Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-09-16

Last Monday night the city council
accepted the report of the financial
expert, Mr.. W. 81. Donaldson, who
has spent six or seven weeks checking
up the finances of the city, and ordered
the same placed on file and published
in full in the official paper.
The report shows that the accounts
of the city during the five last years
of Samuel Osmundson's incumbency
are in very unsatisfactory shape and
in some cases missing. No attempt
was made to go back into the former
years of his incumbency.
It was first thought necessary only
to attempt to straighten out the fnan-
cial reports of two years back, but
Mr.. Donaldson found it necessary to
go back to the year when Mr.. Otos
was recorder to get starting point.
At this point, the report says:
81 found it necessary to examine the
first report made by the newly elected
recorder, that of March 20, 1899.
This statement on it's face was plainly
erroneous. The uncollected light was
a charge in place of a credit and the
sales of merchandise was plainly out
of all proportion. It however bore
the signatures of the finance committee
as having been ''examined and found
correct.' It also contained a pre-
amble setting forth that the chairman
of said committee had been unable to
get the committee together, and that
he had personally made an examina-
tion of the report and would advise
the council to accept the same and
which was done without further ques-
tion. Had this report been read in
detail at the meeting of the council on
this occasion question if some one
of the aldermen present would not
have noticed the insignificant amount
of the receipts for electric light sup
plies as reported and caused the same
to be investigated. The result would
have been the means of correcting an
abuse, that grew as the receipts in
creased and finally caused this investi-
cation to be made"
After reviewing the finances of '98-'99
in detail, Mr.. Donaldson comes to this
conclusion for the year:
"Going back to the total receipts of
the recorder, for the year ending
March 22nd, 1899, as above, we find,
by reference to the report of the
treasurer, that there was deposited of
the above receipts the sum of SIG, 1874.
SO, leaving balance of 81, 262. "a,
unaccounted for. The report of the
record shows the total of receipts and
expenditures alike bringing down a
balance of S3O.93 over draft in the
general fund, and a balance on hand
of 1924. 94 in the poor fund, agreeing
perfectly with the treasurer's report.
This agreement with the treasurer
gives a semblance of correctness to
the report especially so when certified
as correct by the finance committee.
This is the report referred to In my
Introductory, as being plainly in error
on it's face. There does not seem to
be any excuse for the committee's s
neglect to discover the discrepancy in
this report. The purchases of sup
plies were S1,310.91 and the expenses
of wiring were S153.57. AS these goods
were, purchased only for installment
purposes, and were sold at a profit
the natural outcome would be more
sales than purchases, and the further
fact that the newly elected recorder
would be taking over the stock of
supplies and uncollected accounts of
his predecessor, the inference would be
that the sales would be still further
enlarged. This state of affairs should
have put them to an inquiry, at least. !"
For the year ending Mar. 20, 1900,
Mr.. Donaldson found that the receipts,
including bond issue. had been $40, :
255.O9. The deposits made by recorder
during year was s48, 10, leaving a
shortage of s937.99. There were
warrants amounting to $101.1 10 paid
twice during this and previous year
owing to failure to mark ''paid" on
same by treasurer before turning. over
the paid warrants to the recorder.
For the fiscal year ending Mar. 20,
1901, Mr.. Donaldson found shortage
Of 81, ,235. 10, making the total amount
not turned over during the three years
Of $3,436.03. In accounting for the
shortage Of this year the report states:
1.-THE reported sales of merchandise
were 1894 .73 whereas, the actual sales
were 81, 3O7. .O5, q difference of $712. 30.
i am unable to arrive at any solution
of the method by which he arrived at
his sales in any year. The figures do
not compare with any that I could
nut together. / was forced to the con-
clusion that the amount was simply