Audit: Alburnett funds misspent, misdirected

UPDATE: More than $102,000 in Alburnett city funds were improperly disbursed or went undeposited, according to a state audit released Friday.

The Auditor of State found more than $88,000 in improper disbursements during a three-year span between January 2006 and Dec. 31, 2009.

The improper disbursements included $64,186 of payments to Amber Franklin, the Linn County city's former city clerk. The payments included $12,664 in unauthorized payroll, $2,709 for paid time off she wasn't entitled to receive and $48,812 for which there was no explanation or support. The audit also revealed improper disbursements of $6,071 of personal purchases Franklin made using the city's credit card and $6,852 of personal purchases made with the city's checking account. An additional $7,245 of checks were issued for petty cash.

Auditors also found Franklin failed to deposit $174 of utility bills for Franklin's residence, as well as $12,555 of utility payments made by others which weren't properly deposited into the city's bank account. Approximately $7,311 in payments were recorded as payments in the city's utility billing system, while Franklin prepared cash receipts for the remaining $5,243 of undeposited utility collections.

Alburnett Mayor David Boesenberg said Friday he couldn't comment on the report because the investigation is ongoing.

According to the report, Franklin on Jan. 7, turned in her letter of resignation effective Dec. 31, 2009 and keys to the office after Boesenberg in December instructed Franklin to research which certified public accounting firms were available to perform an audit for the city. The city council discussed obtaining an audit prior to Franklin's resignation.

In October 2009, Boesenberg and a council member formed a finance committee and requested Franklin set aside some time when they could meet with her so they could learn how she maintained the city's financial records.

Boesenberg said it was difficult to get her to commit to a time but when they did meet, she said there wasn't much to show them, according to the report. She said, “It was just like doing your own checkbook.” Boesenberg said Franklin opened a few file drawers and showed them the files. She was nervous during the meeting, he said.

After Franklin's resignation, the council members reviewed the city's recrods and determined the records for transactions were scarce  and the records for fiscal year 2008 transactions were limited, according to the report. They found there were significantly more records available for fiscal year 2007 transactions.

The audit report made public Friday includes recommendations to the city to improve internal controls and separate duties, perform bank reconciliations and utility billing reconciliations as well as  require additional documentation to support expenses.

Franklin does not currently face criminal charges in connection with the funds, online court records show. Copies of the audit were turned over to the Linn County Attorney's Office, the Attorney General's Office, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and Linn County's Sheriff's Office.

Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sandden said Friday he hadn't seen a copy of the report, so he couldn't comment as to whether criminal charges will be filed against Franklin.