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"Tower Councilor David Setterberg, who attended the meeting, said there would be an update on the past ambulance fund issues at the Oct. 14 council meeting."
“I don’t believe the money was ever there,” he said. “That money wasn’t cash.”
If what acting Mayor Setterberg said above is true, then there will certainly need to be many retractions and corrections to previous annual audits and the accompanying "MANAGEMENT LETTERS" done by Walker, Girouix & Hahne that were repeatedly approved and paid for by the City Council.
For example, on page 39 of the 2020 City Audit that was approved and paid for by the Council, it is stated that the "Ambulance Special Revenue" fund is "Due From Other Funds $737,648". (that fund is money that the ambulances made on runs) Interestingly, on the same page, the Audit says that the "Historic Harbor Renovation Capital Projects" fund has $623,019 "Due To Other Funds".
Timberjay reporting on the 2017 City Audit includes this:
"Auditor cites growing deficits
Other issues raised in annual financial report
Posted Wednesday, June 13, 2018 5:46 pm
Marshall Helmberger
TOWER— The city’s auditor offered a mixed report on the city of Tower’s 2017 finances on Monday. While noting that the financial information was complete enough to allow for an unmodified opinion, Greg Knutson of Walker, Giroux, and Hahne, cited growing deficits in several city accounts and flagged investments in the Gunderson Trust that are not authorized by state law.
The city also lost nearly $50,000 in its water and sewer fund, as revenues failed to keep pace with expenditures.
At the same time, the city’s general fund balance dipped by $81,000, to $805,004. Virtually all of that fund balance was the result of the accumulated $810,000 in the city’s ambulance account. “The ambulance is basically carrying the general fund,” said Knutson."
Is Councilor Setterberg going to claim that no Ambulance funds were diverted to the costly Harbor Project and other deficit funds within the City? If true, that would make the Audits and accompanying "MANAGEMENT LETTERS" look pretty bad, all the way back to 2015.I think it's safe to say that money was diverted out of the Ambulance Fund.
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