Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-09-19
-. WHLMAR, Minn., Sept. 4th, 1903.
To the Honorable Mayor and Common
Council of the City of Willmar,
State of Minnesota.

By virtue of resolution passed by
your Honorable Body on the 9th day
of April, 1903, whereby your Finance
Committee were instructed to employ
an expert Accountant to examine into
and report upon the official acts of the
various departments of revenue in
your, City, was selected by the said
Committee to make such examination
and entered into contract with said
Committee on the 9th day of June, 1903,
the examination to cover such period
as we should find necessary after q
preliminary examination of the books
had been made.
My labors were to commence as soon
thereafter as prior engagements would
permit.
commenced the examination on
July 10th, 1903 and finished on Sept.
eth, the examination covering . period
of eight weeks. At the outset the
Committee was of the opinion that two
or three years would be all that would
be necessary to cover in this examine
ton, the idea being to commence the
investigation at point where the re-
corder's books would agree and show
the same balances (less the outstand-
ing warrants) as the treasurer's.
l first tried to obtain cut of at the
close of the fiscal year of 1901; finding
that impossible, I attempted to arrive
at an agreement between these two Of
icers at the close of 1900, but without
satisfactory results and in thus run
ming back to obtain correct starting
point found q large number Of war
rants which had been issued in 1895,
1896 and 1897 and re-issued in 1898
and still further re-issued in 1899, and
this led to an examination of the re-
port of 1898, made by the former Re-
corder, which found reported the
outstanding warrants of 1897 and the
outstanding warrants of 1898, incor-
rectly. In adjusting these differences,
I found it necessary to examine into
the first report made by the newly
elected Recorder, that of March 20th,
1899, which report on its face was
plainly an erroneous one. The un-
collected light was q charge in place
of e credit as it should have been and
the sales of merchandise were out of
all proportion to the purchases. The
report, however, bore the signatures
of the Finance Committee as having
been 'Examined and Found Correct"
There was also preamble attached
setting forth that the Chairman Of
said Committee had been unable to get
the Finance Committee together and
that he had finally examined the re-
port personally and would advise the
Council to accept the same as reported,
which appears to have been done with
out further question. HAD THIS RE-
PORT been read in detail at the meet
ing of the Council on this occasion I
question If some one of the Aldermen
present would not have noticed the in
significant amount of the receipts for
Electric Light Supplies as reported
and caused the same to be investiga-
ted. The result of such investigation
would have revealed the deficit which
this report of mine shows at the end
of this same fiscal year and would
have been the means of adopting
methods that would have prevented
further abuses and in all probability
have saved the City this investigation.
When these absolute proofs Of diver
sion OF public monies in 1893 we're
brought to the notice of the mayor
and finance committee it was agreed
without question that the point Of
commencement of this investigation
should be the full period of the Re-
corder's term of of,ioe, commanding
March 22nd, 1898, and ending March
18th, 1903, and It is TO- the Mayors
and tho Finance Committees instruc-
tions, to sift everything from start TO
finish without fear or favor, that 10
largely due tho completeness Of this
examination and report. With this
Introduction, I now invite your at-
tention to my report in detail Of the
various departments Of public trust OF
the Village Of Wnlmsr from March
22nd, 1898, to March 18th, 1902, and of
the City of Willmsr from the latter
date TO March 18th, 1903. @
FRsr THE VILLAGE RECORDER AND
! z.s. LATER THE CITY CLERK.
!, BY virtue Of his Office he was the
recoivingFomc and accountant Of the
Village. All monies received except
taxes and liquor licenses, passed az