City Cashes Certificate Of Deposit To Cover Account Deficit

The Minden City Council authorized the cashing of an $85,000 certificate of deposit to cover  a deficit in the tax fund account.
Minden City Clerk Jami Maendele brought the issue to the attention of the city council Tuesday night.  
Maendele included in the councilmen’s packet copies of an email exchange between herself and Minden Exchange Bank Senior Vice President Arlen Osterbuhr.  Osterbuhr had alerted Maendele that the City of Minden was in overdraft by $14,916.28 on January 10 and informed her that the checks had been paid by the bank.  
“What I sent you explains the situation,” said Maendele. “I have never had this happen so I called Kim Pearson with the auditors (Dana F. Cole) and this is what he told me needed to be done.”
She asked the council to authorize the cashing of one of the certificates of deposit from the combined funds to loan to the tax account to cover the city’s expenses.
Maendele provided a simplified version of the city’s accounting practice. She explained that the tax receipts for the city go into the 401331 account, the “big bucket”, and are dispersed from the “big bucket” to the “little buckets”, the “little buckets” representing individual funds such as the General Fund, Police, Fire, Streets.  Payroll and expenses are paid out of  these separate “little bucket” funds.

For more see The Courier