The Joint Legislative Auditing Committee has approved a request for an operational audit of the City of Winter Springs.
WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA, USA, January 27, 2023 / EINPresswire.com / —
The Joint Legislative Auditing Committee (JLAC) unanimously approved a request for an Auditor General to conduct an operational audit of the City of Winter Springs. The Auditor General is a state Constitutional Officer which investigates various local governments and other agencies in order to “promote government accountability and stewardship and improve government operations”, according to its website.
“I am aware of concerns regarding activities of the current Mayor, City Commission and City Manager,” State Senator Jason Brodeur said in a letter requesting an independent audit. “The residents of Winter Springs have compiled extensive material showing rampant mismanagement and even malfeasance which is harming the 38,000+ residents of the City of Winter Springs.”
The scope of the audit includes investigating issues related to wastewater, third-party contracting, Consumptive Use Permits, public records requests, testing documentation, ethics, fraud, and the City’s Code of Conduct.
The request letter from Senator Brodeur for an independent audit included concerns about “rampant mismanagement and even malfeasance”, “[s]uspected violations of state ethics laws”, “a complete lack of transparency and censoring residents”, “taxpayer funded misinformation campaigns”, and “[p]ossible public corruption and profiteering with a commissioner”.
The independent audit will proceed following the unanimous vote of the JLAC. The broad scope of the inquiry could lead to referrals to other state agencies. The letter from Senator Brodeur’s office states if “fraud is suspected, the Auditor General may be required by professional standards to report it to those charged with the City’s governance and also to appropriate law enforcement authorities.”
Jesse Phillips, President of the Winter Springs Community Association, made the following statement: “The issues facing our City necessitate an independent review. We need to stop the finger pointing and to understand how we got here and to find solutions to fix the problems affecting our health and livelihoods. We received hundreds of responses to our annual survey and 9 out of 10 Winter Springs residents support the idea of an independent audit of the City of Winter Springs. We strongly recommend City leaders fully cooperate and allow this independent audit to be conducted in full transparency.”
About Winter Springs Community Association: The Winter Springs Community Association (WSCA) was created to help our community become “One Winter Springs”. We are “Living, Growing and Promoting One Heart, One Pulse, One Community, One Winter Springs.” The WSCA serves Winter Springs residents and business leaders who wish to contribute and propel the most positive Community rebuilding effort ever undertaken in our City. Winter Springs is woefully short on entertainment, dining, medical and other important professional services and our Association seeks to serve you, our neighbors by helping any new business wishing to join our community to enhance your quality of life.
Jesse Phillips
Winter Springs Community Association
By John Horan
I have commented often about the imbecilities of the City of Winter Springs’ governance. The incompetence of these actions has greatly damaged the residents of the city, especially those who are ratepayers of its water and sewer system and its taxpayers. The city took a step forward in November when it tossed out two of its sitting commissioners and elected Victoria Colangelo and Cade Resnick as new commissioners to take their places.
Media attention to the city’s sad state of affairs has now caused the Florida legislature to take action. Yesterday, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee exercised its authority to request the Auditor General to perform an operational audit of the City of Winter Springs. The city leaders have no one to blame for this than themselves. It is my fondest hope that the city will fully cooperate with the audit and take seriously the recommendations that are made as a result of this examination.
You can view yesterday’s hearing. A link to view the Committee’s hearing appears below. The matter involving Winter Springs is the first item and is addressed in the first 27 minutes of the tape.