Ohio Auditor Betty Montgomery has told the city of Akron to clean up its act when it comes to the books at the two city-owned golf courses.
Montgomery's staff recently conducted an audit of the city's finances and made several suggestions to improve the record keeping at the courses.
The record keeping, which is virtually nonexistent, came to light when political foes of Mayor Don Plusquellic questioned whether he'd paid the bills and reimbursed the city for his annual outings at the courses.
But the Republican Montgomery stopped well short of saying there was any wrongdoing.
She made the recommendations in a letter sent to city officials.
Her 193-page audit of the city's books doesn't mention the golf course problems. Nor does it include any findings for recovery, a process in which the auditor orders missing money repaid.
Montgomery's letter does leave the door open.
''An investigation into this matter is ongoing and the outcome cannot be determined as of the date of this report,'' it says in reference to the golf course issue.
Courtney Whetstone, public information officer for Montgomery's office, said more action might be forthcoming depending on the outcome of the investigation.
''We're going to continue to be a part of reviewing the golf course matter,'' Whetstone said. ''We are fully prepared to take additional actions, including findings, if that turns out to be appropriate.''
The audit is expected to be officially released next week. An unofficial copy inadvertently was posted on the auditor's Web site Tuesday before the mistake was noticed and it was removed.
Plusquellic recently asked the Summit County Sheriff's Office to take a look at the books to determine if there was any financial wrongdoing at the golf courses.
That request came after his staff reported it could not find records showing his re-election committee paid for the mayor's 2003 golf outing, which was a two-day event using both city courses, Mud Run and Good Park.
Larry Givens, chief of deputies for Summit County Sheriff Drew Alexander, declined to discuss details of the probe Tuesday, saying only: ''The investigation is continuing.''
Plusquellic said Montgomery, who was in the process of auditing the city's books from 2003, called a few weeks ago to discuss the audit and to explain that she was making mention of the golf course problems in a separate letter to city officials.
He said she told him during the call that there was no indication that there was any intentional wrongdoing.
''She said, 'It wasn't the way it should be, but it didn't appear to be more than that,' and she said she wasn't going to let it be political,'' Plusquellic said. ''She also said it wasn't something that was done specifically for my golf outing. It was just the way things were done.''
Longtime golf course manager Larry Zimmerman, a civil servant, has said he kept track of all golf outings using a legal tablet at the course. He'd keep a running tab -- tossing the sheet of paper when the bills were paid.
He also has said that when Plusquellic's campaign workers brought him bundles of $100 checks in 2003, he endorsed them over to Crocker's at Good Park to cover the event's food bill. That's a violation of city policy -- the money should have been deposited first -- and Montgomery's letter notes that problem as well.
Those attending the event last year were asked to write two checks -- one to the golf course for $100 to cover greens fees, food and drinks and another to the campaign as a donation.
Specifically, $30 of that $100 check was to cover greens fees per person. The event drew 158, according to Montgomery's letter, which meant the city golf course was due $4,740.
Plusquellic staffers initially thought they had found the deposit representing most of that amount. But they later learned what they had found was for another outing.
The record-keeping problem has come to light at a particularly critical time for Plusquellic.
The Democrat seriously is weighing whether to run for governor, coming off the boost in his national profile that his current presidency of the U.S. Conference of Mayors is expected to give him.
Diane Miller-Dawson, the city's finance director, said she expected the golf course to be discussed in Montgomery's letter, which also makes suggestions for other improvements, such as establishing a policy regarding frequent flyer miles accumulated by city employees.
Montgomery's suggestions involving the golf course include making sure all money from the courses are deposited into city accounts, setting up a group or event rate for the golf courses that will include food and beverage costs, noting on daily deposit slips when the money stems from an outing and collecting all money from an event on the day of the event.
''Given all that has been written about the golf course in the media, it was wise to do an independent review,'' Miller-Dawson said. ''So no, we were not surprised to have a comment regarding its operation.''
Source: Akron Beacon Journal
