Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 136, Number 27, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 5 July 2018 — Page 2

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■ Advance News • Thursday, July 5, 2018

Principal, cont. from front

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Branham was also warmly welcomed by members of the board following the meeting. From left are Curt Flickinger, Eric Brown, Dr. Scot Croner, Kimberly Branham, Terry Graber, Don Lehman, and Lou Bonacorsi. Board members who were unable to attend included Shawn Johnson and Christina Eshelman.

Schools, serving as a teacher and idministrator for 12 years. She and ler husband are the parents of two laughters. "I am looking forward to the opporuruty to use my knowledge, passion

Clerk, cont. from front

balances as of December 31, 2016, were overstated by $1,752,890. 2. Depository reconciliations of the fund balances to the bank account balances were incorrect. The bank reconcilements for the City, Wastewater, and Water accounts were not reconciled to the Annual Financial Report. Several bank reconcilements were presented for audit. The City hired several consultants to assist them in preparing the reconcilements during the audit period. Audit adjustments were proposed, accepted by the City, and made to the AFR and financial statement. 'They also said it was a good audit," Councilman Jacob Dermott pointed out when questioned. "There was a few problems but that was just clerical errors. She (Kathy Brown) is doing a hell of a (good) job!" "We hadn't had an audit since the time she took office, so it was helpful for us to know where we were at, and I think we made some corrections while the state was here that kind of got us back on track," said Mayor Jenkins in reflection of recent events. "So hopefully they'll be back (for a 2017 audit) and we can kind of evaluate where we're at." IRREGULARITIES DEVELOP Brown designed her first City of Nappanee yearly budget in August 2014. Waves of inconsistencies were found throughout the document. Each area had to be reworked, reviewed and questioned many times as needed to align the plan with accurate representation and documentation before sending it for state approval. Despite the repeated reor-

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for learning and instruction, and skills to contribute to Wakarusa Elementary and its continued excellence," she said. "Having the opportunity to be part of and to contribute to Wa-Nee Schools and Wakarusa Elementary is an honor,

ganizing needed to achieve a successful outline of the 2015 budget, the new clerk-treasurer met her goal. Council members seemed to theoretically share a sigh of relief, and work toward confidence in the difficulties being a good learning tool from which Brown would blossom. In May 2015 the City of Nappanee hired Umbaugh & Associates to assist in outlining the city budget for up to two years during the transition of new leadership in the clerk's office. Three months later Common Council members were forced to table documents on salary ordinances because of errors. In March 2017 Councilman Sam Beachy began questioning errors in payroll records. That led to the clerk-treasur-er's monthly report being tabled until those figures could be brought in alignment. The situation spiraled into those issues being tabled consistently every month because the source of the problem could not be found. It was never said to be a matter of people not being paid correctly but rather inconsistencies and difficulties in registering how those monies were spent, and from which accounts. Addressing these issues, Nappanee Mayor Phil Jenkins has been previously quoted as saying, "It's a learning curve. And I understand that. I believe the Council does also." Kathy Brown reported in June 2017 that she was still working with the cityhired financial consultant on resolving various ongoing issues. Counrilperson Kim Ingle—the former Nappanee Clerk-Treasurer—expressed

Community

and I am very thankful. I am looking forward to being able to lead at the school that is within the community in which we live, and contribute both heart and mind to the journey.”

"It's a learning curve. And I understand that I believe the Council does also." —Nappanee Mayor Phil Jenkins

disappointment that the matter had remained unresolved for so long, and that it had cost the city additional expenses. "I don't have a lot of confidence moving forward that you'll be able to keep all this straight," said Ingle. Coundlwoman Ingle later led the August 2017 vote to strip Brown of her annual raise during the 2018 budget. RESOLVING FORMER ISSUES Four months later— October 2017—Brown presented to the Common Council corrected clerk-trea-surer reports spanning from December 2016 through March 2017. Still missing were six months of that current year. Councilman , Todd Nunemaker pointed out that Council | members were being asked to hurriedly approve the updated reports without proper time to review before doing so. He then led the motion to table the matter once more. In an effort to relieve pressure from the city clerk-trea-surer, as well as solve the ongoing issue of inconsistency in bookkeeping regarding employee payroll, Mayor Jenkins introduced the idea of forming a Human Resources Department. Leader of that department would directly govern the payroll issues and keep records current. Common Council members liked the idea and Brown neither questioned or opposed the idea during public meetings. The Human Resources Department was approved and added to the city budget for 2018. LAWYER, POSSIBLE LITIGATION Five months later the clerk-treasurer appeared in an April Common Council meeting with legal representation expressing her dis-

