Laura Pisarcik was City of DeKalb’s financial director for three years until her resignation March 7. Despite her position as a department head, Pisarcik’s departure went unannounced until the Daily Chronicle began making inquiries and reported the separation April 12. Since then I’ve obtained the separation agreement from the city under the Illinois Freedom of…
If You’re Cleaning House, Why Keep it a Secret?
From the Daily Chronicle’s weekend edition: The city of DeKalb is without a finance director after Laura Pisarcik resigned the same week city Manager Anne Marie Gaura announced financial consultants would review the city’s financial policies and procedures. Ordinarily I’d applaud the sight of heads rolling for the sake of accountability. This time I can’t.…
How to Tell if a City of DeKalb Account is On- or Off-Budget
City of DeKalb’s use of administrative tow fees brings up lots of questions, such as how many of these off-budget accounts the city has and whether their collective use rises to the title of “shadow budget.” I don’t have the answers to the above questions, but I do know that even off-budget transactions are included…
Towing Fee Account Story Generates More Questions
The Daily Chronicle may have just published one of the most important investigative reports ever written about City of DeKalb finances. Since early 2013, the DeKalb Police Department has used around $300,000 of the $350,000 collected in administrative tow fees to buy a wide range of items outside of its regular budget. There are a…
Strategic Planning Docs & Thoughts
Last Saturday I attended a “strategic planning retreat” of DeKalb City Council, department heads and a couple others. Here’s a slideshow of the agendas, planning guide and timeline.
City of DeKalb had ‘Excess Expenditures’ of $3.1 Million in FY2013
**Update, noonish: Just picked this up on Twitter: IL Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) is sponsoring legislation to help prevent thefts of local government funds. One of the key provisions includes auditors’ sharing copies of the management letters with the governing bodies of counties and municipalities.** Recently I became aware that each annual financial audit includes…
Now We’re Getting Somewhere
Turns out, City of DeKalb’s press release this week about hiring outside help has a backstory, and the Daily Chronicle has unearthed it.. New DeKalb City Manager Anne Marie Gaura wants the city to hire an outside financial expert after staff recently broke rules for making purchases in excess of $20,000. … First, the council…
I Have More Questions than Ever
Out of the blue, City of DeKalb has announced a Fiscal Responsibility Initiative. Mayor John Rey said the initiative was made to strengthen financial transparency and accountability. “Through the initiative we hope to move in a positive fashion toward financial stability,” Rey said. I thought the city already was the role model for transparency, accountability…
Painting a Picture of DeKalb’s Pensions
First, let’s update our pension percentage-funded chart with the FY2013 numbers. These are from Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFRs). [easychart type=”line” width=”420″ title=”Yearly Funding of Pensions by Percentage Funded” groupnames=”IMRF, Police, Fire” valuenames=”’99, ’00, ’01, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13” group1values=”101.47, 109.49, 111.34, 107.18, 98.78, 82.83, 72.48, 73.17,…
Stop Wasting the Financial Advisory Committee on Budgets
From a Northern Star article this week: City manager Anne Marie Gaura said the finance committee typically reviews the budget and looks at policy recommendations and general fund balance. “The goal is to utilize the finance advisory committee in the most effective means of how to benefit the budget and the community,” Gaura said. “It’s…