Northwest Indiana Discussion

DISBURSEMENTS NOT COUNCIL APPROVED

The City budgets the Gaming Revenues Fund to allow for the Mayor and each Council Member
to have "discretionary" funds. In other words, the Mayor and each Council Member can decide how to
spend their specific allotment. Some of the funds are used to pay for street paving, and purchases of vehicles for the street department. In these instances, the vendor is paid directly and the claim is submitted to the Council for approval. In other instances, the Mayor or Council Member may decide to
donate funds to other City departments. For example, funds are donated to the "Festival of the Lakes" or
to the "Henry Unit." In these examples, a claim is prepared; however, it is not submitted to the Council for
approval. These donations account for a significant dollar amount of the expenditures made from the
Gaming Funds.IC 5-11-10-1.6 (c) states:

"The fiscal officer of a governmental entity may not draw a warrant or check for payment of a
claim unless: . . .
(5) payment of the claim is allowed by the governmental entity's legislative body or the
board or official having jurisdiction over allowance of payment of the claim."

FESTIVAL OF THE LAKES
Parking and Concessions
Tickets were sold for parking and beer concessions; however, the tickets were not retained for audit. Ticket sales reports were prepared, but report totals did not always agree to the cash collected. Furthermore, non-prescribed receipts were issued by controller's office employees for collections made at various times during the event. Subsequent to the 2009 Festival of the Lakes, officials were instructed these items were to be retained for audit. For the 2010 Festival of the Lakes, we expect officials to retain the proper documentation.

Concessions Agreement
The agreement between the Hammond Fire Fighters Association and the Hammond Parks and
Recreation states in part, "The Fraternal Order of Police and the Hammond Fire Fighters Association
have agreed to split 22% of the profit from the 2009 Festival of the Lakes beer concessions after product
is paid for . . ." Per the summary report, the total beer concessions were $108,275.75. The amount
remitted to the Hammond Firefighters per the ledger was $27,472.10, or approximately 25%.
Officials and employees are required to use State Board of Accounts prescribed or approved
forms in the manner prescribed. (Accounting and Uniform Compliance Guidelines Manual for Cities and
Towns, Chapter 7)

IC 5-15-6-3(f) concerning destruction of public records, states in part: "Original records may be disposed of only with the approval of the commission according to guidelines established by the commission."

Supporting documentation such as receipts, canceled checks, tickets, invoices, bills, contracts,
and other public records must be available for audit to provide supporting information for the validity and
accountability of monies disbursed. Payments without supporting documentation may be the personal
obligation of the responsible official or employee. (Accounting and Uniform Compliance Guidelines

Manual for Cities and Towns, Chapter 7)
Payments made or received for contractual services should be supported by a written contract. Each governmental unit is responsible for complying with the provisions of its contracts. (Accounting and
Uniform Compliance Guidelines Manual for Cities and Towns, Chapter 7)

In what month do they hold august Fest?

Cut and paste, cut and paste. I think this thread is done now.