.

5/3/17 – For those who still believe that the Banning Utility is properly managed and supervised, the following shocking video provides clear evidence to the contrary.

Under direct questioning by Councilmember Don Peterson, the City’s clueless auditor is unable to answer even the simplest of questions about the Banning Electric Utility:

.

• The auditor doesn’t know how often a cash pickup occurs at City Hall

• The auditor doesn’t know how many employees count the cash

• The auditor is unable to identify the average daily cash amount received by the City. She says this is ”not part of the audit”! (Note: the City is estimated to receive about $ 50,000 in cash daily, or $ 1 million in cash per month)

• The auditor states she does not audit daily transactions

• The auditor does not know if there are dwellings in the City that receive utilities but are not billed. She says she does “not test for that”. (Note: Chamber of Commerce, Boys & Girls Club have received free utilities)

• The auditor states that there is “no test” for accuracy of utility billing 

• The auditor does not know how many MegaWatt Hours were purchased by the City in any given year

• The auditor says that neither she nor her company are certified in financial forensics

• The auditor also states that neither she nor her company are certified fraud examiners

.

Please listen :

.

.

If you’re now thinking that you are in the Twilight Zone, you are not alone !

After hearing these rather shocking answers, how can anyone still have confidence in the Banning utility being properly managed and supervised ? This sounds like a total mess, doesn’t it?

If the auditor doesn’t even know how many employees count the cash, and can only refer to the balance reported in bank statements, how can we be sure that money doesn’t get diverted before it gets deposited in the bank? The answer is – we would never know.

.
MOYER, WELCH, FRANKLIN : NOTHING TO SEE HERE !

In their typical unaccountable, self-serving fashion, councilmembers George Moyer, Art Welch and Debbie Franklin did once again what they do best : neither showed any concern whatsoever over the shocking revelations given by this auditor.

To the contrary, after this disturbing testimony, Debbie Franklin actually engaged in deceptive whitewashing tactics, when she asked the auditor irrelevant questions about other Cities’ financials and how they compare to Banning. Franklin also threw out the term “material weaknesses”, a term she likely is ignorant about, but used it anyway in order to give the false impression that she knew what she was talking about.

Could someone please explain to Debbie Franklin that the largest “material weakness” in Banning is in fact Debbie Franklin?

It appears that crooked Moyer, Franklin and Welch, as always, want to do whatever is in their power to obstruct a legitimate audit of the Banning Utility.
.

.

CONCLUSION

There seem to be wide gaps in the utility’s oversight, particularly as it relates to cash operations. We all could hear that cash only gets accounted for once it gets deposited in the bank. But what if it doesn’t make it to the bank?

Also, there still seem to be no checks and balances on free utility backdoor deals, the likes of which were facilitated in the past by notoriously shady characters such as Art Welch and Debbie Franklin.

The Banning Utility has a horrible reputation because it is unaccountable. The public deserves answers. It’s been way too long.

.

If you would like to comment or discuss this – or any other – article,  please visit us on FACEBOOK