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Residents press Shady Cove council for transparency after audit-related overruns
Summary
Speakers from Shady Cove Matters told the council the city has spent over $230,000 on auditors and accounting in two years and urged the council to report estimated beginning fund balances rather than leaving reserves unreported.
At the July 11 public hearing, Sherry Turban of Shady Cove Matters PAC sharply criticized the city’s financial disclosures and audit-related spending, saying residents deserve clearer reporting.
"Shady Cove has spent over $230,000 on auditors and accounting fees in the past 2 years alone," Turban said, and warned that without an estimated beginning fund balance the city risks creating "an unaccountable slush fund." She cited several specific items she said lacked clear budgeted allocations, including roughly $81,000 in IRS fines and $129,000 in sewer tax-certification adjustments.
Turban urged the council to provide an estimated beginning fund balance even if audits are still pending, citing Oregon practice that allows estimated amounts in some contexts. The chair and a council member responded that audit backlogs and unreconciled bank reconciliations make reliable beginning-balance estimates unrealistic at this time and described steps to isolate fiduciary accounts and address recording issues.
The exchange highlighted a core disagreement in the hearing: residents pressing for provisional transparency and audit detail, and officials citing legal and accounting constraints that limit what can be responsibly reported before reconciliations are complete.
