By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph City Manager Bruce Woody says the city council will meet to discuss allegations the city has been sloppy with its books both in sewer billing and with allocation of the city street maintenance sales tax.
Woody tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline the council will review allegations raised by Assistant Administrative Services Director Beau Musser. Musser has called for a state audit of the city. Woody says three of the items Musser raises deal with closed personnel records, not available to Musser.
“And, all three of those items are events that happened even before his employment with the city,” Woody tells Birr. “So, we are surmising that he is reporting based on rumor or innuendo and we have already identified that what he is reporting is not fully accurate.”
Woody acknowledges Musser expressed concerned about aspects of city finances with him last year and likely issued a lengthy letter to the Missouri State Auditor’s office and St. Joseph city councilmembers after being frustrated with Woody’s response.
Musser seems to focus his concern on city sewer billing and on how the city handles administration of the 1% street maintenance sales tax.
Woody says the city council will meet to review the concerns raised by Musser.
Woody admits the city has failed to bill some using the city sewer, but claims the oversight has been negligible, amounting to approximately $68,000 in lost revenue.
A state audit comes with both pros and cons, according to Woody.
“It does provide an outside, third-party review, and those are always positive,” Woody says. “They do come at an expense and ultimately that expense is local.”