Council hears audit progress: six months reconciled, gap drops to under $20,000

Auditor Miss McAllister told the Milton City Council she has completed a six-month deep dive of accounting records and will hand the full year of work to the audit team on Monday. "I have fully completed, 6 months worth," she said, and staff later reported the discrepancy identified in earlier reports has narrowed significantly.

City manager Mister Spears described the sequence of events that expanded the audit’s scope and said the city assembled a team after the auditors raised concerns in May. "As soon as this came to my attention, we went to work on it with the attempt to get it done by the deadline," he said. Council members asked when staff should notify the city attorney; one member said to alert counsel "anything that's out of the ordinary," such as missing backup documentation.

The council discussed options if the final audit uncovers deeper problems. Members asked staff to explore whether an operational audit by the auditor general or a separate forensic audit is needed. Staff said a request for qualifications for a forensic review will go out soon and that pricing cannot be set until a scope is agreed after the regular audit finishes. The mayor asked the city attorney to review possible risk-mitigation steps and whether external review is warranted.

The audit discussion also examined how information moves through the organization. Several council members emphasized the need for clearer, earlier reporting so they are not surprised by public inquiries. The auditor and city staff committed to faster escalation if similar issues arise, and to provide follow-up materials at the August meeting.