by Jack
The Tuesday night City Council meeting didn’t get much attention because of the ongoing election, but there was a dramatic moment worthy of mentioning.
Laurel Tower, President of the Butte Taxpayers Alliance (BTA) had this to say to our council over the financial discrepancies…
“It is enlightening to hear the detailed General Fund Budget Report this evening, however, as a member of The Butte Taxpayers Alliance, I am deeply concerned with the accountability practices of the City of Chico’s Financial Department.
As elected representatives of the taxpayers of Chico, voted to the Chico City Council, you might, quite rightly, be most concerned as to how these figures are fluctuating so greatly, from month to month ! As are the taxpayers.
We are most curious to learn when will the audited books be presented to the public?
If a private business had this much chaos in various accounts & discrepancy in their figures, at the very least, a full report would be required, immediately !! Perhaps tonight’s report is helpful to sort out the confusions & we will study those pages carefully.
The Butte Taxpayers Alliance stands on record that proper answers & auditing are in order for the public,and we look forward to appropriate results!”
Laura’s presentation was indeed a fine statement that reflects the concerns of many, most of whom will remain silent hoping others will make the effort to watch what is happening in city government. The BTA needs to be thanked and recognized for it efforts in creating attention to the financial game playing that seem so prevalent with todays elected. More and more it just seems that those we choose to represent us have lost track of the concept that it is our hard work and earned income that support this city we wish to reside in, and they basically just have a fiduciary duty to act responsible with it!