An examination of Iolas finances triggered by different balance figures from a pair of financial quarterly reports from 2017 revealed no signs of error or malfeasance.
The conclusion was announced last week by Allen County Sheriff Bryan Murphy, who had been approached by Iolan Larry Walden after one of the quarterly reports was published in early 2018.
The discrepancy came from the third and fourth quarterly reports from the year prior.
The citys coffers had a combined $10,762,044.58 as of Sept. 30, 2017. The beginning balance for the fourth quarter dropped to $10,652,554.15 as of the next day, a difference of $109,490.83.
Three individual funds accounted for a bulk of the change.
The citys Kansas Sales Tax Fund dropped $120,000, from $121,522.42 to $1,522.42. Conversely, the Gas Fund increased by the same amount, from $842.330.91 to $962,330.91.
The third fund, equipment reserves, dropped from $3,474,898.78 to $3,364,898.78 a $110,000 difference. A few other funds also had a few dollars difference.
The discrepancies prompted the resident to reach out to Murphy for closer examination. Murphy then asked an independent accountant to look at the numbers, which he said took several months.
The investigation came to an end after deputies spoke again with city officials, who explained the differences.
City Administrator Sid Fleming and City Clerk Roxanne Hutton told the Register how the differing numbers resulted, when expenditures or transfers are paid from various funds, but not marked as spent until after a financial quarter has changed.
In this case, money was expended from equipment reserves, but should have been listed as a third-quarter expenditure. The subsequent adjustment was deducted from the reserve fund when the fourth-quarter report was filed.
The same thing happened in 2015 as well, Hutton noted. Those transactions also were studied and ruled valid.
Both Fleming and Hutton noted the reports passed the muster of the citys auditors, who were aware of the circumstances surrounding the transactions.
Nevertheless, Fleming said the city is eager to answer any questions in case other residents approach them with questions about the citys finances.
