In the near future, the city of Leeds may be looking more closely at the entities that receive city dollars.

A motion was discussed which would require all entities obtaining city funds or services to be subject to a city audit.  

This includes around 10 entities, including the Chamber of Commerce, Historical Society, Parks and Recreation, Arts Council and others.

“Entities come to us and say we’re not going to be able to survive if we don’t get $15,000 from the city, and the city’s struggling along on its own. They don’t have to have kind of oversight, any kind of audit, any kind of accounting procedures; we kind of have to take them at their word,” Patterson said. “We’d like the ability to say ‘Let’s see how you really conduct your business, and how much you really need the money.’ We’re giving money to 10 organizations and we have no idea. They could have $100,000, and we’re scraping up the money to give to them.”

Kile also suggested that the treasurers of each organization be bonded, but because of the cost involved in getting bonded, the proposition may not be feasible.  

“They don’t even need to have to have a financial report for themselves,” Patterson noted. “That’s why some of the money’s given to us, we give it to them, they don’t have to do anything. They’re not going to get bonded.”  

Still, Kile was interested in having the security of the bond for those handling city money.

“There’s a history in sports here that whoever got the money got the cash cow. It happened when my kids were up here and they’re 35 years old now, these people made off with money,” Kile said.  

There was no vote on the motion, and it was tabled to further explore the cost and feasibility of bonding the treasurers involved.