CARTHAGE, Mo. —
City financial records got a clean bill of health Tuesday when results of an audit were presented to the City Council.
Andy Marmouget, of Davis, Lynn & Moots, outlined audit results to the council after making a more in-depth presentation earlier to the council’s finance and personnel committee.
The city has received a “clean” audit for at least the past seven years, said Lynn Campbell, city clerk. The audit included an analysis of financial records for the city, Carthage Water and Electric, Mercy McCune-Brooks Hospital, and Powers Museum, she said.
Council members also discussed a letter written by Mayor Mike Harris to Union Pacific Railroad concerning the Sycamore Street bridge over railroad tracks west of downtown. The bridge was closed to traffic two weeks ago.
The bridge was closed after serious deterioration was found during an inspection by the Missouri Department of Transportation. Harris said the problems were pointed out to the railroad since the company was responsible for the installation of the bridge in the 1920s.
“They were required to install and maintain the crossings as part of the city’s granting easements years ago for the railroad tracks to go through the city,” Harris said Wednesday. “So we notified them of the bridge’s condition and told them it needed to be brought up to a reliable standard.”
Weight restrictions had been added to the bridge after inspections each two years. With the bridge closed, traffic is being rerouted to nearby crossings on Chestnut and Walnut streets.
The council also approved a resolution to accept a grant of $11,100 from Jasper County law enforcement sales tax funds. The Carthage Police Department is among 11 agencies to receive funds from a share of the countywide tax in the most recent allocation. The department will use the money to upgrade the firing range, for car-stop tire spikes, for repairs to the department’s command bus, and to buy a treadmill.
Given final approval were measures to bring city license requirements in line with state law and to authorize a lease agreement with Dennis and Carolyn Detert to operate the Carthage Golf Center at a cost of $5,400.
City clerk
CITY CLERK LYNN CAMPBELL reported during the council meeting that Bev Baker, a deputy clerk in her office, has been hired as the new city clerk in Nevada. Baker, who has been with Carthage for three years, will start her new job Friday.
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