Sunday, May 3, 2009

Did Centerville Have a Full Time Finance Director?

While not illegal, Centerville's finance chief also worked for other cities and a private firm.

Meyer was the town's finance director, with a salary of $83,000, until he resigned from the suburban community of 3,800 earlier this year. And he had a full-time job at an architectural and engineering firm based in Fargo, N.D.

There's more: Meyer was on the payroll one day a week in Maple Lake, earning about $42,000 last year, city officials said. Plus he had a consulting business, assisting small towns such as Frazee and Canby, according to his website.

City Administrator Larson credited Meyer with bringing in $3 million in grants since the fall of 2004, when he became finance director. He said the controversy over his employment is a "nonstory" prompted by a group of disgruntled citizens.

But his marathon moonlighting is very unusual, said Robin Roland, immediate past president of the Minnesota Government Finance Officers Association. Roland, who has been active in the 600-member organization for 15 years, said she didn't know any other finance director with two jobs, much less three.
"We have a code of ethics that basically says if we work for a city, we work for the city," said Roland, Farmington's finance director. "We don't do three or four different things."

Full Story Here
Star Tribune
05/02/2009
Jean Hopfensperger

Exit Question:
Will Mary Capra and current Council take any action?