The municipality of Meaford is still in the red.
BDO Dunwoody presented their 2008 audit to council Monday night — and it shows a 1.2 million dollar deficit.
Meaford’s Financial Consultant David Kennedy says there were three major reasons for the deficit.
He says they missed targeted revenues by about 300-thousand dollars, snow removal went 300-thousand dollars over budget, and there was a 200-thousand dollar increase in protective services.
Kennedy says Meaford is also still carrying over deficits from the previous 3 or 4 years.
He says that means the municipality actually started 2009 down 3 million dollars.
But Kennedy says all this is accounted for in the 5 year plan that council agreed to this year and he believes they are making good progress to pay down the debt in that time.
The plan calls for tax increases of 5 per cent — including county and school board levies — each year and he hopes council can stick to that.
During presentation of the audit – Al White from BDO Dunwoody also gave council a list of what he calls weaknesses in internal controls.
He says the municipality needs to get better at reconciling bank statements, closing redundant bank accounts, and making correct journal entries among other things.
Kennedy says he asked for the 8-item list to be included in the presentation so council would see some of the problems they’re having in the finance department.
He says there is both a shortage of staff and skill set that needs to be addressed – and he wants to see Meaford hire a financial analyst.