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pleasure of her duties being independently hired out and threatening litigation. "This is for the protection of the clerk's position," said Brown as explanation of her lawyer, Maggie Mamocha, Jones Law Office, South Bend, being hired and present. In the end her exact complaints were never defined for the shocked council members who appeared to have had no idea the clerk was even opposed to the Human Resources addition. Brown refused to discuss details of her complaint in a public meeting. At evening's end the only thing evident was her concern that hiring someone outside her office to handle human resources and payroll still fell back on her. Brown would legally still be held accountable for any mistakes though she did not personally handle those areas. IN RESPONSE TO POSSIBLE UTIGAnON "In my mind it's not taking things away from the clerk-treasurer that by statute she is entitled and responsible for," said Mayor Phil Jenkins. "We are just looking for ways to provide the service, benefits, employee hiring, firing, discipline, all that under a human resources department." The mayor went on to point out that approximately 50% of Indiana municipalities also divide those duties, taking the burden off clerk treasurers. Brown pointed out that only two other cities comparable to Nappanee in size and stature have a Human Resources department separate from the office she holds. "Currently, the clerk-trea-surer handles all the human resources for the city," said Jenkins. "That's the way our policy manual is written, and that's the way we're

Quilt Garden seeks help WAKARUSA - The Town of Wakarusa is searching for an individual or group to take over the Quilt Garden after this year. Susie Kulp is retiring after 11 years of handling the garden. The Quilt Garden has proven to be a wonderful attraction to the community since its inception more than a decade ago, and having someone to take on this project would ensure the future of this lovely enhancement to the town. If you know of anyone who might be interested, please contact the Town Hall at 574-862-4314 or 574-862-2245.

Rosa, cont. from front

ued, adding that she would like to now serve in the District 3 seat and serve the community. Third candidate, John Hutsell, has served on the Nappanee Fire Department for five years. "I also work for the City of Goshen in Maintenance Operations," said Hutsell who shared he had a good inside understanding of both how a city operates and budgeting issues. "I think that growth is important for a city," said

operating currently. We are in the process of updating and revising our employee manual, and it kind of goes hand-in-hand with what we're doing with human resources. ETHICS NEVER QUESTIONED Neither the mayor, nor Common Council members, have never questioned that city funds may have been used incorrectly. There were no suspicions of embezzlement or fraud as read about in headlines concerning various cities nationwide. Each area of concern was identified as bookkeeping errors. Adding to that, Brown said she discovered that a former employee had not been documenting city records on the state mandated Indiana Gateway financial reporting system —source of the Annual Financial Report and Financial Statement. Brown promptly fired that employee and set into place cross-training of her staff and internal control planning to ensure proper records were kept moving forward. COUNCIL SEEKS HELP REPAIRING RECORDS Amid it all the decision was made and voted on to hire an independent professional accounting firm to review Brown's books—define sources for the errors—correct the mistakes—and reveal how to avoid the continuance of said mistakes. That followed a year of tabling the clerk-treasurer's monthly report due to inconsistencies and errors. The end result brought with it the added expense of hiring for those services. In response to that unexpected financial burden, former Qerk-Treasurer Kim Ingle—who at that time was an elected member of the Nappanee Common Council—led the June 2017 vote to exclude Brown from

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Hutsell. "Change isn't a bad thing... if you don't lose your identity. Technology is great but we still need to do some things the old way (to maintain and stay who we are)." Hutsell sent on to explain that he wanted to bridge the gap between the people of District 3 and local city government. New Council Woman Amy Rosa began in her new position Monday evening at the July 2 Nappanee Common Council meeting.

the proposed 2% salary increase coming to elected officials in 2018. Ingle was quoted at that time as saying her decision to lead amendment to the salary ordinance was because Brown was "costing the city money by her inability to do the job." Brown's 2018 payment for services remained approximately $55,000. MOVING FORWARD In April of this year, Gibson Select Services was employed as a consultant to oversee Human Resources for the City of Nappanee. In light of the clerk-trea-surer now coming forward in opposition to that decision, Nappanee Common Council members have temporarily put on hold their plans to outsource for Human Resources. Whether or not the end decision is to let that department remain under Brown's direct supervision, Mayor Jenkins remains hopeful that all record keeping issues are again under control with errors corrected and new measures in place to ensure accuracy. "The issues surrounding the clerk-treasurer, in relation to the Human Resources, is an ongoing process," said Jenkins. "We are attempting to get clarity on the specific issues and then work to negotiate a resolution. I am confident that we will arrive at a compromise." "I think the State Board of Accounts has really made a push for internal controls and making sure those monthly reports, monthly balances from bank accounts are in line," said Jenkins in regards to the recent audit. "...I don't have a whole lot of control over those internal controls, so I have to rely a little bit on the clerk-trea-surer to handle that. And it's a matter of having confidence that she can do that."