By Tony Brockmeyer
The First Capitol News has learned from sources inside city hall that an employee of the finance department has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into embezzlement. The sources told us the person was responsible for receipts and payables. Discovering the City Administrator was out of town the First Capitol News attempted to get confirmation from Brent Schulz, Assistant to the City Administrator. Our requests for confirmation went unanswered.
Upon contacting several Council members for quotes we discovered the Council had not been notified. Councilman Mark Brown said, “I have been critical of the finance department since arriving to the council. The efforts that are made to confuse the elected officials and the public with financial reporting that is impossible to follow made me suspicious."
Councilman John Gieseke said, “I think this goes to the heart of why we have been unable to move forward on a forensic audit of our self insurance fund. The council voted to move ahead yet the City's administration has blocked our efforts. If this turns out to be true I would hope that the others on the Council who have been protecting the staff members instead of being stewards of the public’s money would put pressure on the City Administrator to stop blocking the audit."
Councilman Joe Koester said, "I wouldn't be surprised by this. The message the City Administration has sent to the employees is the rules don't apply. Williams has violated the law, has questionable business ethics and has lied to the people of the City. If I were this employee I would point to the City Administrator’s actions as my defense."
The First Capitol News is not revealing the name of the employee because the matter is still under investigation and charges have not yet been filed. ttt
