Steele City Chair Responds To Audit

By Gordon HopkinsAngela Sullivan, chairperson of the Steele City Village Board, responded to a letter issued by the Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts (APA) which said the board mishandled funds for the village’s 150th celebration. According to that letter, the APA looked at two bank accounts into which grants paid to the village were deposited. The letter said, “It is important to note that neither of these accounts appear on the Village’s 2023-2024 budget, nor were they accounted for on the Village’s audit waiver request filed with our office for fiscal year 2023. Rather, both accounts appear to have been created and controlled exclusively by Angela Sullivan.”S ullivan spoke to FJN last week and acknowledged rules were not followed.“We did have some grants that were filled out by a fellow villager. He was not on the board or anything,” said Sullivan. “And it should have went through the board. See, I was new to the board.”Sullivan identified that fellow villager as Dennis Kenning.“I know that he filled out some grants, and I guess the village was unaware of the stipulations to the rules of the grants and everything,” said Sullivan. “Maybe we should have done that a little different.”The APA determined that a separate financial audit was not necessary at this time.Some of the grant money was also intended for new playground equipment. The APA letter said, “Unlike the previous two grants, which were awarded for the 150th anniversary celebration, the grant received from Norris Public Power District was requested for the purchase of playground equipment.”Sullivan said, “The auditors said that there was just nothing to look into further. We as a village have looked through the accounts, as the auditors did. Everything went to or for the park equipment or the celebration.”

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