Requests, timelines and records

The council chambers in Saratoga Town Hall once again served as the battleground for Councilmember Jon Nelson’s continued pursuit for answers in regards to the Town of Saratoga’s finances.

During the August 4 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Nelson reiterated his request for material from town hall and questions in regards to discrepancies between amounts approved by the council and amounts expended by the Town of Saratoga. Additionally, questions surrounded the timeline in which material should be provided following a request. 

Arguably the most surprising revelation during the meeting was a major reason as to why Nelson had been making document requests during public meetings.

Request Remade

As was reported previously (see “Audit accepted, questions remain” on page 1 of the July 29 Saratoga Sun), during the July 21 meeting, Nelson had referred to a letter from Carver Florek and James in which the auditors stated that “not all expenditures and journal entries were being included in the warrant listing approved by the town council.”

Nelson added that he had performed his own study of Fiscal Year 2019/2020 by comparing the amounts listed on the agendas for approval to the June 30, 2020 financial statement. According to the council member, the result of that study showed that there was a difference of $181,278 between the amounts approved by the council and the expenditures listed on the June 30, 2020 statement.

The council member requested additional information from town hall, to which Saratoga Town Clerk Suzie Cox asked that the request be made in writing and said “I’d be glad to do that before the next council meeting.” The written request made by Nelson included:

• A listing of all expenditures, journal entries and automatic withdrawals that were not included in the listing presented to the council for approval in Fiscal Year 2018/2019 and Fiscal Year 2019/2020;

• A complete ledger showing and detailing all expenditures for Fiscal Year 2019/2020; 

• Bank statements for Fiscal Year 2019/2020 and statements for June 2019 and July 2020;

• Documentation to show the $181,278 discrepancy between what was approved by town council and what was expended by the Town of Saratoga.

When Nelson raised these questions again during the August 4 meeting, Cox stated that she was not aware of what the auditors were talking about. Mayor John Zeiger, at Nelson’s request, read the same paragraph the council member had read on July 21.

“What I stated in my question that I submitted in writing after the last meeting was based on this statement, which you (Zeiger) just read,” said Nelson.

Cox informed the council that she would contact the auditors to request a list, adding that the only expenditures she could think of were payroll liabilities that were paid following one council meeting and would appear at another.

Alternate Timeline

As discussion continued, Nelson asked legal counsel Tom Thompson what timeline should be expected when making a request for information, adding that his questions began in September 2019.

“At what point does that question need to be answered?” asked Nelson.

“I don’t think there’s any statutory or any ordinance that you have to receive it within so many days,” Thompson replied. “Like, what’s reasonable? I think there’s a couple of issues there and I think one of them’s already been addressed, which is going back to the auditors to ask them for clarity or specificity in what they’re referring to in the letter.”

According to Wyoming State Statute 16-4-202(c)(ii), “If a public record is readily available, it shall be released immediately to the applicant so long as the release does not impair or impede the governmental entity’s ability to discharge its other duties.”

Additionally, Wyoming State Statute 16-4-202(c)(iii) reads, “All public records shall be released not later than thirty (30) calendar days from the date of acknowledged receipt of the request unless good cause exists preventing release.”

It should be noted that Thompson also stated that a timeline for information to be provided could be affected by “whatever the treasurer and clerk’s workload is and when they can get that information out to the council.”

Thompson also told Nelson, who had read from Article 16, Section 7 of the Wyoming Constitution, that if he were uncomfortable approving the bills, he should vote against them and state his objections. Nelson, in response, stated that he believed his record was “pretty strong” as he had voted against approving the bills in the past.

“The issue is not necessarily the bills that are being presented,” said Nelson. “The issue is what’s not in that list that’s still going to get paid. That’s the issue.”

For The Record

As Thompson and Nelson discussed what timeline one should expect to receive requested public documents, another town employee weighed in. Acting zoning officer Kent Smith asked why Nelson couldn’t come into the town hall and look through the Town’s books himself.

“What I’m saying seems like a very simple solution here to this thing where you go back and forth and back and forth,” said Smith. “It’s just crazy and, as far as sitting here listening to this, this is insane.”

Zeiger then asked Nelson when he had last been in town hall and had spoken to either Cox or Saratoga Town Treasurer Sammy Flohr. This has been a major talking point, as it had been brought up by Cox in previous meetings that she would prefer written requests or visits prior to council meetings in regards to Nelson’s questions.

“It hasn’t been since I was served with a letter from an attorney about creating a hostile work environment and other items which I will not go into detail on but, ever since that happened, now I have not felt comfortable coming into town hall and participating and interacting directly without it being on record and having a recording of everything that’s said and everything I ask and how I ask it,” replied Nelson.

Welton followed by asking Nelson if he would come into town hall to review the books if they were placed in the council chambers and there would be no interaction with either Cox or Flohr. Nelson agreed and requested that the information be placed in the council chambers the following week.

The next meeting of the Saratoga Town Council will be at 7 p.m. on August 18 at Saratoga Town Hall.