Menahga City Council will discuss further at an May work session. 8:30 pm, Apr. 16, 2021 ×
Menahga Mayor Liz Olson called for a special budget meeting after seeing a negative checking balance and deficit spending in the 2021 budget.
She voiced her concerns at the Monday, April 12 city council meeting.
“How can these checkbook balances be in a deficit?” Olson asked, referring to the check reconciliation report for March 2021. Eight funds showed a negative balance, ranging from -$373 to -$347,775.
City Administrator Curt Kreklau said it was a coding issue in the accounting software. The 2021A fire truck fund, for example, shows a -$108,910 balance. It’s a bond payment that the city made, he said.
Menahga City Council examines zoning violation
A motion to seek a second opinion about Menahga City Administrator Curt Kreklau’s authority passed 3-2 at the April 12 meeting. 6:00 am, Apr. 17, 2021 ×
Brett Lakanen, a Minneapolis creative designer with ties to Menahga, drafted a possible design for the city s new water tower. The Menahga City Council approved it at its Monday, April 12 meeting.(Submitted photo)
Menahga Mayor Liz Olson said she would like another legal opinion about City Administrator Curt Kreklau’s authority to issue a cease-and-desist order after he filed one against Wild Walleye Eatery last month.
At Monday’s city council meeting, Kreklau said, as zoning administrator, the authority fundamentally comes to him from the Menahga Municipal Code, under Section 151.56.
They held a work session on March 29. 10:27 am, Apr. 6, 2021 ×
The Menahga City Council expected a “deeper dive” into city finances.
In early March, the council approved Eide Bailly LLP as forensic accountants to review the city’s financial data and confirm that it is correct. Consulting service fees were not to exceed $5,000.
At their March 29 meeting, City Administrator Curt Kreklau reported that Eide Bailly reviewed December 2020 through January 2021.
“What’s that going to tell us?” asked council member Robyn Keranen. “It was my understanding they were going to go back ‘X’ amount of years.”
Council members Art Huebner and Durwin Tomperi agreed with Keranen.