Council directs finance staff to post account ledger and component-unit data; explores automation to speed disclosures

Interim CFO Katrina Owens told the council that Amarillo currently posts the system-generated "check register" online for quick access but that it omits wire transfers and deposits. The city also maintains a customized "account register" that includes checks, ACH, wires and deposits but is produced quarterly after bank reconciliation and requires redactions for privacy.

Owens said the state comptroller's STARS transparency program requires three years of posted data and that the city has been posting from the new ERP start date (January 2025) to keep presentation consistent. Council members asked whether component-unit transactions (for example, AEDC deposits and grant receipts) and EDC-related reconciliations could be posted; staff said they already have the data and could publish it, but it requires redaction time (roughly half a day per component-unit quarterly) and coordination with component units.

Council directed staff to publish component-unit information alongside city accounts and asked staff to provide three years of bulk data for transparency. Members also asked whether technology or automation could reduce manual redaction and accelerate posting; staff said they will evaluate their Mimica (process-monitoring) software and other tools for potential automation. The council's direction: proceed to post account registers (including component units) that can be redacted as required and to pursue automation to cut time and produce more frequent disclosures where feasible.

Staff emphasized that posting does not remove privacy protections; certain items (bank account numbers, sensitive personnel information) will be redacted before public posting. For older years of data the department said the look and format will differ but the raw reconciled data exist and can be made available via public information request.