Fort Thomas residents demand financial accountability: ‘Time to step up’

It was a packed house Monday night for Fort Thomas’ City Council meeting, where residents expressed concerns over the city’s financial management.

Monday night’s meeting was the first city council meeting following the Sept. 30 special finance committee meeting, which revealed major accounting issues that totaled over $322,000. 

Several residents voiced their concerns Monday night, including Nicole Utz, who said she began closely monitoring the city’s spending following the One Highland Development project. When addressing the council, Utz brought more than 100 pages of documents to the podium to support her remarks.

“We’re on this trajectory that if we don’t get our finances straight in the next five to ten years, we’re going to be in serious trouble,” Utz said. “I’m demanding a forensic accounting audit to be conducted immediately in this city.”

Other residents like Tiffany Huber voiced worries about how the city has been communicating its financial issues.

“You might not have all the information, but I think you build trust and confidence with the community if you share with them what’s going on,” Huber said. “There have been hours and hours of time spent by people in this audience to try to help with what’s going on in the city.” 

Resident Joan Ferris called on the city to take swift and decisive action.

“Let’s start to put this financial train wreck back on its tracks,” Ferris said. “It’s time to step up, and if stepping up means stepping down, then it’s time for that discussion.”

In an effort to provide better transparency, several citizens suggested that the city post general ledger updates, which the city says it’ll begin doing monthly. 

Councilmember Ben Pendery, who also chairs the finance committee, emphasized the significance of the audit in addressing public concerns and guiding future improvements.

“I would much rather be in the position we are in right now and have this audit to eliminate these concerns so that we can make the corrections and make sure that our community is on a better path moving forward than to just not know about it,” Pendery said.

The city has scheduled a special council meeting for Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 9 a.m. and a finance committee meeting on Nov. 5, at 9 a.m. to further discuss next steps following the recent audit findings.