YOUNGSTOWN Audit suggestions

A state audit of the city's finances includes 17 recommendations to improve its operations. Some of the recommendations are:
Increase the monitoring of the city budget to make sure expenditures don't exceed budgeted amounts.
Improve the water department's billing and collection systems including the development of a tracking system to make sure billing stubs match receipts.
Create a formalized accounting policies and procedures manual.
Create a formal code of conduct, and obtain conflict of interest statements from its officials and management employees on an annual basis.
Have the finance director maintain records on vacation and sick leave time for police officers and firefighters.
File its annual financial report on a timely basis. The deadline to file the 2004 annual report was May 30, 2005. The city filed the report with the state auditor on July 13, 2005.
Create a formal long-range data processing master plan.
Improve security controls of its computer system.
Source: Ohio auditor office's 2004 audit of Youngstown