– Meredith and Pluck to perform dutiesBy Leonard GildarieTwo high profile officials of the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown (M&CC) yesterday received letters sending them home on leave in the wake of a damaging audit report which hinted of fraud and mismanagement.Mayor Hamilton Green confirmed that letters were given to both Town Clerk Beulah Williams and City Treasurer Roderick Edinboro yesterday.Minister of Local Government, Kellawan Lall, yesterday also confirmed that he had assented to the recommendations of the City Council, which urged that the two officials be sent on leave.According to the mayor, the interdiction of the two officials became effective on Wednesday, July 2.Andrew Meredith will be temporarily performing the duties of City Treasurer,NFL Jerseys Clearance, while Yvonette Pluck is to manage the office of the Town Clerk, Green disclosed.Additionally, a team has been set up to look at some short, medium and long term changes to be made to the financial accounting system at the Council, and an initial report is be made by Tuesday.Meanwhile, the mayor also disclosed that, in 2006,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, an internal memo had made similar recommendations as the audit report, but these were never implemented.In January, Mayor Green had written the Auditor-General requesting an investigation into the City Treasurer’s Department.On Tuesday,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, following a discussion on the completed report, City Hall passed a motion to send home Williams and Edinboro, and the matter was taken to Minister Lall, under whose portfolio M&CC falls.Green met with senior officials of the M&CC yesterday to apprise them of the development and to announce the appointment of Pluck and Meredith.The Auditor General’s report had urged for sweeping changes at the City Treasurer’s Department and suggested widespread fraud and irregularities there because of the findings.According to the report, systems were, in some cases, deliberately bypassed and authority misused, with fraud highly evident.?Wages and SalariesThe explosive report dwelled at length on the system used to pay salaries and wages,Authentic Jerseys Wholesale, noting that promotions were not in accordance with systems in place.“The Auditor Office recommends that the City Treasurer and Town Clerk desist from implementing ad-hoc arrangements and adhere to the human resources policies in place to ensure that every promotion is fair, the process is transparent, the best suited candidate is selected and the Council receives value for its money with every promotion.”The audit also found that two officers were given raises by the City Treasurer and Town Clerk but neither had increased or additional improvement to warrant these increases. “The Audit Office recommends that appropriate disciplinary action be taken against the officers responsible for the approval of this increase, and all future financial matters with respect to salary increases, or any recommendations for salary increases, be taken to the Full Council for approval.”The auditors found that one officer was updating the Pay Changes Register, verifying its accuracy and updating the payroll database. The City Treasurer is tasked with monitoring the Council’s accounting system. However, “due to his negligence, the Pay Changes Register has not been properly maintained,Cheap Football Jerseys, changes made are unauthorized, and there exists no formal procedure for the implementation of changes and recording of the same in this register,” the report said.Evidence of this was the fact that the Accounting Manager received leave money when he had no leave due. Another glaring factor was that loans were given but no deductions were made from salaries as repayment.“With respect to the processing of the payroll, the verification of the accuracy of the amount contained therein, and the printing of certifying of same, the City Treasurer was once again negligent and careless in the execution of his duties, which resulted in financial losses to the Council.“The Audit Office recommends the implementation of proper systems and controls,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, with adequate segregation of duties and effective supervision to ensure that accurate information is inputted into the database for the processing of the payroll.”The payment of responsibility allowances in excess of those which were approved by the Full Council for two officers, and the continuous acting by an officer beyond the period which was approved, for which she was also paid, clearly indicated the City Treasurer’s disregard for authority and adherence to rules and procedures, the report stress