Auditor report shows Wagram in good standing

WAGRAM —The Wagram Board of Commissioners recently received a clean financial audit from S. Preston Douglas and Associates.

“So overall a good audit. The records were in great shape. We made very few journal entries and that signals the books were in good order,” said Lee Grissom, who conducted and presented the town’s audit report for the 2022-23 fiscal year.

During his report, Grissom said the town’s general fund “did really well this fiscal year,” with the balance being at $1.2 million.

The water and sewer fund for the first time in six fiscal years broke even, according to Grissom.

“That’s an extreme positive … When I presented last year, that would have been a needs improvement area I remember saying that you need to turn that around to break even so the staff and the board did a great job from that standpoint,” Grissom said.

Grissom found no issues with the town exceeding the budget or any bank reconciliations.

“Sometime in smaller municipalities we see all kinds of stuff so from our standpoint, the books were in good shape, staff responded to us very timely (we had a) full access to records, no disagreements with management, there were no legal acts found,” Grissom said.

Grissom said One finding was the town’s segregation of duties, which is a finding the town has every year.

“That’s because the staff isn’t the size that would be ideal to separate all of the duties,” he clarified.

Grissom said the town is measuring exceptionally compared to other smaller municipalities for its reserved funding, according to the Local Government Commission.

“You’re at 244% or that’s 29 months in reserve when you compare to the General Fund expenditures. The LGC maximum percentage is 71% and the average is 32%,” Grissom said. ” (That’s) a really strong reserve so don’t go spending it.”

In informational news, commissioners discussed agreement options with the Scotland County Sheriff’s Office to contract officers to perform law enforcement coverage in the town when the new police chief is unavailable.

“He’s working full-time and can’t work the time we would need him for the Town of Wagram. If we hired a part-time police officer we would have to get a car, weapons, uniforms, training, all of that,” Mayor Barbara Pierce said.

This would equal more than the $35-an-hour rate the sheriff’s office is offering, Pierce said.

In other business, the Commissioners approved the scope of work for the $200,000 allocation granted to the town in the state budget.

The majority of funds, totaling $66,000 will go toward funding the officer that will assist the chief over two years. An additional $10,000 will fund the police chief’s equipment and uniform, as well as new paint at the Police Department office and parking lot.

The budget also includes $20,000 for the fire department in Wagram to assist in purchasing a paramedic truck and the Jaws of Life.

Another large portion, $54,642, will be used to purchase a new Ford F-2550 truck for the town’s maintenance staff; and $25,595 will be used to purchase a new generator.

Funding will also go toward a utility trailer, speed bump installation, a shredder, signs and barricades, five new benches and administrative fees.