Council receives 1,250-page financial packet; forms ad-hoc finance committee and posts reconciliations online
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Summary
Finance director Worth Ferguson presented a detailed reconciliation plan and a 1,250-page packet of financial documents. Council formed an ad-hoc finance committee of staff, EDC representatives and two community members to help review documents and improve transparency.
La Marque's interim finance director, Worth Ferguson, presented an extensive package of accounting and reconciliation documents at the Oct. 13 meeting and outlined a public-facing tracker and plan to post full detail to the city's transparency portal.
Why it matters: Council members and residents said they wanted the fullest possible accounting after a period of fiscal instability. Ferguson said the packet runs to roughly 1,250 pages and that staff will publish the documents and a reconciliation tracker that shows progress on month-by-month reconciliations, audit findings and next steps.
Finance committee and transparency tools Council voted to establish an ad-hoc finance review committee to assist in reviewing financial documents and advising on transparency. The committee members listed by staff for appointment included: Finance Director Worth Ferguson; Interim City Manager Barbara Holly; EDC representatives James Osteen and Alex Getty (sometimes referenced as Guthrie/Getty in discussion); two proposed citizen members experienced in accounting and oversight (Harriet Massey and Pastor Jeremy Windham); and Councilmember Tanya Griffin as the council's representative. Staff said alternates could be added later.
Ferguson described a public tracker that will show reconciling tasks (cash/investments/accounts payable/receipts), the status of audit items and a prioritized list of forensic-review scopes the public or council might request. He said the goal is to publish monthly progress updates and a three-page executive summary to help nontechnical readers navigate the full reports.
Next steps The council asked staff to post the packet and the reconciliation tracker on the city's financial-transparency web pages. The newly formed committee will begin work and the city manager will publish a schedule for committee meetings and public updates.