City councilman seeks community feedback

Scott Stewart loves to talk.
The Iola city councilman serves as the track announcer at Humboldt Speedway during race season, he’s worked as a dispatcher and runs his own DJ business for local dances and other events.
That said, he’s also a good listener.
And with several looming issues coming down the pike, Stewart wants people to know he’s all ears.
Stewart asked the Register Wednesday to assist him in extending an invitation to all Iolans to share their thoughts, concerns and opinions about city issues. His preferred method of communication is email.
Stewart is particularly eager to hear from Iolans about a proposed full-scale audit of the city’s finances from 2007 to 2010. Regular audits for each of those budget years have been done annually and come back with clean reports for the city.
Council members are weighing proposals from three auditing firms that would:
— Analyze enterprise fund accounts and balances, and provide a detailed analysis for amounts transferred to other funds.
— Review claims made through the Federal Emergency Management Agency following the 2007 flood.
— Analyze enterprise fund accounting procedures and potential for mismanagement.
— Review court accounting practices and internal controls.
— Use past audit reports for areas of concern or lack of accountability (such as credit cards, EMS billing or using unauthorized vendors).
— Analyze purchasing practices within the enterprise and warehouse funds for compliance with Kansas law.
The city spent about $12,000 for its regular audit prepared this year by Lowenthall, Webb and Odermann of Lawrence.
To proceed with the full-scale audit would cost between $11,210 and $56,020, depending on which bid was accepted.
City council members proposed the audit in the wake of former city administrator Judy Brigham’s firing in August. No reason was made official, although city council members pointed to errors in the presented budget.
They will take up the issue at their next meeting Nov. 28 to decide whether to go ahead with the audit.
“I want to know if people think it’s too much to spend, if they think it’s a good idea, or if they think it’s a waste of time,” Stewart said.
Emails may be sent to stewartsvoice@yahoo.com.
“I’d prefer emails, so that I know that I can get to all of them, and I can print them out if I have to,” he said.
He also hopes to hear from Iolans outside the First Ward, which he represents.
“Yes, the First Ward voters elected me, but I represent all Iolans on issues like this,” he said.
Likewise, he’d like to hear opinions on other issues, or ideas to make living and working in Iola as pleasant as possible.
“I sat in on Ken’s and Steve’s town hall meeting (last week) and there were some good ideas from the audience,” Stewart said of the forum hosted by Ken Rowe and Steve French, who represent Iola’s Fourth Ward. “I’m sure there are others around town who have good ideas, too.”