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Questions Nessel Township budget

To the editor:
If you will remember, at the last annual March meeting, the citizens refused to accept the treasurerís annual report forÝ 2002, because the numbers did not add up.ÝÝThey then reduced the budget to $206,000.Ý
They also petitioned the board to have the Minnesota State Auditor do the books and affairs of the Township for the years of 2000, 2001, 2002.
Sept. 2 they reconvened the Annual Meeting and have had a Special Meeting to increase the budget.
The board put out a newsletter to that effect.ÝThe quote for the first issue of the newsletter was $2000.00. I have yet to talk to anyone who received the newsletter before the Special Town meeting took place.ÝSince it did not arrive until after the meeting, that was a waste of $2,000.ÝI doubt if anyone contacted the postmasters regarding the importance of getting it out before the meeting.
The board also hired a CPA from White Bear Lake to do the books for 2002.ÝThere was some comment that then the State Auditors would accept the CPAís report and not continue with their report on 2000, 2001, 2002.ÝWRONG.
The board was also required to give the town clerk a copy of the CPAís reportÝfive days prior to the meeting.Ý(It is the law.)ÝThis gives the citizens the opportunity to peruse a copy before the meeting. (MS365.51 Sub.1.)
Did not happen.ÝThe vote was to approve the treasurerís 2002 Annual Report, it passed, even though the CPA said it was incomplete.ÝNow, since the State Auditor is going to do it anyway, it was a waste of $4,000.
I have been told that if you, as a citizen of Nessel Township, want a copy of the State Auditorís Report, you can have one.ÝThey should be available at the next monthly meeting after the report comes out, probably Nov. 11. On the budget request, it went from $206,000 in March to $430,000 on Sept. 2, even though it was mentioned that neighboring Fish Lake Township has the same miles of road and a few more people than Nessel Township, and gets by on a budget of $240,000 this year. The board complained that they do not have enough gravel this year. but they have been selling it to anybody who wants it.Ý[A no-noÝMS252,177]ÝWe were told that there are 31 miles of bad road in the Township.ÝThis did not happen all in one year.ÝThe roads are the boardís number one priority, so what happened to the money they should have spent on them?
I am sure that most everybody would have gone along with
an increase in the budget on
Sept. 2, but increasing it by $224.000?ÝMost city governments are in the process of cutting back their budgets, but not Nessel.

Tom Hennemann
Rush City

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