SMITHVILLE — Hold onto your wallets, folks — Smithville might finally get the government transparency everyone’s been demanding (or at least been angrily muttering about at coffee shops). After months of chasing signatures like Girl Scouts hawking Thin Mints, Jennifer Pease and her merry band of accountability crusaders actually pulled it off. The Clay County Board of Election Commissioners confirmed the group has enough signatures to force the city into the dreaded “audit.” That’s right — the city books are about to get cracked open, and Smithville officials look about as thrilled as teenagers told to clean their rooms.
“We had enough people to hold them accountable and transparent,” Pease said, clearly enjoying her moment as Smithville’s Joan of Arc of fiscal honesty. “I found the people who care about it.” Translation: Smithville City Hall, you’re about to have a very bad week.
According to the state auditor’s office, petitioners had to turn in 750 signatures by Sept. 13. Pease and company managed to deliver the goods by Aug. 20, probably just to prove a point. Now the bureaucratic machine is whirring — Trevor Fox, communications guru for the auditor’s office, says they’re waiting on the final certified count before they start sending out those dreaded “Dear City, You’re Getting Audited” letters.
Smithville City Administrator Cynthia Wagner put on her best poker face, saying the city has been “preparing” and will “cooperate with requests.” In government-speak, that roughly translates to: We’re digging through filing cabinets right now, praying no one finds the receipts for that thing we bought that we definitely shouldn’t have bought.
Of course, transparency doesn’t come cheap. These audits run a cool $125,000 to $150,000 — a price tag the city will have to tack onto its budget planning. Translation: taxpayers, brace yourselves.
Wagner insists the city already “strives to respond to information requests,” which is adorable, considering a literal petition drive had to happen just to make this audit real.
Pease, riding high on her victory, promised there will be a public meeting early in the process. Translation: grab your popcorn, Smithville, the real show is just getting started.
Comments
Post a Comment