Good news from audit

Fort Scott City Commissioners discussed audits and good neighbors during Tuesday evening's meeting.

Terry Sercer of Diehl, Banwart, Bolton Certified Public Accountants P.A. was in attendance to present the results of the 2008 audit of the City of Fort Scott's financial statements.

Sercer said the city prepares financial statements based upon a statutory basis set by the state of Kansas rather than generally-accepted practices. He added there are three reasons for this being that generally-accepted practices are more complicated, require the city to keep a log of all fixed assets, and it is more costly.

Sercer reported that they city has not violated any Kansas statutes or federal statutes in the 2008 financial statements.

Sercer went on to commend the staff for preparing the documentation quickly which led to the auditing process being completed ahead of schedule.

"This is good news for the city," Sercer said.

Fort Scott Mayor Gary Bukowski added, "We've got numbers in the black, that's always good to see."

Reed Hartford was in attendance representing the Good Neighbor Action Team to discuss the Good Neighbor Blitz. Hartford said GNAT is hoping to build on the enthusiasm created by the Youth Activities Team last summer.

Hartford said the cost of the materials for all projects this summer will total $25,000. He added approximately $3,000 has been raised so far. Fort Scott City Commissioner Sam Mason suggested contacting SEK-CAP for assistance.

"It's a great way to help your neighbor," Fort Scott City Commissioner Jim Adams said. "I'll sign up."

The following business was also conducted during the meeting:

* Accepted the low bid of $5,768.30 from Golden Arrow Corp./Judy's Iron and Plumbing of Fort Scott for the installation of a 20-by-30 foot Pavilion for Nelson Park.

* Accepted the low bid of $15,381 from R & R Equipment of Fort Scott for the purchase of a four-wheel drive mid-mount mower to be used by the Lake Department.

* Accepted the bid of $15,520 from R & R Equipment of Fort Scott for the purchase of a four-wheel drive front-mount mower to be used for the Water Production Department. The low bid was not accepted because it did not meet specifications set by the city.

* Authorized the purchase of a vehicle for the Fort Scott Fire Chief up to $20,000.

* Authorized the signing of a contract with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for corrective action at Illegal Dump Site No. 1.