Newly elected Clerk-Treasurer Christine Pauley said her team has discovered a $200,000 accounting error made during her predecessor’s tenure.
At the March 21 meeting of the Carmel City Council, Councilor Sue Finkam introduced a proposal to correct the unusual mistake.
During the last budget, the council approved $2.5 million for the Carmel Center for the Performing Arts, which includes The Palladium. The City Council also approved $200,000 for the Carmel Symphony Orchestra. But a member of the Clerk-Treasurer’s Office entered a wrong amount into the computer software, causing the $200,000 to be covered through the Center for the Performing Arts fund, thus shorting the Center $200,000.
The mistake was made under the watch of previous Clerk-Treasurer Diana Cordray, who served nearly 20 years in office before losing in the May election to Pauley. The new staff caught the mistake while going through regular claims documents.
City Council President Ron Carter noted, “it’s an honest mistake,” but he took time to praise Pauley’s office for catching the error.
“I think the work that the current Clerk-Treasurer’s Office is doing is outstanding,” he said. “I’m very pleased with the way things are working out with her office.”
The Council attempted a vote to fix the accounting error at the March 21 meeting, but Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said that since it was technically a budget appropriation that the proposal would need a public hearing, which needs to be noticed ahead of time. The matter was tabled for a later meeting. The next scheduled meeting has been canceled because of spring break.