Business Woman

The City of Homewood is actively working to improve its accounting system following a special review from the State regarding the use of city credit cards as well as the arrest of the city’s former financial director for wire fraud.In April of 2023, 63-year-old Robert Burgett was arrested at his home after officers with the Homewood Police Department were made aware of “irregularities” in the movement of city funds. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Burgett used his position to embezzle the money from the city’s bank accounts between at least May 2023 and about March 2024.He concealed his crimes by altering bank statements, falsifying journal entries in accounting records and moving the funds into a commercial account before transferring them to his personal account.The city says that while insurance covered $500,000 of what Burgett stole, they are working to recover more. This month, the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts conducted a special review of the city’s finances which Homewood officials responded to Friday. Just after we initiated our deeper dive and discovered troubling shortcomings in the control of city finances, we started the process of strengthening our policies, said Homewood Mayor Alex Wyatt. We have already met with the state examiners and appreciate their work because their recommendations will help us continue our efforts to make sure our finance department works more securely so that expenditures of public funds are properly tracked in strict adherence to sound business and audit standards.One of the ways the city hopes to strengthen its financial security is by tightening the use of city credit cards.Months after Burgett’s arrest, other possible financial irregularities prompted the city to begin reviewing the use of its credit cards by city employees. Outside of $10,000 in disputed charges from Burgett, an approximately $1,300 outstanding obligation from another employee was discovered.Both credit card cases are being referred by the state auditors to the Alabama attorney general for collection.The city council voted to strengthen policies on the use of city cards soon after, putting the following policies in place:A reduction in the number of cards in use.Cards can only be used for official, pre-authorized, city expenditures and not for any personal expenditures, cash advances, or alcohol purchases.Cards can only be used for eligible travel costs, including conference registration and associated fees, lodging and transportation. Meals are limited to $75 a day with fully itemized receipts.Cards are not intended for purchases that can be made via normal purchasing procedures, except for emergencies or purchases personally authorized by a department head or the mayor.Card purchases will be audited by the finance department on a monthly basis.Infractions of the credit card policy can lead to disciplinary action and recovery of funds through a reduction in employee paychecks.Another move to secure the city’s finances is the hiring of a full-time city manager, a position created when residents narrowly approved a restructuring of their local government last September.A full-time city manager will bring an experienced professional in public administration with budget management skills and significant supervisory experience to the city, said Walter Jones, president of the Homewood City Council. This is a meaningful step as the city council continues to review financial issues to assure that taxpayer dollars are correctly spent in an accountable manner.The application period for that position ended on Monday evening, with the city receiving 12 applications.A committee will meet this Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 5:30pm to review the applications and plan for upcoming interviews.