State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick is honoring the request of
residents of the City of Chula, located in Livingston County, to perform a
thorough review of city operations. Fitzpatrick announced today that his office
is conducting a performance audit of the city after residents of the
municipality gathered 39 verified signatures to trigger the review. The audit
officially began with an entrance meeting with the city council on Monday,
February 10.
"I appreciate the interest the citizens of Chula are taking
in how their city government is operating and respect the effort they made to
gather the signatures to trigger this audit. We will do our best to provide
Chula residents with a detailed look at city operations with the goal of giving
them the information they need to hold their city officials accountable for the
decisions they make. If there are areas that need improvement, we will give
city officials a detailed roadmap for how to make city government more
efficient, effective, and transparent," said Auditor Fitzpatrick.
The State Auditor's Office last conducted a petition audit of the
City of Chula in 2011. The report gave the
city a rating of "fair" and found it did
not obtain required annual audits of its water and sewer systems, properly
prepare and monitor budgets, or prepare required financial reports.
Individuals may provide confidential information
for consideration during the audit of the City of Chula to the State Auditor's
Whistleblower Hotline at 800-347-8597, by email at moaudit@auditor.mo.gov or by visiting www.auditor.mo.gov/hotline.
