BY THE NUMBERS
$184,000: Approximate amount billed to the city per year for secretarial services from McMahan & Associates for the 2009 calendar year
$169,536: Total amount budgeted by city for city attorney office secretary and support services for 2010-2011 fiscal year
$15,327.78: Amount billed monthly by McMahan & Associates for secretarial services
Bills sent to the city for reimbursement of secretarial services by the city attorney’s office are obscure and do not fall under the standards for best practices in financial dealings, an auditing expert said Monday.
“It would be better if they stated what the secretarial services are. It’s too vague,” said Lisa Hirtzinger, director of standards and guidance for the Institute of Internal Auditors, a Florida-based group for the industry.
A public record request of city attorney bills shows the only line item is a request for payment in the 2010-2011 fiscal year for “secretarial services” at $15,327.78 a month. City officials said they did not have any more detailed descriptions of what was paid for under the label “secretarial services.”
City Attorney Mike McMahan said Monday the invoices were prepared by an in-house secretary. Asked what the money was spent on, he said it went for a part-time secretary and four administrative support specialists, or secretarial services.
“Just what it says,” Mr. McMahan said.
The city attorney’s office has come under scrutiny since a State Comptroller’s report said some of the attorney office’s past practices could be criminally negligent. A city auditor’s report also cited some conflicts of interests.
The Tennessee District Attorney’s Conference is now trying to find an independent district attorney to review the case for any criminal negligence.
Mr. McMahan, who as city attorney is paid $105,765 a year by the city, also billed the city $184,000 a year for clerical and legal assistance from the staff of his law firm, McMahan & Associates. Mr. McMahan insists he never profited from the arrangement, which he said is allowed under professional services contracts. But auditors claim the payments to Mr. McMahan as a city department head violate the city’s conflict-of-interest and purchasing rules.
Ms. Hirtzinger said Monday that incomplete invoices, or those lacking details, can sometimes set off red flags for fraud. In this case, she said that does not seem to be the case.
A Times Free Press review of the city’s 2010-2011 fiscal year budgets shows those who operate within the “secretarial services” part of the city attorney’s office account for more than $169,000 a year in billings.
But Ms. Hirtzinger said city officials should be able to tell specifically what is being paid for and where the money is going. She said proper documentation helps answer any questions about the money trail.
“It needs to be substantial,” she said. “It needs to be reliable.”
Daisy Madison, the city’s chief financial officer, said her office signed off on the documents even though they were not detailed. She said they did so because department workers were familiar with the city attorney’s office and knew how the money was being spent.
She said she felt that only asking for money for “secretarial services” was sufficient.
“We understood what the services entailed,” she said.
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Cliff has worked for the Times Free Press for five years and covers Chattanooga city government. He previously covered Rhea County, as well as transportation and growth and development in Southeast Tennessee. A native of Maryville, Tenn., Cliff graduated in 2003 from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis on journalism. Before coming to Chattanooga, he was a crime reporter with Hernando Today, a supplement of The Tampa (Fla.) ...
Can anyone imagine sending a bill to a client for $15,327.78 and not itemizing the charges? And the client pays it?
Of course you can't, but welcome to Chattanooga, the political Stink City of Tennessee.
Since Mr. McMahan handles finances that way, what kind of City Attorney must he be? Does he prepare cases in the same unethical, dishonest manner? Is this the quality representation Chattanooga needs?
The phrase "it's always been done this way" can only mean that Chattanooga's City Attorney's Office has been ripping taxpayers a new one for decades and according to Littlefield that's OK.
Let's build a new City Hall at the landfill. With all the sickening smells in City government, Littlefield and McMahan and their crews will be at home among the maggots, leeches, and dirty diapers. Hog Heaven for the pigs at the trough.
Transparency is essential when dealing with tax payer money and government. I find it difficult to accept that these charges can not be itemized. The city Mayor's office should know this! Typicaly, attorneys bill in 6 minute increments. You would think the city attorney's office would know that administrative expenses should be itemized as well. Any person who has ever filed an expense report for an employer in the private sector knows this expectation. The real question is, if these things are run so sloppy, what about the stuff we don't know about. So convenient, the mayor and city councel can simply raise taxes to cover their graft and incompetence.
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