Council directs city manager to move forward in city audit process

Per request from the Columbia City Council, City Manager Mike Matthes is tasked with obtaining a cost estimate for a potential audit of all Columbia city departments by the state auditor.

The estimated cost of an audit by State Auditor Nicole Galloway is the next step to getting a third-party analysis of the city’s books, according to Mayor Brian Treece. But there still are details that need to be agreed upon, such as the scope or span of the audit.

It’s still not clear if the audit would include all city departments, or be narrowed to certain groups, such as Water & Light. Which years the audit would include is also to be determined.

The idea of inviting Galloway to audit the city was proposed by Treece at the last city council meeting. Council members say an a performance audit by Galloway and her office could uncover potential savings in the city budget.

This discussion comes after the City Council decided to begin the process of transitioning to community-oriented policing citywide. The police department, however, is short-staffed and would require more funding in order to pull off a community-focused approach, which is more labor intensive per officer.