Mayor Michaels Calls For Audit Of Fulton City Finances

by Contributor | October 8, 2020 11:03 am

FULTON – Mayor Deana Michaels has written a letter to State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s Regional Office in Syracuse to request an audit of the City’s finances.

Michaels asked that the audit include the following:

· Financial Condition Management
· Financial Reporting and Oversight

Michaels said “As elected officials, the community has entrusted us to make sound financial decisions on behalf of the taxpayer and create a strong foundation for future decisions. A key role of the council and city officials is the responsibility to effectively manage the city’s financial condition. I have called on the New York State Comptroller to perform a risk assessment and audit of the city to ensure the council and city officials were supplied adequate financial information to effectively manage the city operations. In addition, based on the information supplied, did the decision makers effectively manage the city’s financial condition.

Over the past 8 months I have taken a firm stance on how we do business and where we need to do it better. Those changes include:

· calling for earlier budget review
· requiring all department heads and council to receive budget training,
· reviewed vendor contracts and our health insurance and challenged where appropriate
· implemented controls with supplies and credit card usage
· challenged past business practices,
· required training and information sessions regarding city wide re-valuation
· continued reviewing the internal operations closely

This names only a few of the changes and steps made to move us to more transparent and effective financial management. I will continue to take a deep dive into the city budget because my experience as a busines woman has shown the importance of questioning practices, challenging status quo and making difficult decisions.

The trust the community has put in us is not to be taken lightly. As we move forward, I will continue working to increase transparency in City Government so that the citizens of Fulton know what’s going on in their community.”

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/news/fulton/mayor-michaels-calls-for-audit-of-fulton-city-finances/

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