defends numbers, apologizes after holiday check denials; commissioners request workshop

The Palatka finance director presented the city’s financial results for the period ending Nov. 30, 2025, and addressed questions about staff capacity and a recent payment processing problem that left several payees temporarily unable to cash checks.

"General fund revenues year to date are $3,072,981," the finance presenter told commissioners during the Jan. 8 meeting, reviewing budget vs. actuals and fund reserves. Citywide reserves were reported at 18.3% with the general fund budgeted at 21.6%.

Commissioners then raised an operational concern: about seven checks that were not cashed because the bank’s positive‑pay fraud‑prevention system flagged them on Dec. 24, a city holiday. The finance director explained that a file of issued checks is uploaded daily to the bank; exceptions must be approved by staff by the bank’s deadline, otherwise the bank denies the checks to prevent fraud. The director said payees were contacted and reissued checks and added: "I did not go in and do that, and I do apologize," accepting responsibility for the service failure.

Why it matters: Commissioners and members of the public said the incident caused hardship for recipients and damaged the city’s reputation with vendors. Several asked for a short workshop or briefing that covers day‑to‑day operations (how many bills unpaid, how many outstanding checks, staffing gaps) and for an action register to track the commission’s directives and staff follow‑up.

Staff response and next steps: Finance staff reported recent hires (a finance specialist position filled) and said the audit trial balance is in progress, currently a few weeks later than typical due to absenteeism and vacancies; staff estimated a clearer status in about three weeks. The commission requested a focused workshop on finance operations and asked staff to return an operational summary and an action register to track completion dates.